Columbia Resident Receives Waldron Award for Research on B-cell Lymphomas in the Oral Cavity
B-cell lymphomas can mimic inflammatory conditions, benign lesions, and other routine findings in the oral cavity, creating challenges for timely diagnosis. Left untreated, these malignancies can be aggressive and significantly worsen a patient's prognosis.
Dr. Sophie Zhu, DMD, a first-year oral pathology resident at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, focused her case series on the clinical presentation of B-cell lymphomas and the diagnostic challenges they can pose. Her poster presentation, “Presentation of B-cell Lymphoma in the Oral Cavity: A Case Series,” earned the Waldron Award at the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology (AAOMP) 2026 Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado. The award recognizes the best poster presentation by a resident at the organization's annual meeting.
As a first-year resident, Zhu said the residency program’s emphasis on anatomic pathology helped her develop a deeper understanding of hematopathology, which became the focus of her award-winning research.
The project began when Dr. Victoria Scarpa, DDS, the program’s chief resident, proposed developing a poster based on three cases involving the intraoral presentation of B-cell lymphomas. Zhu reviewed patient charts and worked with oral and maxillofacial radiologist Dr. King Chong Chan, DMD, MS, to evaluate cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging from the three cases. Chan helped her understand the subtle radiographic changes and why some of the lesions could initially appear benign.
One case stood out. A patient's diagnosis had been significantly delayed because the lesion initially appeared non-threatening. For Zhu, the case underscored how easily serious disease can be overlooked when it resembles more common oral findings.
“If I looked at the case without context, I'm not sure I would think about B-cell lymphomas first,” Zhu said. “It really showed me that I have to keep it in the back of my mind because it's not something that we think about often.”
The research also sparked conversations about expanding the work beyond Columbia. During the conference, Dr. Zaid Khoury, DDS, PhD, DABOMP, who completed his residency at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, approached Zhu about developing a two-center case series with Dr. Rafael Casasola, DDS, that would combine cases from Columbia University College of Dental Medicine and the University of Maryland. The researchers are currently discussing a collaborative publication that would build on the original research.
Looking ahead, Zhu hopes to continue building on the research with a stronger emphasis on clinical education and helping frontline providers recognize concerning signs earlier.
“It's important to let clinicians know what to look for,” she said. “In the future, I would like to include more pictures and also more information for clinicians on how to think about the differentials and how to recognize these malignancies more efficiently.”