Founders
ISAD began through the work of two founders who shaped its academic direction, editorial tone, and student-led structure from the beginning.
Minsoo Kang
University of Toronto
I believe dentistry should be accessible to students before they enter dental school, not only through clinical exposure, but also through research, writing, and academic contribution. I helped create ISAD because I wanted students to have a serious platform where early interest in dentistry could become meaningful work, structured collaboration, and real scholarly growth.
Junseo Lee
University of Wisconsin–Madison
I believe dentistry should be a field that students can explore, question, and contribute to early, regardless of where they are in their academic journey. I helped create ISAD because I wanted to build a space where students could connect across institutions, learn from one another, and turn curiosity about dentistry into service, scholarship, and professional purpose.
Two Founders, One Belief.
Dentistry should be accessible academically, clinically, and professionally.
ISAD was created by Minsoo Kang and Junseo Lee who shared the same belief: dentistry should not feel distant, closed, or unreachable to students who are still early in their academic journey. For us, accessibility in dentistry means more than clinical exposure. It also means access to academic writing, research culture, publication experience, professional communication, and the confidence to participate in serious conversations about oral health.
We built ISAD because we wanted a structure where students could move from interest to contribution. Rather than treating dentistry as something students could only observe from the outside, ISAD was designed to give members a practical way to read deeply, write carefully, collaborate across institutions, and produce work with academic value.
Through building ISAD, we gained more than an organization. We gained experience in leadership, editorial decision-making, manuscript development, team coordination, authorship responsibility, and cross-university collaboration. Most importantly, we learned that student initiative becomes meaningful when it is paired with structure, discipline, and a clear academic purpose.
ISAD continues to reflect that founding idea: dentistry becomes stronger when more students are given the opportunity to understand it, question it, write about it, and contribute to it early.