Dr. Nita Wu entered our DSA program in July of 1996, initially pursuing a program combining her PhD studies in oral biology with clinical specialty training in oral medicine. In her first two years in the program, she took PhD course work in developmental biology, molecular and cell biology, histology, immunology, microbiology, virology, epidemiology and biostatistics, and bioethics, as well as regular participation in journal club and attendance at seminars. She also completed her laboratory rotations and several clinical rotations within the oral medicine program. Through elective course work in epidemiology and clinical trials design, she became increasingly interested in clinical research and decided to make this area a future focus of her PhD. Recently, the Graduate Group in Oral Biology established a task force to explore the possibility of developing a new clinical investigator program track; however, at the present time, these efforts are primarily directed at certificate and MS programs. To augment Dr. Wu's basic oral biology training and better prepare her for clinical research, we had her enroll in the MPH program in the School of Public Health at UC-Berkeley, which she will complete next month. During the course of this year, she applied for and was accepted into our affiliated PhD program in epidemiology, also in the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley. She will transfer into this PhD program this summer, while continuing her oral medicine clinical program. This inherent flexibility, which permits broad exposure to a variety of scientific disciplines and the possibility of pursuing new areas of interest, can be regarded as a substantial strength of our DSA program. Because of transferring from one PhD program to another in the midst of her DSA program, it is possible that it might take Dr. Wu slightly longer to complete her DSA program, i.e., by 2002 instead of 2001. However, the knowledge she has gained in basic biology should provide her with an exceptional foundation for a career as a clinician-scientist, and therefore this should ultimately prove to be an asset rather than a detriment.
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