This proposal seeks support for the development of the South Carolina COBRE for Oral Health at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) College of Dental Medicine. The South Carolina COBRE for Oral Health will train a cadre of targeted investigators who will become established investigators and will provide academic leadership in the continued development of the College of Dental Medicine's oral and craniofacial health research program. The program is highly leveraged with existing strengths at MUSC's academic health science center including: 1) a pool of outstanding faculty mentors who are collaborative and well-funded by NIH institutes and peer-review sponsors; 2) a pool of outstanding targeted investigators with strong, pre-existing relationships with members of the faculty mentor group; 3) critical relevant research space and core resources; 4) access to unique populations currently under investigation and served by MUSC's community outreach programs; 5) access to clinical materials from these populations; and 6) an innovative collaborative relationship between MUSC and the NIDCR intramural research program on the NIH campus in Bethesda, MD that provides expanded research mentoring opportunities to targeted investigators in the South Carolina COBRE for Oral Health Program. Thus, the COBRE funding mechanism will allow the College of Dental Medicine to apply COBRE resources to most efficiently meet the goals of its research strategic plan to develop a nationally competitive and prominent oral health research program at MUSC which directly benefits the oral health care needs of the citizens of South Carolina. The South Carolina COBRE for Oral Health program will: * Mentor an initial cadre of five targeted investigators to develop successful, independent, NIH- funded research careers in oral health science. * Enhance the oral health research infrastructure. COBRE funds will permit significantdevelopment of critical resources (cores) in the development of a research infrastructure supportive of multidisciplinary oral health research at MUSC's academic health science center. * Recruit two additional new faculty members whose experience and disciplinary expertise will complement those of the COBRE investigators in areas deemed critical by the Steering and the External Advisory Committees. * Sustain the infrastructure of the South Carolina COBRE for Oral Health beyond the initial 5- year award.
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