The overall goal of the comprehensive training program in Oral and Craniofacial Biology is to train highly skilled, interactive basic and clinical scientists who can successfully address the expanding research opportunities in dental, oral and craniofacial research. At the University of Maryland, we have demonstrated the ability to provide an environment of flexible but integrated training opportunities in dental, oral and craniofacial research. By offering a broad selection of training options which serves a diverse population of college, dental, PhD and combined DDS-PhD students as well as junior and mid-career faculty, we plan to accomplish our primary objective of developing independent investigators in basic, clinical, and translational research. Secondary objectives are to train individuals to become important contributors to larger multidisciplinary research teams and to generate an appreciation of the need for continued oral health research in all of our students. The training program capitalizes on the unique geographic proximity between major medical centers in the City of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. and includes an expert faculty of more than 60 established scientists to provide mentoring for students and dental faculty. Training is organized around four major thematic areas of strength in clinical and basic research. These thematic areas of expertise are Hard Tissue and Neoplastic Diseases, Infectious and Autoimmune Diseases, Oral and Craniofacial Chronic Sensory Disorders, and Oral and Craniofacial Motor Disorders. Primary emphasis is placed on cross-disciplinary approaches that involve integration of basic, translational and clinical research in each trainee program. Toward this end we are initiating new partnerships with the School of Medicine. We plan to offer a new curriculum of formal clinical training for postdoctoral dentists and we are consolidating our graduate education into a system of campus-wide interdepartmental graduate programs in basic and translational science. Our program design includes a horizontal organization in which basic and clinical research trainees interact across disciplines and a vertical organization which provides more experienced trainees the opportunity to train younger scientists. We are particularly dedicated to enhanced training opportunities for underrepresented minorities and women in research relevant to improvement of oral health and better treatment of oral diseases.
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