The overall goal of the Dual Degree Scholars in Clinical Oral Health Research Training (DDS-COHRT) Program is to provide clinical research training in multidisciplinary, team research settings to train dentists as clinical investigators in order to improve oral and craniofacial health through applied research. Our primary aim is to 1) prepare dentists to become independent investigators in clinical research. The secondary aim is to 2) train dentists to contribute to clinical research as part of a multi-disciplinary research team. Training via the Masters in Clinical Research (MSCR) or the Masters in Public Health (MPH) will include: 1) a core didactic curriculum for the methodologic and analytic concepts central to clinical research, 2) research experiences that include participation in an ongoing clinical research project and development of an individual clinical research project, and 3) training in career development-related skills. Trainees will be able to take advantage of: 1) the availability of outstanding mentors in clinical and public health research;2) a well-established institutional research infrastructure, including: the GCRC and its Genomics, Statistics, and Bioinformatics Cores, the Center for Clinical Trials, the Greenebaum Cancer Center, and the curriculum in Clinical Research and associated MSCR supported by an NIH K30 award;3) the MPH programs offered by the University of Maryland at Baltimore and at College Park, and 4) geographic proximity to research training partners at the University of Maryland campuses, the NIH, and Johns Hopkins University, making additional mentors and courses available. The DDS-COHRT Program will include 3 components: 1) formal study in clinical research methods with didactic coursework, seminars, and workshops, 2) a team-mentored research practicum and research project, and 3) a unique senior year of dental school to facilitate re-entry into the clinical curriculum and prepare students for an academic career. Program participants will engage in 5 years of training, graduating with the combined DDS-MSCR or DDS-MPH degrees. The primary research training period will occur between the junior and senior years of dental school, although short-term training periods will be provided from the freshman through the senior years of dental school. The extant resources and mentors will permit trainees to undertake projects in all types of clinical research: patient-oriented research, translational research, small- and large-scale clinical studies and trials, and epidemiologic studies.
