The clinical research environment at the University of Kentucky is excellent. UK currently supports training through an institutional K30 award, """"""""Career Training in Therapeutics & Translational Research"""""""", from NIH that provides career development and mentoring opportunities for clinician-scientists interested in pursuing careers in clinical research. There are currently two full time faculty of the college of dentistry pursuing clinical research training through the K30 award. However, the K30 award does not lead to a degree but provides certification of participation in a clinical research training program. Dr. Dawson (Project 5) and Dr. Cunningham (Pilot Project 1) are integrating with this program for clinical research training. The University of Kentucky Clinical Research Organization (UKCRO) is an institutionally funded center that provides regular seminars and training opportunities for clinicians and study coordinators. In addition, the UKCRO offers regulatory assistance with grants and clinical trials, assists in subject recruitment, as well as in the training and certification of research coordinators and staff. Working closely with the UKCRO, the NIH funded General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) provides seed funding for clinical projects, as well as nursing, laboratory and statistical support. The COHR has provided the focus for developing a new research culture at the College and has been the organizational structure for acquiring new laboratory and clinical research space. These activities have enabled the College to increase its research portfolio to include NIH, HRSA, Kentucky Science and Technology Center, foundation, and private company research and education funding over the last 2 1/2 years. A major University goal is to become one of the top 20 public research institutions by 2020 and a key COHR strategy is to build a responsive, rigorous, productive clinical research unit. As a result of a donation of $750,000 from the Delta Dental Plan of Kentucky and a matching donation of $750,000 from The Commonwealth of Kentucky Research Challenge Trust Fund, an endowment has been established to support the Delta Dental Plan of Kentucky Clinical Research Center (DDKCRC). The DDKCRC occupies 2,000 sq. ft. of newly renovated space in the UKCD. Renovations were funded by the Associate Vice President for Research. The clinical research initiatives of the COHR are coordinated in the DDKCRC, by Dr. M. John Novak, B.D.S., L.D.S., M.S., Ph.D., the Associate Director of the COHR overseeing 4 hygienists/study coordinators, and a research associate clinician who manages the operations of the clinic. A primary focus of the DDKCRC is to create a research infrastructure to: 1) develop and train clinical research professionals, research coordinators, and research staff and 2) define and impact oral health disparities in rural communities of Kentucky. An initial emphasis will be on investigations to determine oral-systemic disease linkages in these rural populations, and to define biological, genetic, and socio-behavioral factors contributing to these disparities.
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