This purpose of this application, building on 25 years of research training success, is to provide a variety of complementary training opportunities in dental and craniofacial health research at the U. of Iowa to develop a cohort of dental scholars whose research skills will meet the challenges of oral health research for the 21st century.
The aims are to: 1) provide outstanding interdisciplinary didactic training; 2) provide rigorous research mentoring experiences involving ongoing review and critique; and 3) prepare post-doctoral trainees for academic careers in oral health research. The proposed program has a major focus on dental graduates, but recognizes that basic scientists also play important roles in oral health research; thus, it will also offer training opportunities for non-dentists. An R90 component reflects the increasingly important role that non-citizen dentists have, and will continue to have, in our oral health research programs. The research areas in which training is offered reflect the strengths of the College of Dentistry, the health science colleges, and other colleges at the University of Iowa, and range across the full translational spectrum from biomaterials and tissue engineering to oral mucosal disease and from caries and fluoride research to craniofacial genetics and Health Services Research. Specifically, we propose to offer training for dentists and non-dentists to pursue a PhD in Oral Sciences (or in the interdisciplinary Genetics Program, or in the Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, as appropriate), or to pursue post-doctoral training. In addition, there will be an opportunity to obtain a Certificate in Translational and Clinical Investigation under the auspices of the University's Institute for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CTSA). A group of 35 experienced and talented program faculty from a variety of disciplines is available to mentor trainees. Training will be supervised by an experienced Director and Associate Director, assisted by a Faculty Leadership team. There will be internal and external advisory committees and a Committee on Recruitment and Diversity-to assist with recruitment and support of under-represented minorities. In summary, the program brings together productive, well-funded mentors, with pre- and post-doctoral trainees in an environment with strong institutional commitment to developing outstanding interdisciplinary research training, a fine institutional record of training in relevant disciplines, and excellent educational and research facilities. The outcome will be the development of a cadre of oral health researchers equipped to function at the cutting edge of their disciplines.
There is an increasing need to translate and apply our rapidly increasing knowledge of the genetic and molecular basis of disease so as to provide novel therapies and improved oral health for our population. The proposed program is designed to provide training opportunities at the PhD and post-doctoral level for both dentists and non-dentist scientists; training in translational and clinical research is also offered. This program is designed to develop the complex skills necessary to undertake independent and collaborative research, so as to develop dental scholars capable of meeting future opportunities and challenges in dental education and oral health research nationwide.
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