This is a new NRSA Institutional Research Training Grant (T32) application that is directly responsive to the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Panel and the training initiatives of the NIDCR. The program is named the University of Texas Training Program in CraniofaciaI-Oral Biology Research that is Comprehensive and Integrated with the Health Science Center at Houston (UT-TORCH). UT-TORCH builds on our successful predoctoral dental student research program that has been supported by an NIDCR Short-Term Research Training Grant for Health Professional Students (T35) since 1994. Its primary mission is to identify, recruit, train, and retain dental faculty who can become independent investigators with the life-long learning and collaborative skills needed to address emerging opportunities in craniofacial and oral research. UT-TORCH draws from the enriched resources of a highly diverse and research-intensive academic health science center environment. It is comprehensive, integrative, and interdisciplinary in every respect and brings together a core of 52 outstanding and highly committed faculty research mentors from existing programs within the Dental Branch, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Medical School, School of Public Health, and the School of Health Information Sciences at UT-Houston as well as from MD Anderson Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, and Rice University. Research training is offered through a continuum of five tracks that span various stages of career development. Track I - A short-term program of summer research experiences for predoctoral dental students; Track II - An individual PhD in Biomedical Sciences program; Track III - An integrated DDS/PhD degree program; Track IV- Postdoctoral training for recent DDS graduates that leads to a PhD in Biomedical Sciences and MS degrees in either Clinical Research, Health Informatics or Public Health. Non-degree fellowship training for PhD graduates is also offered; Track V: Short-term research training for dental faculty. Trainees can select projects from three research focus areas (i) Biomimetics: Development, Genetics, and Bioengineering (ii) Molecular Pathology: Immunology, Infectious Diseases, and Cancer (iii) Patient-oriented Research and Health Informatics. A highly innovative and integrative core and discipline-specific curriculum with journal clubs, seminars, and research symposia are proposed to facilitate an exchange of information among students in various disciplines and to allow each trainee to acquire a broad mix of critical thinking skills. Students and faculty at the University of Mississippi Dental School will have access to training opportunities provided by UT-TORCH through a formal partnership. The two institutions will also collaborate on the recruitment of minority applicants into UT-TORCH. Activities with T32 trainees at the two other Texas Dental Schools (UTHSC-San Antonio and Baylor College of Dentistry-Dallas) are planned. Support is requested for a total of 23 highly qualified trainees (8 full-time positions) and two DDS/PhD candidates for Year 1 of the award. UT-TORCH will be administered by a cohesive and experienced group of faculty: The program director, Dr. Rena D'Souza and co-director, Dr. George Stancel will work closely with the Steering Team composed of the five track coordinators. An internal advisory panel of faculty with extensive experience in the proposed tracks of training as well as an External Review Board will provide oversight for UT-TORCH. Graduate trainees of UT-TORCH will be able to (a) Interpret new scientific information from an insightful perspective and teach with scholarly credibility (b) Provide knowledgeable dialog with student and faculty clinicians (c) Lead cutting edge craniofacial, dental, and oral biology research in sustained NIH and other extramurally-supported research programs (d) Publish reports in peer-reviewed journals, and (e) Pass muster with UT-Houston promotion and tenure committees. Strong institutional support exists for this new Dental Branch endeavor that is designed to train dental academicians for craniofacial and oral biology research-oriented careers.
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