Significant disparities exist in key health indicators between minority and white populations, including oral health. The uniquely qualified consortium of NYU CD, U. Puerto Rico SD, Howard U. CD and Tuskegee U. will launch a research training program that addresses the under-representation of Blacks and Hispanics in the field of dentistry. Blacks and Hispanics have more untreated oral disease than the population as a whole, and are significantly under-represented in the dental field, as both dentists and dental faculty. While many factors underlie the disparity in representation of minorities, the efficacy of the health care delivery improves when the provider and patient have concordance of racial/ethnic background. There are no simple solutions for resolving the under-representation in the dental profession, or the burden of healthcare problems carried by minorities. Targeted recruitment, training and retention of minorities in healthcare professions and research are critical points in resolving this dilemma. A major initiative of the Health Disparities Plan of the NIDCR and Surgeon General is to enhance research capacity. The summer research program of this proposal will provide minority students with intensive mentoring and the opportunity to become involved in research early in their dental education. One long-term goal of this proposal is to encourage these minority students to enter academia. Increased representation of minorities in faculty positions, by exposure to research and intensive mentoring, should increase the number of role models, and positively impact the candidate pool of under-represented minorities. This proposal hopes to initiate an expanding, steadily increasing source of minorities as dental faculty, until parity is attained.
The specific aims are: 1. to encourage, foster and develop research interests in minority dental students by direct involvement in research projects. 2. to provide career development information, guidance and counseling to minority dental students interested in academic research careers through mentoring and seminars. 3. to actively contribute to increasing the number of minority dentists selecting academic and research careers by experience and mentoring. 4. to develop a network of partnerships with a variety of universities and colleges to ensure a high-quality pool of minority applicants annually. 5. to develop the research mentoring potential of faculty at the dental schools at the University of Puerto Rico and Howard University. Fulfillment of these aims will facilitate attaining racial/ethnic parity in the profession of dentistry, and specifically within the subcommunity of academic/research dentists.
