BCD Research Infrastructure Enhancement Program

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective of the Infrastructure Improvement Grant is to strengthen the research infrastructure of Baylor College of Dentistry (BCD) by recruiting and developing outstanding faculty in tenure track positions and by developing the core infrastructure necessary to make this faculty successful with respect to basic, translational, and clinical research grants. These objectives will be accomplished through collaboration with the Institute of Biosciences and Technology (IBT) and leveraging of the federal funds through significant matching funds. A Critical Needs Assessment found that BCD has strengths with respect to basic science faculty, advanced clinical and Ph.D. programs, and research facilities, including a new Research Sciences Building that will come on-line in 2004 and 2005. However, BCD lacks a critical mass of successful research faculty and mentors in the basic sciences, especially in the areas of translational and clinical research, with sustained extramural grant funding. Based on a review of areas of strengths, it was decided that BCD should emphasize the research theme of developmental biology and genetics of the craniofacial complex, with special emphasis on the causes, prevention, and treatment of craniofacial deformities that might be expressed early in development and during the postnatal growth period. The Institutional Enhancement Plan is based primarily on formal collaboration with the IBT, and includes: (1) recruitment of Dr. Richard Finnell as a Magnet Investigator and four additional outstanding senior IBT scientists as research mentors; (2) recruitment of a new chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences at BCD as a second Magnet Investigator; (3) recruitment of three junior faculty to BCD; and (4) comprehensive faculty exchanges. The Implementation Plan is already underway with recruitment of all IBT faculty and naming of the ESPAC. Detailed Letters of Institutional Commitment are provided from the President of the HSC, Dean of the Dental School, and the President of the Baylor Oral Health Foundation.