UCLA Dental Specialty PhD Program

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PROJECT SUMMARY Established in 2018, the overarching goal of the University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA) Dental Specialty PhD Program (DSPP) within the UCLA School of Dentistry (SOD) is to promote the research career development of highly productive, early-career dentist-scientists and to facilitate their transition to independent investigators capable of addressing complex challenges within the dental profession and of advancing dental medicine. The UCLA SOD aspires to transform dental education and research by equipping trainees with experiences that prepare them to be critical thinkers, effective communicators, and compassionate, skilled clinicians capable of delivering patient-centered care in a rapidly evolving health care environment. To this end, the UCLA DSPP successfully recruited and retained two outstanding DSPP Scholars in the prior funding period who have made notable contributions in research related to oral health, one of which is female. To support the UCLA DSPP, the UCLA SOD has established outstanding postgraduate dental training programs that include seven Graduate Medical Education (GME)-supported dental specialty residency programs. The proposed K12 research training includes both PhD research and clinical specialty-oriented research guided by primary research mentors and clinical specialty mentors, respectively. The DSPP Scholars will complete a 3-year clinical specialty training block funded by the GME program followed by a 4.5-year PhD training block funded by the K12 award. Integration of the clinical specialty training and PhD research will be ensured through careful construction of cohesive mentorship teams, sustained clinical effort during the PhD program, coordinated input and guidance on selection of the research focus, inclusion of a critical authentic task, continual progress monitoring, and an established conflict resolution plan. Efforts will be made to achieve diversity of representation among DSPP Scholars and to recruit candidates from historically marginalized communities, including candidates from within the UCLA SOD and from the Texas A&M University College of Dentistry. The UCLA DSPP will provide effective, evidence-based pedagogy, providing all DSPP Scholars an equitable and inclusive learning experience. Finally, Scholars will enter the transition year supported by UCLA SOD to conduct postdoctoral research to facilitate their transition to an independent research career. In the current renewal, the UCLA DSPP seeks to advance ongoing efforts to increase the critical mass of dental school faculty who contribute to both clinical and scientific excellence, ensure diverse representation among future dentist-scientists, and construct collaborative networks involving clinician-scientists equipped with unique skills to address patient-oriented challenges and to transform the future of dentistry.