Howard University Summer Research Education Experience Program in Oral Health

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Howard University Summer Research Education Experience Program in Oral Health Abstract Despite advances in diagnosis and treatment, significant racial disparities in oral health persist, particularly between African Americans and other ethnic groups. Increasing diversity in the oral health research and care workforce is critical to improve the Nation's capacity to address and eliminate oral health disparities. Howard University is a comprehensive, research-oriented, historically black private university. The student body has traditionally been predominantly black (currently approximately 67%) and other underserved minorities. The College of Dentistry is one of the two dental schools at a historically black college or university in the United States and the only dental school in the Washington, DC, area providing dental health care to primarily low-income populations. Since 2016, the College and Johns Hopkins University have jointly led a summer research education experience program (SREEP), funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research under PAR-13-104. During this time, 45 underrepresented minority undergraduate students from Howard participated in the program. Thirteen of these students ultimately pursued postgraduate training in the health science professions (5 in dentistry, 6 in medicine, 1 in a MD/Ph.D. program, and 1 in a Ph.D. program) after graduating from their undergraduate programs. The PAR-13-104 program was not renewable; therefore, we seek new funding to support and expand the SREEP. We propose a SREEP at Howard University to engage, recruit, promote, and train Howard undergraduate students from underrepresented minorities into oral health and health disparity research. The SREEP will be a specialized didactic and mentored academic program with a series of formal and informal research and education activities tailored to recruiting and training undergraduate students. Through the SREEP, we will provide full-time eight-week-long summer research training for ten highly qualified students every year over the 5-year funding period. To provide effective mentoring for the students, we will 1) develop a highly networked team of motivated and skilled mentors from various disciplines by establishing a strong partnership between Howard and Johns Hopkins Universities; and 2) develop an effective and sustainable research training and education infrastructure by establishing a three-tiered mentoring system and executive, advising, and evaluation committees. The three-tiered mentoring system involves matching each participating undergraduate to a primary mentor with a basic, translational, clinical, community-based, or public health research focus at Howard, a secondary senior mentor at Hopkins, and a career development mentor. By participating in multi-disciplinary research projects and education events with experienced investigators who will serve as mentors and role models, the students will gain valuable research experience and knowledge in oral health and promote them into advanced education in oral health. Successful completion of this program will have significantly impacted the dental, oral and craniofacial research and training environment at Howard University College of Dentistry.