Advanced Training at the Interface of Engineering and Oral-Craniofacial Sciences

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Oral diseases and disorders in the craniofacial complex disproportionally and devastatingly afflict susceptible populations, particularly impoverished families and medically or physically compromised persons. Novel engineering approaches, properly leveraged, can yield new paradigms to reveal disease mechanism, new strategies for disease mitigation, and new approaches for affordable/personalized therapies for dental caries, periodontal diseases, and oral cancer. To achieve this vision, academic research bound dentist-scientists must be adept in engineering concepts and engineers must be educated in oral and craniofacial sciences and needs; all must be aware of the complex clinical and regulatory landscapes. To address this urgent need, we propose a multidisciplinary training program in Penn’s School of Dental Medicine (PDM) and School of Engineering & Applied Sciences (SEAS) focused on training dentist-scientists and engineers for academic careers dedicated to research in precision oral health and healthcare innovation. Postdoctoral trainees will adopt cutting-edge approaches at the forefront of engineering and computational sciences to advance the fields of oral biofilm microbiome, host immunity and tissue regeneration, drawing on approaches including artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology, and materials sciences, aware of developmental hurdles and requirements to safely bring new approaches to patients. Trainees will engage in interactive and tailored academic experiences with intensive mentored research via co-mentoring (one advisor from each school), and interaction with a career mentoring committee (CMC) that includes at least one dental clinician. Co-mentors and CMC members will be drawn from the Program Faculty of 26 faculty in PDM and SEAS with significant records of mentorship of multidisciplinary and translational research. Training will include: (1) engineering fundamentals for dental trainees and oral & craniofacial biology principles for engineering trainees, tailored to match their research project and academic needs, (2) clinical research and regulatory affairs, (3) principles of scientific rigor and reproducibility, (4) scientific writing and (5) workshops on professional and career development. Trainees will engage in academic and industry interactions, journal club, give symposia presentations, and participate in AADR/IADR activities. Training will culminate in F/K award applications focused on advancing oral health at the dental-engineering interface. The applicant pool at the University of Pennsylvania is exceptionally strong and diverse, and we anticipate being able to attract outstanding candidates. Furthermore, via partnerships with ADA, AADR/IADR and minority-serving dental schools, we will diversify our candidate pool. We plan to enroll 4 trainees per year. Importantly, this effort will be an element of a newly formed inter-school center between PDM and SEAS with shared funding. The proposed program, unique to Penn, leverages a superb research and training environment within a compact campus where resources for both schools are united through Penn’s new Center for Innovation and Precision Dentistry.