Training Program for the Next Generation of Oral Health Researchers (NextGen)

描述（由申请人提供）：人们经常说，我们国家面临的口腔健康问题超出了原发疾病或发育病理学的范畴，而是复杂的、多因素的，包括遗传、社会、文化、行为和环境因素。为了有效地管理口腔健康问题，我们需要解决这些条件的多因素性质。我们的假设是，要全面解决这些口腔健康需求，不仅需要能够推进科学和发现过程的个人，还需要能够领导和成为多学科团队的有效成员的个人。解决国家的口腔需求将需要跨学科的团队——一群受过独特训练的科学家，他们不仅对复杂的口腔、牙科和颅面疾病的多因素组成有深刻的理解，而且还可以成为跨学科团队的有效领导者或成员。显然，单打独打或以科学项目为基础的时代已经过去，高效的研究涉及临床医生和科学家团队。这项培训计划的目的是培养一批成功的、独立的、基础的、临床的和转化的口腔健康研究学者，他们可以作为互动的科学家来解决国家在牙科、口腔和颅面研究方面的医疗保健需求。按照设计，我们的项目涵盖了全面的基础、转化和临床研究，包括人类疾病的基本机制、治疗干预、临床试验、口腔流行病学、卫生服务研究和卫生政策。我们的目标是创建一个高度互动的科学家的新干部，他们可以作为学术牙科和研究机构的研究领导者。NextGen项目包括三个博士学位授予课程和口腔生物学培训；卫生政策和管理，或口腔流行病学；一个牙医临床研究硕士学位课程和培训；为寻求口腔生物学、卫生政策/管理或口腔流行病学高级研究机会的个人提供博士后奖学金。培养一支能够在多学科环境下进行研究的口腔健康科学家队伍，通过招募高质量的学员进入我们提议的五个组成部分，从而获得博士和硕士学位或博士后研究奖学金。2. 扩大我们目前针对代表性不足的少数民族和妇女的招聘努力，并纳入旨在将这些研究人员留在学术环境中的职业发展内容。3. 为学员提供必要的教学和体验式培训，使每个人都能发展和应用各种尖端技术的技能，如功能基因组学、生物信息学和系统生物学，以进行严格的生物医学、行为和临床研究。4. 提供职业发展技能的正式培训机会，包括实验设计、生物统计学和数据分析、手稿和拨款写作、临床试验协调和管理、数据库管理、负责任的研究行为和伦理。5. 提供正式和经验领导培训的机会（解决冲突，团队管理和文化能力），允许受训者作为领导者和研究团队的有效成员，整合从分子到人口的多学科活动。6. 协助T90学员获得个别研究培训奖励或其他研究培训支持机制，并协助他们的职业发展。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): It is often stated that the oral health problems facing our nation extend beyond primary disease or developmental pathologies, but are complex and multi-factorial to include genetic, social, cultural, behavioral and environmental factors. In order to effectively manage oral health problems we need to address the multi- factorial nature of these conditions. It is our hypothesis that to comprehensively addressing these oral health needs requires individuals who can not only advance the science and discovery processes, but who can also lead and be effective members of multidisciplinary teams. Addressing the oral needs of the nation will require interdisciplinary teams a uniquely trained group of scientists who not only have a firm understanding of the multi-factorial components of the complex oral, dental and craniofacial diseases, but who can also be effective leaders or members of interdisciplinary teams. Clearly, the era of solo or tower-based science programs has passed and highly effective research involves teams of clinicians and scientists. The purpose of this proposed training program is to develop a cohort of successful, independent, basic, clinical and translational Oral Health Research Scholars who can function as interactive scientists to address the nation's healthcare needs in dental, oral and craniofacial research. As designed, our program embraces the full spectrum of basic, translational and clinical research including fundamental mechanisms of human disease, therapeutic intervention, clinical trials, oral epidemiology, health services research and health policy. Our goal is to create a new cadre of highly interactive scientists who can serve as research leaders in academic dentistry and research institutions. The NextGen program encompasses three Ph.D. degree granting curricula and training in Oral Biology; Health Policy and Management, or Oral Epidemiology; one M.S. degree granting curriculum and training for Dentists in Clinical Research; and a postdoctoral fellowship for individuals seeking advanced research opportunities in Oral Biology, Health Policy/Management, or Oral Epidemiology The objectives of the UNC NextGen Training Program are to: 1. Train a cadre of oral health scientists able to conduct research in a multidisciplinary setting by recruiting high quality trainees into the five components of our proposed program leading to Ph.D. and M.S. degrees or postdoctoral research fellowship. 2. Expand our current recruitment efforts targeting under-represented minorities and women and incorporate career development components designed to retain these researchers in academic settings. 3. Provide trainees with the necessary didactic and experiential training so that each can develop and apply skills in various cutting edge technologies, such as functional genomics, bioinformatics, and systems biology, for the purpose of rigorous biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research. 4. Provide opportunities for formal training in career development skills that include experimental design, biostatistics and data analysis, manuscript and grant writing, clinical trials coordination and management, data base management, responsible conduct of research, and ethics. 5. Provide opportunities for formal and experiential leadership training (conflict resolution, team management, and cultural competency), permitting trainees to function as leaders and effective members of research teams that integrate multidisciplinary activities ranging from molecules to populations. 6. Facilitate transition of T90 trainees to individual research training awards or other mechanisms of research training support and assist them in career development.