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

描述(申请人提供)：人们经常说，我国面临的口腔健康问题不仅限于原发病或发育性病理，而且是复杂的、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，要全面满足这些口腔健康需求，需要不仅能够推进科学和发现过程，而且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团队需要一群训练有素的科学家，他们不仅对复杂的口腔、牙科和颅面疾病的多因素成分有深刻的了解，而且还可以成为跨学科团队的有效领导者或成员。显然，单独或基于塔式科学项目的时代已经过去，高效率的研究涉及临床医生和科学家团队。这项拟议的培训计划的目的是培养一批成功的、独立的、基础的、临床和翻译性的口腔健康研究学者，他们可以作为互动科学家来满足国家在牙科、口腔和颅面研究方面的医疗需求。按照设计，我们的计划涵盖基础、转化和临床研究的全方位，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。我们的目标是培养一支高度互动的科学家新干部，他们可以在学术牙科和研究机构担任研究带头人。下一代培训计划包括三个授予口腔生物学博士学位的课程和培训；卫生政策和管理，或口腔流行病学；一个临床研究牙科医生的硕士学位授予课程和培训；以及为寻求口腔生物学、卫生政策/管理或口腔流行病学高级研究机会的个人提供的博士后奖学金。北卡罗来纳州大学下一代培训计划的目标是：1.通过招募高质量的受训人员到我们提议的计划的五个组成部分中，培养能够在多学科背景下进行研究的口腔健康科学家干部，以获得博士和硕士学位或博士后研究奖学金。2.扩大我们目前针对任职人数不足的少数群体和妇女的招聘努力，并纳入旨在将这些研究人员留在学术界的职业发展部分。3.为受训者提供必要的教学和经验培训，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.提供正规职业发展技能培训的机会，这些技能包括实验设计、生物统计和数据分析、手稿和赠款撰写、临床试验协调和管理、数据库管理、负责任的研究行为和道德操守。5.提供正式和经验式领导能力培训(解决冲突、团队管理和文化能力)的机会，使受训人员能够担任研究小组的领导人和有效成员，这些研究小组结合了从分子到人口的多学科活动。6.促进T90受训人员向个人研究培训奖或其他研究培训支助机制过渡，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.