PROMOTING TRANSLATIONAL DENTAL RESEARCH ACADEMIC CAREERS

描述：(申请人提供)本建议旨在a)向牙科本科生灌输对科学的欣赏和科研成果，以及b)让学生对研究有所欣赏，以便他们更有可能攻读更高的学位、研究培训和学术生涯。目前，康涅狄格大学牙科医学院(SDM)的本科生通过培训获得基础科学研究经验，并通过康涅狄格大学牙科临床研究中心(DCRC)获得普通临床研究中心奖的临床研究经验。尽管在基础和临床研究方面有这些机会，但这些奖项只提供了部分转化性研究的培训经验，并没有具体提供创业、管理和技术转让方面的教育。 为了解决这一不足，我们制定了一项课程，提供这些领域的课程和研究经验。这门课程是在1)由NIDCR(R25 DE014686)资助的关于创业精神的研讨会和2)旨在将生物技术与临床牙科相结合的新课程的基础上合并和扩展而产生的。这两项努力的结果都支持这样的结论，即有必要制定和实施课程，以加快将基础和临床研究成果转移、转化和整合到牙科课程中，以便在基础科学中提供“临床相关教育”，在临床护理中提供“以科学为基础的教育”。 因此，我们的建议旨在包括发展不同于目前T-32和DCRC奖项所提供的教育经验。目前的SDM奖项为学生提供了传统的生物实验室体验。为了补充这些活动，我们的课程包括创业科学的讲座、实践和案例研究，以及生物技术与临床牙科的整合，以及行为科学与转化研究的整合。此外，我们的计划还包括与“真实世界”的牙科公司、联邦机构或专业协会进行外部实习，并向同行、康涅狄格大学的教职员工和行业代表正式展示外部实习经验。我们建议的牙科学生课程将分布在本科牙科学校的4年时间里。学生将自行选择，以前用于我们研讨会计划的女性和少数族裔学生招募计划也将用于招聘本计划。学生将在第一学年被录取，并有机会在剩余的三年中参加额外的课程。我们建议在每个新班级进入牙科学校时招收感兴趣的学生。为了评估该课程在促进对学术事业的兴趣方面的效果，开展了毕业前和毕业后的调查。此外，我们打算随着学生在四年制课程中的进步而跟踪态度的变化，并监测学生从牙科学校毕业后的职业选择和进步。

DESCRIPTION: (provided by the applicant) The present proposal is designed to a) infuse in undergraduate dental students an appreciation of science and the results of scientific research, and b) provide students with an appreciation for research so they may be more likely to pursue advanced degrees, research training and academic careers. Currently, undergraduate students at the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine (SDM) are provided basic science research experiences through training), and clinical research experiences through the UConn Dental Clinical Research Center (DCRC) component of a General Clinical Research center award. Despite these opportunities in basic and clinical research, training experiences in translational research are only partially offered through these awards, and education in entrepreneurship, management and technology transfer are not specifically provided. To address this deficiency, we have developed a curriculum to provide courses and research experiences in these areas. This curriculum emerged from combining and expanding upon 1) a Workshop funded by the NIDCR (R25 DE014686) on entrepreneurship and 2) a new course designed to integrate biotechnology with clinical dentistry. The results of both efforts support the conclusion that there is a need to develop and implement courses to accelerate the transfer, translation and integration of basic and clinical research findings into the dental curriculum such that "clinically relevant education" is provided in the basic sciences and "scientifically based education" is offered in clinical care. Accordingly, our proposal aims to include developing educational experiences distinct from those offered in the current T-32 and DCRC awards. Current SDM awards provide students with traditional biologic laboratory experiences. To complement these activities, our curriculum includes a course with lectures, practicum and case studies in the entrepreneurial sciences, in the integration of biotechnology with clinical dentistry, and in integrating the behavioral sciences with translational research. In addition, our program includes an externship with "real-world" dental companies, federal agencies, or professional associations and a formal presentation of the externship experience to an audience of peers, University of Connecticut faculty and industry representatives. Our proposed dental student curriculum will be distributed over the 4 years of undergraduate dental school. Students will self-select and the program for recruitment of women and minority students previously used for our Workshop program will be used to recruit for the present program as well. Students will be recruited during their first academic year and offered an opportunity to participate in additional courses presented throughout their remaining 3 years. We propose to enroll interested students as each new class enters the dental school. To evaluate the efficacy of the curriculum in promoting an interest in academic careers, pre- and post-graduation surveys were developed. Additionally, we intend to track attitudinal changes as the student's progress through the 4-year program, and monitor the student's career choices and progress after graduation from dental school.