Mentoring Oral Health Research in Louisiana

描述（由申请人提供）： 口腔健康通常被认为是整体健康的一面镜子。因此，路易斯安那州立大学健康科学中心最近非常重视口腔健康相关的研究，为了回应这一指控，路易斯安那州立大学牙科学院获得了机构和国家的支持，于2000年建立了口腔和颅面生物学卓越中心。卓越中心最强的新兴研究焦点之一是由几位资深研究人员领导的口腔传染病/发病机制。在过去的3年里，不断上升的卓越中心表现出了相当高的生产力，现在正准备通过COBRE扩展和发展初级教师。为此，我们建议通过结构化的指导计划和有价值的基础和临床研究来培养有前途的初级主要研究者。主题是“口腔传染病”，包括4个关于口腔健康异常的项目，包括艾滋病毒患者的口腔机会性感染、牙周病和龋齿。指导将通过卓越中心和LSU医学院的高级研究人员团队进行，他们具有相关的专业知识和资助经验。此外，重要的基础设施将由三个核心贡献，包括行政，生物医学设备和统计。COBRE由NIH资助的研究者领导，他在领导中心赠款方面拥有丰富的经验，并且是卓越中心的现任主任。将通过一个内部（导师）和外部咨询委员会对基准进行重要的中期和成果评价。COBRE的目标是：（一）通过有价值的研究和结构化的指导，将初级教师培养成独立的调查人员，（二）提供与口腔健康相关的临床和基础科学研究培训，（三）通过指导和招聘，在路易斯安那州立大学牙科学院和卓越中心发展口腔健康研究的临界质量，（iv）继续发展/加强现有英才中心的基础设施，以及（v）进行中期和成果评价，以衡量进展情况。长期目标将是在路易斯安那州立大学牙科学院拥有大量经验丰富的独立调查人员，他们的校外资助研究显著提高了路易斯安那州和全国人民的口腔和一般健康。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Oral health is often considered a mirror of general health. As such, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center has recently placed a significant emphasis on oral health-related research, in response to this charge, the LSU School of Dentistry acquired Institutional and State support to establish a Center of Excellence in Oral and Craniofacial Biology in 2000. One of the strongest emerging research foci within the Center of Excellence is oral infectious disease/pathogenesis led by several established senior investigators. The rising Center of Excellence has shown considerable productivity in the past 3 years and is now poised for expansion and development of junior faculty through a COBRE. To this end, we are proposing to develop promising junior principal investigators through a structured mentoring program and meritorious basic and clinical research. The theme is 'Oral Infectious Diseases' and includes 4 projects on oral health anomalies, including oral opportuntistic infections in the HIV patient, periodontal disease, and dental caries. Mentoring will be through teams of senior investigators in the Center of Excellence and LSU School of Medicine with related expertise and funding experience. Moreover, significant infrastructure will be contributed by three Cores, including Administrative, Biomedical Equipment, and Statistics. The COBRE is led by an established NIH-funded Investigator who has extensive experience in leading center grants and is the current Director of the Center of Excellence. There will be significant interim and outcome evaluations of benchmarks through an internal (mentors) and external advisory board. The objectives of the COBRE are to (i) develop junior faculty into independent investigators through meritorious research and structured mentoring, (ii) provide training in clinical and basic science research related to oral health, (iii) develop critical mass in oral health research at the LSU School of Dentistry and Center of Excellence through mentoring and recruitment, (iv) continue to develop/enhance infrastructure of the existing Center of Excellence, and (v) implement both interim and outcome evaluations to measure progress. The long-term goals will be to have a critical mass of experienced independent investigators at the LSU School of Dentistry whose extramurally funded research significantly enhances the oral and general health of persons in the State of Louisiana and nationally.