The National Institute of Dental and
Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH),
has awarded NYU College of Dentistry (NYU Dentistry) a grant to establish a
summer research education program in the oral health sciences. The program is
designed to provide research opportunities for high school and undergraduate
students from diverse backgrounds and to encourage
them to pursue further studies or careers in oral health research.
Despite calls for increased diversity
of the oral health workforce, less
than 12% of U.S. dentists are from underrepresented minority groups, according to
the American Dental Association. The NIH—which “recognizes that achieving
diversity in the biomedical research workforce is critical to the full
realization of our national research goals”—provides R25 grants to fund
research education programs that aim to enhance the diversity of the biomedical
and clinical research workforce.
“Building a pipeline of more diverse
oral health professionals needs to start well before students apply to dental
or graduate school,” said Lorel Burns, D.D.S., M.S.,
Assistant Professor of Endodontics at NYU Dentistry and Principal Investigator
on the NIDCR grant.
The five-year grant (R25 DE032528) of more than
$566,000 will support a new, nine-week summer research education program called
Research Education in Oral Health Sciences (REOHS). REOHS will provide
mentorship and hands-on research experience to support the scientific and
career development of students from backgrounds that are underrepresented in
the biomedical sciences and oral health professions.
Beginning in the summer of 2023, REOHS
will enroll eight to 10 high school and undergraduate student participants, who
will receive a stipend for the summer. REOHS participants will have the
opportunity to work in NYU Dentistry research labs focused on pain, bone and
tooth development, obesity, and tissue regeneration. NYU Dentistry
researchers—including Rodrigo Lacruz, Ph.D., M.Sc.; Nigel Bunnett, Ph.D., B.Sc.;
Lukasz Witek, Ph,D., M.Sci.; Anna
Di Gregorio, Ph.D.; Farnaz Shamsi, Ph.D.; Nicola Partridge, Ph.D.; Yi Ye,
Ph.D., M.S.; Rajesh
Khanna, Ph.D., M.Sc.; and May Khanna, Ph.D., M.Sc.—will
serve as faculty research mentors.
“Early exposure to research has the
potential to increase students’ interest in health science careers. We look
forward to cultivating a new generation of scientists who are excited about
furthering oral health research,” said Dr. Lacruz, Professor of
Molecular Pathobiology and also a Principal Investigator on the NIDCR grant,
whose lab focuses on the development and mineralization of tooth enamel.
Eligible undergraduates can apply for
the program’s first cohort in the spring of 2023. REOHS will also recruit
participants who are alumni of NYU Dentistry’s Saturday
Academy, a preparatory program for local high school students
that also aims to increase diversity in the health professions by giving
students hands-on experience learning about dentistry and the college
application process. Saturday Academy was established in 2012 by Dr. Burns and
Cheryline Pezzullo, D.D.S.—at the time, both dental students at NYU—and nearly
350 students have graduated from the program over the past decade.
“We are excited to welcome some of our
Saturday Academy graduates back to NYU Dentistry and provide them with a new
opportunity to gain valuable experience on their path to a career in oral
health,” added Dr. Burns.
Courtesy of NYU College of
Dentistry
Published on January
11, 2023