NIDCR DIR Clinical Training

National Institute Of Dental & Craniofacial Research

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

In FY2022, the NIDCR DIR Clinical Research Fellowship program supported the training of 7 dentist-scientists in clinical and translational research studying diseases of the craniofacial systems: Drs. Priyam Jani, Jose Maldonado, Drake Williams, Joe Nguyen, Shaun Abrams, Madhu Shrestha, David Fraser. We continued to have the weekly Clinical Case Conferences as this forum was always webex-available. Most national meetings were virtual or hybrid due to the COVID pandemic. The trainees also attended NIH-wide Clinical Research Seminars that were available by video. The trainees have continued to participate in the NIH-Duke Masters program in Clinical Research, however, many activities were modified due to COVID and this has effected the normal progression to completion of projects. Due to COVID, the annual national meeting of AADR, a major conference for our fellows to attend, present, and network, was hybrid in 2022. The Clinical Research Fellows highlighted the ongoing clinical research at NIDCR and several clinical research training opportunities at the NIDCR and NIH. The co-director, Drs. Jacki Mays, met with interested applicants who are considering the fellowship. Due to COVID, several academic programs have indicated that there were hiring freezes though some programs are starting to hire again. This has impacted our fellows' ability to seek academic positions and career transitions for FY2022. The fellows continue to apply for mentored grants (ie K-awards) to support their transition to independent clinical research and faculty positions. Two fellows were awarded K-grants this year. The fellows continue to transition to academic faculty positions and NIH intramural clinical research opportunities.