The Program offers opportunities including summer experiences before entering dental school, short-term training during dental school, and post-doctoral awards. There are also opportunities for junior and mid-career faculty.
Training Emphasis includes research programs in the following areas:
(1) Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering (Program director: Dr. Clark Stanford)
(2) Cariology and Fluoride Research (Program director: Dr. James Wefel)
(3) Craniofacial Biology (Program director: Dr. Jeffrey Murray)
(4) Oral Mucosal Diseases (Program director: Dr. Christopher Squier)
Program Directors:
Dr. Christopher Squier, professor of Oral Pathology, Radiology and Medicine
and associate dean, Research and Graduate Studies, directs the training program.
The associate director is Dr. John C. Keller, professor, Oral and Maxillofacial
Surgery and dean of the Graduate College. Dr. Janet Guthmiller, associate professor,
Periodontics, is responsible for the pre-dental summer research and the predoctoral
dental research programs and Dr. Clark Stanford, professor, Prosthodontics, and director
of the Office for Clinical Research, is responsible for the short-term research training
program for faculty development.
General Requirements: Applicants must be U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents.
Predental Summer Research Training Program: This is designed to provide a short experience in oral health research for students who might consider entering the dental program or going directly into the Oral Science (or similar) Ph.D. program as a means to pursue oral health research and, ultimately, an academic career.
Dental Student Short-Term Training Program: This is designed to expose pre-doctoral students to oral health research and encourage their pursuit of an oral health research or academic career.
Masters and Ph.D. Training Programs: These involve research training leading to the M.S. or Ph.D. degrees in oral science. These degrees are awarded by the Graduate College of The University of Iowa and trainees must meet the requirements for entry to a masters or doctoral program. The M.S. degree is a one-year full-time program; the Ph.D. will extend over three to five years full-time. In addition to the above programs, the T-32 Program also supports training in the Ph.D. program in oral science (or similar program) for graduates with a B.S. or M.S. degree who wish to pursue a career in oral health research. This is a five-year full-time program.
Postdoctoral Research Training Opportunities: This program is designed to allow postdoctoral graduates the opportunity to pursue advanced research training in one of the research program areas indicated above. Training positions will be available for up to two years for postdoctoral scholars who have obtained their Ph.D.
Mid-Career Faculty Research Training Program: This provides two three-month periods of support for tenured faculty researchers who wish to develop new research skills or change their area of research. One goal of the program is to prepare the trainees to submit a K23 or K24 Mid-Career Investigator Award.
Source of Funds: The T32 training grant is funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health. Individuals who are accepted into the program will be eligible to receive a stipend on the NRSA scale, a tuition award, and support for supplies and travel.
Application Procedures: Persons who are interested should contact the director, Dr. Christopher Squier, to discuss their interests and career plans. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents.