The annual Southeastern Regional Dental Research (SeDR) Symposium, formerly known as Research and Table Clinic Day (RTCD) promotes the presentation of scientific research, innovative clinical care, analysis of evidence-based knowledge, and consideration of pedagogy related to effectiveness of teaching methodologies conducted at the Dental College of Georgia.
Using both electronic and in-person presentation mediums of current research and clinical treatment, basic sciences and case studies, and academically related investigations, the program strives to foster awareness and growth of the breadth and scope of research endeavors at the DCG by dental students, residents, faculty, and starting next year, participating regional dental academic institutions. The program is designed to enlighten observers, uplift researchers and educators, and generate stimulating critical conversations and possible new collaborations among participants.
Supported in part by a National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research U01 grant and in conjunction with the Georgia Section of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (GA-AADOCR), the Southeastern Dental Research Committee promotes scientific research and innovative clinical care with a focus on current practices and projects being conducted at the Dental College of Georgia.
The creation of the SeDR Symposium positions the DCG as the epicenter of collaborative dental research. This event will serve to expand the impact of the DCG at a local, regional, and global level. Participants in this event will be recruited from the DCG and other dental institutions in the Southeastern US region.
Dental College of Georgia awarded prestigious NIH grant
Stacey Hudson
November 30, 2023
The Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University has been awarded a prestigious UO1 grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The grant, which totals close to $800,000 over the next five years, will support the development of a multi-component project entitled “Clinician-Scientist Research Incubator for Practice-based Training (Clin.ScRIPT).”
Significant additional financial support is being provided by the office of the senior vice president for research, led by Michael Diamond, MD; the office of the dean of The Graduate School at AU, under the direction of Jennifer C. Sullivan, PhD; and the office of the dean of DCG, led by Nancy Young, DMD.
Clin.ScRIPT will focus on training DCG faculty, residents and students on clinical research. The project will include the creation of a formal two-year Master of Science in Clinical Dental Research program, as well as a Clinical Research Network, Resource Center and Mentorship Pathway, a Southeastern Regional Dental Research Symposium and a developmental, multi-site clinical research study. The approval of the new MS program is awaiting approval by the USG Board of Regents.
“We are honored to have been awarded this prestigious grant from the NIDCR,” said Todd Schoenbaum, DDS, professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences and the principal investigator on the grant. “This funding will allow us to develop a comprehensive environment that will train the next generation of clinician-scientists and help to move the DCG to the forefront of discovery and innovation in oral health.”
Babak Baban, PhD, DCG’s associate dean for research; Mira Ghaly, DMD, associate professor in the Department of Periodontics; Marshall Newman, DMD, assistant professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery; and Jie Chen, PhD, interim chair of Biostatistics, Data Science and Epidemiology, make up the team from AU.
The Augusta University team is joined by co-investigators Tara Aghaloo, DDS, professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at UCLA, and Carlo Ercoli, DDS, professor of prosthodontics, periodontics and implant surgery and chairman of the Prosthodontic Department at the University of Rochester.
DCG is one of only a select few dental schools nationwide to have been awarded this UO1 grant. Other recipients include Harvard University, The University of California, San Francisco, Stanford University, Temple University, Indiana University and the University of Maryland.
“This grant is a significant milestone for DCG,” Baban said. “It will have a profound impact on our ability to train clinician-scientists and improve oral health care in Georgia, the U.S. and worldwide.”