Methods: Utilized NIDCR R25 Oral Health Research Curriculum Grant funding to develop, implement, and assess a dedicated curricular track designed to support student research/scholarly activity throughout all four years of dental education. The track represented a dedicated portion of didactic time exposing all dental students to topics not traditionally included in dental curricula. Additionally, students could be excused from other parts of the curriculum to participate in “hands-on” mentored research/scholarly experiences at local and national sites including linkages to unique certificate, MS, and PhD programs. Formal faculty development programs provided training and skill sets required to deliver integrated content and a research oriented evidence-based approach to dental education. Changes in student, faculty, and institutional profiles were measured using traditional benchmarks (numbers of publications, grants, budgets, presentations, awards, etc.), surveys, and focus groups in aggregate and subdivided for students, faculty, and the institution. Comparisons were based on baseline prior to R25 program initiation compared to years three and four of program implementation.
Results: A significant increase in: 1) students participating in research/scholarship, attending national meetings, acquiring national research awards, publishing peer-reviewed manuscripts, pursuing advanced training/degrees, and expressing interest in academic/research careers; 2) faculty participating in development activities, publishing peer-reviewed manuscripts, and mentoring students; and 3) institutional credibility within the larger university, supportive infrastructure for research/scholarship, and cultural expectations for academic excellence.
Conclusions: The R25 research/scholarship initiative was successful in changing the culture of an entire institution creating a more supportive environment, increasing academic productivity, and altering the attitudes of its graduates.
Acknowledgement: This project was supported by NIDCR R25 grant DE015282.