Document text
Principal Investigator: Peggy Timothe
Organization: TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCE CTR
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $135,000
Funding agency: National Library of Medicine
Project Summary /Abstract
The proposed Biomedical Informatics and Behavioral Sciences (BIBS) Summer Research
Program seeks to encourage underrepresented students to pursue oral health research careers.
In 2000, Oral Health in America: A report of the Surgeon General reframed oral diseases as a
bona fide public health issue. Subsequent events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have
exposed inequities in the United States (U.S.) public health infrastructure whose causes and
persistence are often poorly understood. The U.S. dental public health system is no different.
Our central hypothesis is twofold: too few health professionals are engaged in oral health and
dental services research; and insufficient diversity in their ranks hampers the study of oral
health disparities. To address this supposition, the Texas A&M University (TAMU) College of
Dentistry (COD) will develop a new summer program for undergraduate and post-baccalaureate
students interested in dentistry, dental students with a master’s degree, or dental residents with
a master’s degree, particularly the Master of Public Health degree. This innovative program will
leverage the COD’s existing pipeline programming for underrepresented students. BIBS will be
a first-time collaboration among the TAMU Center for Statistical Bioinformatics, the TAMU
Department of Public Health Sciences, and the Texas Oral Health Coalition. Having faculty from
three complementary health research specialties will add perspective for students. In this
proposal, six talented trainees per summer will participate in a comprehensive 9-week program.
The first six weeks will consist of coursework in biomedical informatics and behavioral sciences,
in which trainees will learn programming, statistics, tools for analyzing large data sets, and
codes specific to dental procedures and dental public health. At the start of the program, each
trainee will be paired with a mentor. Working together, they will develop a tailored mentorship
plan and conduct a research project. At the end of the program, trainees will present their
projects and results in a newly established “BIBS Summer Research Conference.”
Terms: <Address><Advocacy><American><American Dental Association><Applied Research><Applied Science><Behavioral Sciences><Bio-Informatics><Bioinformatics><Black><Black race><COVID crisis><COVID epidemic><COVID pandemic><COVID-19 crisis><COVID-19 epidemic><COVID-19 era><COVID-19 global health crisis><COVID-19 global pandemic><COVID-19 health crisis><COVID-19 pandemic><COVID-19 period><COVID-19 public health crisis><COVID-19 years><Code><Coding System><Collaborations><Community Services><Complementary Health><Complex><Computer Systems><Computer software><Data><Data Science><Dental><Dental Care><Dental Procedure><Dental Students><Dentistry><Dentists><Development><Disease Management><Disorder Management><Disparities><Disparity><Education><Educational aspects><Enrollment><Ethnic Origin><Ethnicity><Evaluation><Event><Faculty><Feedback><Fostering><Future><Health><Health Care Professional><Health Informatics><Health Professional><Health Sciences><Health Services><Health Services 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Grants><Research Personnel><Research Project Grants><Research Projects><Researchers><Risk Factors><SARS-CoV-2 epidemic><SARS-CoV-2 global health crisis><SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic><SARS-CoV-2 pandemic><SARS-coronavirus-2 epidemic><SARS-coronavirus-2 pandemic><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2 epidemic><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2 pandemic><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 epidemic><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic><Software><Specialty><Students><Summer science program><Surgeon><System><Talents><Technology><Texas><Time><Tobacco Consumption><Tobacco use><Tooth Diseases><Tooth Disorder><Training><URM student><USPHS><Underrepresented Groups><Underrepresented Populations><Underrepresented Students><Underserved Population><United States><United States National Institutes of Health><United States Public Health Service><Universities><biomed informatics><biomedical informatics><career><college><collegiate><computing system><conference><consumer informatics><convention><coronavirus disease 2019 crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic><coronavirus disease 2019 global health crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 global pandemic><coronavirus disease 2019 health crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic><coronavirus disease 2019 public health crisis><coronavirus disease crisis><coronavirus disease epidemic><coronavirus disease pandemic><coronavirus disease-19 global pandemic><coronavirus disease-19 pandemic><data analytics dashboard><data dashboard><data sharing><dental disease><dental disorder><dental health><dental service><developmental><disadvantaged background><disparity in health><diversity and inclusion><diversity and inclusivity><enroll><experience><faculty mentor><health care><health data><health disparity><health level><improved><innovate><innovation><innovative><interest><interventional strategy><large data sets><large datasets><marginalized background><medical specialties><mouth disorder><multidisciplinary><opiate consumption><opiate drug use><opiate intake><opiate use><opioid consumption><opioid drug use><opioid intake><opioid use><patient/disease registry><population based><postbac><postbacc><programs><prospective><racial><racial background><racial origin><racism><recruit><response><services research><severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 global health crisis><severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 global pandemic><statistical center><statistics><summer program><summer research><summer session><summit><symposia><symposium><tobacco product use><tool><under representation of groups><under represented groups><under represented people><under represented populations><under served group><under served individual><under served people><under served population><under-served student><undergrad><undergraduate><undergraduate student><underrepresentation of groups><underrepresented minority student><underrepresented people><underserved group><underserved individual><underserved people><underserved students><visual dashboard><visualization dashboard><web based dashboard><web dashboard>