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News Clips:
UIC College of Dentistry Fulfills Its Historic Research Destiny
NIDCR U24 Grant to Make College Top Oral Healthcare Research Institution
By William S. Bike
pdf | word
Research has a rich history at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry.
The College is where Dr. Isaac Schour discovered growth rings in teeth; where Dr. John B. Borden, inventor of the high-speed handpiece that is the basis for modern dentistry, was trained; where Drs. Thomas K. Barber and Earl W. Renfroe did the pathbreaking research that helped create the field of preventive orthodontics; where Dr. E. Lloyd Du Brul became the greatest dental anatomist of his time; and where Dr. Allan G. Brodie Sr. set the standard for orthodontics expertise through much of the 20th century.
Building on the stellar achievements of these giants of dental research was one of new Dean Bruce Graham’s top goals for the College when he arrived in 2000. In fact, even before his official start date, he traveled to Chicago to attend that year’s Clinic and Research Day to announce his Vision of top-five status for the College by 2010, with the College’s “centers of research excellence that are interdisciplinary and focused on innovative research areas” one of three main components of that Vision.
By August 2000, Dean Graham began College-wide “town hall” meetings to talk about how to build the College’s research infrastructure. In October 2001, with other dental school deans, associate deans for research, and officials from various universities he attended a summit held at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Through the work done at the College meetings and at the NIDCR summit, the possibility of the College’s obtaining an R24 grant from the NIDCR began to be considered. The R24 “is a planning grant that is a precursor to a U24 grant,” said Dr. Christine Wu, who at the time was a Professor of Periodontics. The U24, for which there would be heavy competition, would provide funding to implement the R24 plan.
As part of his increased commitment to research, Dr. Graham created an Associate Dean for Research post, and appointed Dr. Wu to it in October 2002. Her first job would be to spearhead the effort to seek a R24 planning grant of $100,000—and there was not much time, as the grant application was due in April 2003.
“We had no clue,” Dr. Wu frankly admitted. “Considering where our school ranked, some thought attaining the R24 may not be possible. Some people came flat out and said, ‘we’re never going to get it.’”
Nonetheless, “everybody, and I mean everybody, got involved—faculty, students, and staff,” Dr. Wu said. “It was a very difficult task—lots and lots of work. The most important thing is we had faculty support. We all were able to work toward a common goal.”
With College-wide input, Dr. Wu, who was listed as Principal Investigator (PI) wrote the planning grant as to how the College would assess its resources, personnel, and research infrastructure, and how its research focus would be improved and enhanced through the funding provided by a U24 grant.
The one-year, $100,000 R24 planning grant was received in August 2003.
Under the grant the College could develop an institutional Infrastructure Improvement Plan to strengthen the College’s research programs through the creation of a critical mass of researchers in pre-selected areas and through improvements in the research support infrastructure, including research personnel and equipment.
With two other key personnel involved in the new effort, Drs. James Drummond, Professor, Department of Restorative Dentistry, and Phil Patston, Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, the College “surveyed all the predocs, postgrads, postdocs, all the research personnel and faculty,” Dr. Wu said. “The Dean went through all the space at the College to see what was available and what was occupied, and negotiated with University administration for their support.” Dr. Graham got that support from R. Michael Tanner, Provost, and Dr. Eric A. Gislason, Vice Chancellor for Research.
“We assessed the research interests of all the faculty and funded PIs,” Dr Wu continued. “We did a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunity, and threats) analysis, and came up with the research focus that we could use for the application for the U24 grant.”
That’s where Dr. Philip Marucha, Head of Periodontics and Director of Graduate Studies, came in, serving as PI for the U24.
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College of Dentistry, 801 South Paulina Street, Chicago, IL 60612-7210
Copyright © 2005
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