I think that the University of Louisville School of Dentistry is well suited for DMD research because we have a variety of options open to them. We have DMD students who come and just do casual research. We have DMD students who come and do a summer research program. We have some students who do a Masters of Science of Oral Biology at the same time as their DMD degrees. And for exceptionally driven students, we have a PhD/DMD dual degree.
It's very easy to get involved in research. There's tons of opportunities. I was actually able to do the Summer Research Program, which was great because you even get a grant for being a part of that research. That was really helpful to support my time here at Louisville to support my academics.
The curriculum is designed in such a wonderful way that the students will have the opportunity to do a research while they're in clinics working. Everything has been so wonderfully designed that it gives the student who are additionally interested in research to do it while they're part of a clinic intensive program as well.
I got to travel to a handful of cities and present at six different conferences. So that has just elevated me as a professional with how to speak with other researchers, how to ask the right questions, and that's something that gets brought into the clinical setting as well. You find out what questions that need to be asked and then what answers can you have? What qualitative and quantitative answers can make a difference for this patient? So what's in the bench work can actually be brought to the clinical lab as well.
I think our students get a lot from these programs. Some students are just interested in research. Some students already know they want to be the next generation of dental educators. Some students, and more commonly, use their qualifications in research here to become successful applicants to dental residency programs. And I hope that most importantly of all that all our students involved in research when they finish their degrees here are able to critically evaluate the dental research literature and go on to be excellent lifelong learners, which is critical to being a good dentist.
One of the things that I really like about the research that I've done was that for me, it got to correlate the basic sciences courses with my clinical experience and also my dream of one day being an educator.
Starting off, I wasn't a student that was really interested in research, but when I took that class, Correlated Sciences, my first year and I met Dr. David A. Scott his research really intrigued me because he was talking about the association with cannabis and marijuana with periodontal disease. I thought since that was such an up and coming issue, I'd love to be part of that. Through that research process, my eyes opened up to what goes behind all of our dental research and how valuable this research will be for the future when I'm talking to my patients about the legalization of marijuana and how that impacts oral health. It's just been amazing to have such strong faculty helping me in every aspect, whether it's research, whether it's in clinic, whether it was preclinical or whether it was just in the sciences. I've had very strong individuals in my life that I felt very comfortable going to and asking whatever questions I had.
The amount of attention and the individual focus this faculty give towards the success of a student, I just loved it.
