Alexandria, VA – The American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) is pleased to announce the program participants (mentees) for the fifth cohort of the AADOCR Mentoring an Inclusive Network for a Diverse Workforce of the Future (AADOCR MIND the Future):
- Marvellous Akinlotan
Texas A&M University, Dallas - Insoon Chang
University of California, Los Angeles - Renan Dal Fabbro
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor - Alice Goodwin
University of Pittsburgh, PA - Wei Huang
Rutgers University, Newark, NJ - Hagar Kenawy
University of Pennsylvania
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia - Ejvis Lamani
University of Alabama at Birmingham - Yuan Liu
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA - Dayane Oliveira
University of Florida, Gainesville - Linda Sangalli
Midwestern University-Illinois - Caroline Sawicki
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - Zoe Zhu
Tufts University, Boston, MA
"AADOCR is proud to welcome another exceptional cohort of young investigators into the MIND the Future Program,” said AADOCR President Effie Ioannidou. “We had so many outstanding applicants this year that NIDCR gave us approval for twelve mentees instead of the usual ten!"
In 2020, AADOCR was awarded a five-year grant of more than $1.3 million by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) in response to FOA RFA-DE-19-007: NIDCR Mentoring Network to Support a Diverse Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research Workforce. The grant project dates are March 2020 through February 2025 (Grant No. 5UE5DE029439).
Principal Investigators for the grant are AADOCR’s CEO Dr. Christopher H. Fox, Dr. David Drake, Professor of Microbiology, University of Iowa and the Iowa Institute for Oral Health Research, and Dr. Effie Ioannidou, AADOCR President and Department Chair of Orofacial Sciences, University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry. The NIDCR program partner is Dr. Anissa Brown, Chief, Research Training and Career Development Program.
The primary goal of this NIDCR-funded program is to establish a mentoring network that will support a diverse pool of early career investigators, including individuals from diverse backgrounds (e.g., see Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity), in developing independent research careers dedicated to improving dental, oral and craniofacial health. Please see the AADOCR Website for more details.
The program will offer one year of educational activities and interactive opportunities between mentors and mentees to support the development of a diverse oral and craniofacial biomedical research workforce. Once the mentees complete the program in September 2025, they are able to continue as program alumni and remain engaged in the program.
About AADOCR
The American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research to advance health and well-being. AADOCR represents the individual scientists, clinician-scientists, dental professionals, and students based in academic, government, non-profit, and private-sector institutions who share our mission. AADOCR is the largest division of IADR. Learn more at www.aadocr.org.