Teaching
There are two main tenets that form the structure of the teaching
mission for the Division of Oral Biology. First, the division is
responsible to the College of Dentistry for teaching the biological
sciences curriculum to first and second year dental students. Each
of the faculty members within the division work together to
effectively coordinate multiple courses that provide a basic science
education to our dental students. To this end, we develop
cross-cutting themes to ensure that repetition of material between
lectures and courses builds incrementally, is consistent, and
effectively educates our students. We also work hard to incorporate
‘clinical relevance’ into each of the biological sciences courses to
ensure that students stay engaged in the basic sciences. And finally
but very importantly, each of the members of the Division of Oral
Biology are, in part, responsible for preparing dental students for
outstanding achievement on Part I of the National Dental Board
Examination. The goal of this part of our mission is to prepare
dental students for a lifetime of critical thinking founded on the
biological sciences.
The second tenet of the Oral Biology teaching mission is to
provide the opportunity for graduate student trainees to obtain
comprehensive, multidisciplinary research training in the biomedical
sciences with a slant towards oral health. The overall goal of this
part of our teaching mission is to educate and train basic and
clinical scientists for careers in the oral health sciences. This is
done in the classroom, the laboratory and the clinic. Our ultimate
goal is for our trainees to be highly competitive for postdoctoral,
specialty training and faculty positions in academic health sciences
centers.
