Graduate study in the Philips Institute for Oral Health Research in the School of Dentistry provides research opportunities in cancer, infection and immunology and bioengineering. Each student’s program is tailored to meet his or her particular interests, with the primary emphasis on developing research skills and the capacity for independent scholarship and with the recognition that career goals for many M.D.-Ph.D. physician-scientists are distinct from those of most Ph.D. trainees. Program goals The objectives of this dual degree program are: Students in the M.D.-PhD. program in oral health research will acquire the foundational skills to allow them, after further clinical specialty and postdoctoral research training, to become independent physician-scientists. Program graduates ultimately pursue careers in academic medicine, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, research institutes and government agencies as clinicians, scientists, educators and administrators. Students will gain a progressive mastery of concepts in oral diseases and their impact on systemic health with a particular focus on cancer, infection and immunology, and tissue regeneration. They will gain an understanding of the current state of research investigations in the field, an ability to synthesize information and apply foundational concepts to identify key areas for innovative investigation and experimentation, and the knowledge to design, execute and interpret experiments and publish studies that address the questions identified. Students will develop skills in various means of communicating core knowledge in the field and the details of experimental design, results and interpretation to a variety of potential audiences.

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Doctor of (M.D.) Medicine/Doctor of (Ph.D.) [dual degree] Oral Health Research

At Virginia Commonwealth University

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