Dentists and Physicians

Residency in Dental Public Health
This program provides a formal training opportunity for dentists planning careers in dental public health, with an emphasis on oral and craniofacial, health-related epidemiologic research. The 12-month full-time or 12-month equivalent part-time residency program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Dental Association and located on the campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. A limited number of stipends are available to support trainees during their enrollment in the Residency Program. Applicants must have a DDS or DMD degree or its equivalent and a graduate degree in public health. For more information contact Dr. Amit Chattopadhyay, Co-Director, at 301-496-7765, or Dr. Isabel Garcia, Program Director.

NIDCR Clinical Research Fellowship
This is a two-year or greater full-time program designed to train dentists in the latest clinical research methodologies. Qualified applicants hold a DDS/DMD or equivalent dental clinical degree and a demonstrated interest in dental/oral/craniofacial research as evidenced by prior research experience and/or masters or doctoral level education beyond clinical training. Projects are designed to facilitate translational research in which clinical research projects are conducted that complement basic science laboratory projects. Fellows work with investigators in the Clinical Research Core. Fellows are provided with a stipend and may be eligible for NIH Loan Repayment Programs. For more information contact Dr. James E. Melvin, Clinical Director, 301-402-1706, james.melvin@nih.gov

Postdoctoral Fellowships
Various positions are available at the NIDCR/NIH in Bethesda, Maryland to train professionals with a PhD and/or a DDS, DMD, MD, or DVM. Applicants must be within five years of their graduation date and have less than five years previous postdoctoral experience to apply. Stipend amounts depend on the level of experience and the type of positions available. Prospective applicants can view current NIH postdoctoral openings and contact individual NIDCR laboratories of interest to identify future research positions. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens may apply.

Postdoctoral Visiting Fellowships (VF)
Postdoctoral positions are available at the NIDCR/NIH in Bethesda, Maryland to train professionals from all non-U.S. countries with a PhD and/or a DDS, DMD, MD, or DVM. Applicants must be within five years of receiving their graduate degree and have less than five years of relevant previous postdoctoral experience to apply. The stipends for postdoctoral Visiting Fellows are adjusted yearly, and benefits include health insurance for the trainee and his/her family. Prospective applicants can view current NIH postdoctoral openings and contact individual NIDCR laboratories of interest to identify future research positions. Citizens of all non-U.S. countries may apply.

 Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (K08)
The purpose of the NIDCR K08 mechanism is to encourage dentists or other clinicians to pursue a career in oral health research. The prospective candidate must have a DDS/DMD, MD, or other clinical doctoral degree, and be willing to spend a minimum of 75 percent of full-time professional effort conducting research. Priority will be given to dentists who wish to pursue a program that includes didactic and supervised basic or behavioral science research experiences that result in the PhD degree. Health professionals who already have a PhD may use the award for postdoctoral experience. The NIDCR does not allow support for clinical specialty training to be provided under this program.

Supports three to five years of supervised research experience that integrates didactic studies with mentored basic, behavioral or laboratory research. An annual salary plus commensurate fringe benefits are provided. Additional funds are available for training related expenses. Applicants must have a sponsoring institution and mentor. Applicants must also be U.S. citizens, non-citizen nationals, or permanent residents at the time of award.

NIDCR Dentist Scientist Career Transition Award for Intramural Investigators (K22)
The NIDCR Dentist Scientist Career Transition Award for Intramural Investigators (K22) program provides highly-qualified dentists in NIH Intramural postdoctoral fellowship positions with an opportunity to receive further mentored research experience in the NIH Intramural program, and then provides them with independent funding to facilitate the transition of their research programs as new investigators at extramural institutions.  The first phase of the K22 award provides support for continuing the mentored intramural postdoctoral training for up to two years.  Following the mentored phase, the individual may request up to 3 years of support to conduct research as an independent scientist at an extramural sponsoring institution/organization to which the individual has been recruited, been offered and has accepted a tenure-track (or equivalent) full-time assistant professor position (or equivalent).  This support is to allow the individual to continue to work toward establishing his/her own independent research program and prepare an application for an NIH research project grant (R01 or equivalent).   

Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
Supports three to five years of supervised study for clinically trained professionals with a doctoral degree to pursue training in patient-oriented research. Such degrees include but are not limited to the MD, DO, DDS, DMD, OD, DC, PharmD, ND (Doctor of Naturopathy), as well as a doctoral degree in nursing research or practice. Candidates with PhD degrees are eligible for this award if the degree is in a clinical field and they usually perform clinical duties. Patient-oriented research is defined as research conducted with human subjects (or on material of human origin such as tissues, specimens, and cognitive phenomena) for which an investigator directly interacts with human subjects. This area of research includes: 1) mechanisms of human disease; 2) therapeutic interventions; 3) clinical trials, and; 4) the development of new technologies.

Candidates must have a sponsoring institution and mentor. Salary, fringe benefits, and training-related expenses are provided. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, non-citizen nationals, or permanent residents at the time of award.

NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00)
This two-phase award provides the opportunity for promising postdoctoral scientists to receive both mentored and independent research support from the same award. The initial 1-2 year mentored phase will allow investigators to complete their supervised research work, publish results, and search for an independent research position. The second, independent phase, years 3-5, will allow awardees who secure an assistant professorship, or equivalent position, to establish their own research program and successfully apply for an NIH Investigator-Initiated (R01) grant. Outstanding postdoctoral candidates who have terminal clinical or research doctorates (or equivalent doctoral degrees) and who have no more than 5 years of postdoctoral research training at the time of initial application, or subsequent resubmission(s) are eligible. Former principal investigators of NIH Small Grants (R03) or Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21) are not eligible for this award.

The NIDCR welcomes applications from postdoctoral scientists seeking to establish an independent research career in social, behavioral, biomedical, and biological science fields relevant to the NIDCR Strategic Plan. Applicants must demonstrate a commitment to a career in oral health research, and funding priority will be given to applicants holding a dental degree.

In addition, although previous K awardees are not generally eligible to apply for a second K award, the NIDCR will accept K99/R00 applications from dentist scientists who have used a previous NIDCR-funded K08 or K23 award to earn the PhD degree. Such applicants must have completed the PhD before applying. All other eligibility requirements and conditions of the K99/R00 mechanism apply.

For more details regarding the Pathway to Independence Award, see the NIH New Investigators website.

NIDCR Dentist-Scientist Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00)
NIDCR is also sponsoring a K99/R00 award program limited to dentist-scientists possessing both a DDS/DMD clinical degree and a PhD (or equivalent) research degree.  This program is similar to the standard NIH-wide K99/R00 program, but has several unique features.  For this award mechanism, the mentored K99 phase is required to last two full years--no early activations of the R00 phase will be permitted.  In addition, awardees who are offered independent positions in a U.S. dental school in conjunction with a dental specialty training program will be allowed to request up to 5 years of R00 phase support.  In such cases, the specialty training program must be structured so that no more than the equivalent of 3 calendar person months (i.e. 25% effort) in any year is devoted to clinical activities; at least the equivalent of 9 calendar person months (i.e. 75% effort) each year must comprise protected research time.  NIDCR will not provide funding for the clinical specialty training; the dental school hiring the R00 awardee will be expected to support such training.  Letters specifying this commitment will be required as part of the application to transition to the R00 phase.  Dual degree dentist scientists who do not intend to pursue specialty training or those who complete the mentored postdoctoral phase and then elect not to participate in specialty training are still eligible for this award, but are limited to three years of R00 support.

Dentists who have used a previous NIDCR-funded K08 or K23 award to earn the PhD degree are also eligible for the dentist-scientist K99/R00 award mechanism. Such applicants must have completed the PhD before applying. All other eligibility requirements and conditions of the K99/R00 mechanism apply.

Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research
Provides research training and career development support for individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. Funding is awarded to principal investigators on active NIDCR grants who will serve as mentors for the diversity supplement candidates. The activities proposed in the supplement application must advance the research objectives of the parent grant while providing training opportunities for the candidate. Contact the NIDCR Training Director for advice on how to go about finding a mentor.