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RESEARCH: New OHS MS Program Director
by M Dentistry
RESEARCH: New OHS MS Degree Program Set to Start
The School of Dentistry’s new Oral Health Science master’s degree program is set to welcome its first students in July 2021. The program proposal was initiated by the school in January and subsequently approved by the Executive Board of the Rackham Graduate School and by the Michigan Association of State Universities.
Dr. Elisabeta Karl
Dr. Vesa Kaartinen, Associate Dean for Research, announced in September that Dr. Elisabeta Karl, clinical assistant professor in the department of Cariology, Restorative Sciences and Endodontics, will serve as director of the program. “Her extensive teaching and mentoring experience as well as her PhD in Oral Health Sciences, from our school, will be a great benefit to the program,” Kaartinen said. “Dr. Karl will be working to build the program through student recruitment, working with faculty to identify mentoring opportunities and funding, and guiding students as they develop their careers in OHS research.”
The OHS Master of Science degree, which is unique among dental schools around the country, is intended to prepare students to acquire skills and knowledge necessary for a competitive application to dental school, an application to a PhD training program or for employment in a research laboratory in the field of oral health sciences and craniofacial research. The program is also designed to enhance diversity among students considering dentistry or research in oral health sciences/craniofacial biology as their future careers. The impetus for the new program relates to the competitive nature of the dental school application process as well as the shortage of a research workforce that engages in dental, oral and craniofacial health sciences. It is a one-year program with 30 credits. Students would begin in July each year and continue through the winter term with a capstone project due at the end of the training. The initial goal of this fall’s student recruitment is to have a pilot class of about four students who will start in July 2021.
