Research TRANSLATING SCIENCE TO PRACTICE

Robust Research Enterprise

Penn Dental Medicine has a rich history as a researchintensive institution and continues to be an international leader in the generation of new knowledge and treatment modalities to improve oral health. With its own basic science faculty (unusual among dental schools nationwide), the School’s research enterprise is broad and encompasses many areas of contemporary biomedical investigation with emphasis on both basic and clinical scientific research.

Among Penn Dental Medicine’s leading research programs are investigators studying topics within periodontal disease, oral mucosal diseases and bone disorders, oral facial pain, advanced dental materials and devices, and oral and systemic health, among others. Collectively, Penn Dental Medicine’s research spans scientific disciplines to translate new knowledge into clinical therapies that expand our understanding of oral diseases and advance patient care.

Scholarly Activity

24 Patents

awarded to faculty for their research over the past five fiscal years (FY18-FY22)

38 Research Grants

awarded in FY22

Student Research

DMD students are encouraged to engage in research activities through a variety of programs:

• Summer Research Program, which allows students to choose from faculty preceptors in the basic or clinical sciences, collaborating on faculty-sponsored research over the summer break

• Individualized research projects that students initiate with faculty

• Leonard Davis Summer Research Fellowship, doing health services and health policy research

• Honors Programs

• Dual-Degree Programs

Students present their research at the School’s annual Research Day, Advances in Clinical Care and Education (ACCE) Day, and through the School’s AADOCR Travel Award program, awardees (students and junior researchers) present their work at the annual AADOCR meeting.

Penn Dental Medicine offers advanced research training opportunities to postgraduate students through its MSOB and DScD programs.