| About the Program
| In response to a growing interest in research among students of dentistry and today's strong demand for biomedical researchers in the oral health arena, the University of Maryland Dental School is offering a combined DDS-PhD program. The program is designed to prepare outstanding clinical and basic biomedical scientists, thoroughly versed in the science underlying clinical practice and capable of identifying and addressing significant problems in oral health. Although designed as a seven-year program, an exceptional student can complete the program in six years. A maximum of two students are admitted into the program each year. A student may enter the program in year 1, 2, or prior to entering the third year of dental school. The combined degree program builds on the School's tradition of attracting and cultivating high-caliber, research-oriented students. Since the start of the program in 1997, more than 90 University of Maryland dental students have undertaken research training at the School or at other Baltimore-area institutions. Many have presented their work at national or international meetings and several have published their studies in peer-reviewed journals. University of Maryland Dental School students have been especially successful in garnering prestigious NIH Summer Research grants. Their research experience at the University of Maryland Dental School has prepared them for new opportunities in the field of biomedical science at universities, hospitals, and laboratories around the country.
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Curriculum Overview
Here is a typical program timeline: | Years 1 and 2 Similar to year 1 and 2 of the dental predoctoral curriculum, with addition of: · Graduate-level courses in biochemistry, physiology, and pharmacology · Weekly research seminars in the Department of Biomedical Sciences · Biostatistics and start of laboratory rotations (summer between years 1 and 2 ). Years 3, 4, and 5 Research laboratory work · Completion of elective coursework tailored to students' chosen research area · Progression through doctoral degree candidacy · Completion of doctoral dissertation · Reassessment of clinical skills (spring semester, year 5 ), followed by preclinical courses as appropriate to address additional training needs. Years 6 and 7 Completion of clinical requirements of DDS degree (equivalent to years 3 and 4 of Dental School) and additional research-related activities. Upon completion of the clinical program, students receive DDS and PhD degrees simultaneously.
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Financial Assistance | Students enrolled in the program will receive financial support for at least five years of the seven-year program. Students are also encouraged to apply for individual DDS-PhD fellowships from the National Institutes of Health. In addition, short-term dental student training fellowships are available for research conducted the summer before entering dental school. |
Mentoring
| Upon admission, a student is assigned to a program oversight committee codirected by a clinical mentor and a basic science mentor. The student meets regularly with the committee for guidance and evaluation throughout the program. |
Students in the Combined DDS-Ph.D.Program | 
Bryan Chai’s career goal to combine research with a clinical practice in developmental chronic pain led him from UCLA to Baltimore in 2006. Bryan completed his first year of dental school in the combined DDS/PhD program and will participate in summer research training with leading pain researchers Drs. Ron Dubner and Ke Ren. Bryan believes that research is the catalyst for life-long learning and a successful clinical career. 
Katelyn Niu participated in summer research training in 2006, continuing her work with Dr. Tom Abrams in the Program in Neuroscience, School of Medicine, developing a new approach for controlling lead and calcium in assays on calcium/calmodulin-dependent enzymes--work that was begun in her freshman year of college. Ms. Niu’s research interest and mentor has changed since her acceptance into dental school in the combined DDS/PhD program. She will spend the summer of 2007 immersed in the lab with mentor, Dr. Norm Capra, exploring the effects of muscle pain on the oral motor system. 
Brian Robertson participated in summer research training in 2004 and was accepted into the DDS/PhD program at the beginning of his freshman year. Mr. Robertson worked in the laboratory of Dr. Ananda Gupta in 2004, and in 2005, he transitioned to Dr. Meena Chellaiah’s laboratory to pursue similar research interests--bone metastasis. He will start graduate school in the fall of 2006, and for the next three years will complete the PhD component of his combined degree. Mr. Robertson has had ample opportunity even as a dental student to present his research at various national meetings. He is listed as an author on two publications including a “cover article” in the Journal of Cell Science. He will apply to the NIH/NIDCR for an individual DDS/PhD fellowship during the summer of 2006. Students Graduating from the Combined DDS-PhD Program 
Natasha Flake, as a rising sophomore in 1999, was the first dental student accepted into the combined DDS-PhD program. Ms. Flake completed her sophomore year in dental school and began her graduate studies in the fall of 2000 in the Neuroscience Track of our Graduate Program under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Gold. Ms. Flake successfully competed for her own training support and was awarded a training fellowship from the NIH. She completed the graduate school component of her combined degree program, studying the role of estrogen in sensitization of temporomandibular joint primary afferents, and in May 2005, she graduated with a DDS/PhD, simultaneously receiving both degrees. Currently, Dr. Flake is completing a combined postdoctoral research and Endodontic specialty program at the University of Washington, Seattle. 
Hessam Siavash made his decision to apply for the DDS/PhD program after short-term research training during the summer of 2000. He completed his sophomore year in Dental School and began his graduate studies in the fall 2001 semester, under the mentorship of Dr. John Sauk of the Department of Diagnostic Sciences and Pathology. Mr. Siavash is involved in oral cancer research at the cellular and molecular level, specifically cytokine signaling and the prion protein role in oral cancer. He successfully defended his PhD dissertation in 2004, and three papers have been published from his dissertation research. Mr. Siavash was awarded an individual fellowship from the NIH that provided his support for graduate and dental school. In May 2006, Dr. Siavash received simultaneous DDS/PhD degrees. Dr. Siavash is completing combined postdoctoral research and Oral Surgery specialty program at the Dental School, University of Maryland, Baltimore.
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To Apply | Applicants interested in the combined DDS/PhD Program must be first admitted to the DDS Program at the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, Dental School, University of Maryland, Baltimore. If you have applied to the DDS program and you are interested in the combined program, complete the online FORM . Outstanding applicants will be invited to complete a second application for admission to the combined program. However, applications for the combined program may be submitted at anytime during the first two years of dental school. For further information about the combined degree DDS/PhD Program, please contact Dr. Norman Capra, Program Director. University of Maryland Dental School
Department of Biomedical Sciences
650 W. Baltimore St., Suite 7 South
Baltimore, MD 21201 Dr. Norman Capra
(410) 706-4219
ncapra@umaryland.edu For more information:
Department of Neural and Pain Sciences
www.graduate.umaryland.edu
www.dental.umaryland.edu
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