Eastman hosts first research training session for NIHR Academic Trainees

The BRC’s Oral Health and Disease (OH&D) theme has hosted the first academic and research training session for trainees on the NIHR Integrated Academic Training programme in Oral Medicine and other dental specialties, which is based at UCL/UCLH Eastman Dental Institute and Hospital.

The session – also attended by Eastman PhD students and post docs and which attracted 40 attendees in total – was organised by Sarah Watters (OH&D theme manager) and Stefano Fedele (OH&D theme lead) with help from the Academic Careers Office (ACO) and gave attendees the chance to present their research projects and receive advice from senior academics on their careers in clinical research.

Speakers from the Academic Careers Office, the Academy of Medical Sciences and the NIHR Academy also informed attendees about courses, grants and mentoring specifically for clinical academics, and there were networking opportunities throughout the day.

The event was well received with 100% of attendees saying they would rate the event as ‘good’ to ‘excellent’. 94% of attendees found the opportunity to network with peers particularly helpful with some attendees stating that this had been their first opportunity to interact with other dental academic trainees. Overall trainees said they found it encouraging to hear about the experiences of senior staff and how they had navigated their careers whilst also juggling life.

Professor Fedele said: "The OH&D theme has the ambitious target of supporting the training and increase the number of clinical academics working in experimental and translational medicine in the field of oral and dental disease.

“Capacity building is crucial for our UCL/UCLH partnership in order to became the "to-go" place for the delivery of translational clinical trials for the benefit of patients with diseases of the mouth including oral cancer and pre-cancer,  chronic facial pain, autoimmune disorders and chronic infections."

The O&D Theme is one of the new themes of the NIHR UCLH BRC which focuses on innovative diagnostics and therapeutics so to reduce the burden of oral diseases.

Read about the theme’s research projects.