Research Issue - Harvard School of Dental Medicine

education fo cusEducation FocusEnhancing Advanced Graduate EducationHSDM refines and expands postdoctoral programs following an external review.In 2006, the school began a review and evaluationof its Advanced Graduate Education (AGE) programs, whichwas concluded in November 2009. The goal of the review wasto critically evaluate the individual programs in the context ofthe School’s mission and goals and to identify areas of successand those needing improvement. Following an extensive internalreview, HSDM invited a panel of dental educators fromseveral dental institutions to participate in this process, whichincluded interviews with faculty and students and reviews ofoutcomes data.The panel made a number of recommendations, and the Schoolhas moved to implement many of them. One of the most notableis the creation of a new admissions process for advancedgraduate students. Cochaired by T. Howard Howell, PD ’76,dean for dental education, and Vicki Rosen, a basic scientist andhead of the Department of DevelopmentalBiology, the AGE Admissions Committeerequires input from both clinical and basicsciencefaculty, as well as cross-disciplineinterviewing of candidates. Streamliningthe admissions process for applicants, theSchool now utilizes the PASS (PostdoctoralApplication Support Service) system of theAmerican Dental Education Association.Program directors have also begun enhancedAGE recruitment efforts, underpinned byincreased funding from the School for studentscommitted to careers in full-time academics,research, or public service.Responding to the recommendations, the School introducedseveral curricular changes, including newly developed nanocoursesto focus in depth on specific topics and to highlightcutting-edge areas of science; an expanded Introduction toResearch course, as well as the new Craniofacial Developmentand Genetics course, both led by Dean for Research Bjorn R.Olsen; and the new Mineralized Tissue Biology and Diseasecourse, led by Roland Baron, head of the Department of OralMedicine, Infection, and Immunity. HSDM also inauguratedtwo new educational tracks: a Leadership Track that includesrequired courses in principles of leadership and provides experiencesin management and leadership for selected students,and a program leading to a master of education degree in collaborationwith Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.HEdward K. Brown Jr., an advanced graduatestudent in prosthodontics (DMSc 2013),prepares to treat a patient in the TeachingPractice of the Harvard Dental Center. TheTeaching Practices receive some 18,000patient visits every year.13