Maria Lucia Aguilar, D.D.S., M.S.D., M.S.-C.I., a prosthodontics professor in the department of restorative dental sciences, received a research supplement award of $258,037 from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.
The 21-month Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research Award supplements the parent NIH grant, “Increasing Oral Cancer Screenings by Dentists,” and will support Aguilar’s mentored research training and career development in qualitative and survey research. Walter Psoter, D.D.S., an associate professor at New York University College of Dentistry (NYUCD) and a courtesy assistant professor at the University of Florida College of Dentistry is the principal investigator for these NIH grants.
Aguilar will devote 60 percent of her time to research and career development activities under this NIH award. She will also participate in the parent-grant focus group research in Puerto Rico, and receive additional training at NYUCD. Another college faculty member, Scott Tomar, D.M.D., Ph.D., is one of the mentors who work with the NYUCD training program.
Glenn Turner, D.M.D., M.S.D., and Fong Wong, B.S.D., D.D.S., C.A.G.S., M.S.D., both assistant prosthodontics professors in restorative dental sciences, will join Aguilar in conducting the research component of the supplemental award. The research is a survey of quality of life and specialist referral patterns of head and neck cancer surgery patients. Eventually the goal is that the NIDCR-supported research project will provide the basis for further externally-funded research by Aguilar and her collaborators.