NIDCR Dental Specialty and PhD Program (K12)

Program Overview

In September 2023, the School of Dental Medicine (SDM) received renewal of a 5-year K12 Dental Specialty and PhD Program (DSPP) award from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) at the NIH. The Buffalo Oral-Research and Specialty Training (BORST) Program provides stipend and tuition support to dentists engaged on a dual track of dental specialty training and PhD training in Oral Biology.

BORST is an integrated research training program based in the SDM at the University at Buffalo (UB). The overarching objective of BORST is to foster the development of dental specialist-scientist scholars focused on oral, dental, and craniofacial research through mentored interdisciplinary research training opportunities in oral health, craniofacial biology, and bioengineering. BORST provides a strong curriculum and thematic research experiences in an integrative framework that emphasizes mentoring, scientific advancement, academic career development, grantsmanship, and productivity. 

Dr. Keith Kirkwood, Senior Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Oral Biology, is the Principal Investigator and Program Director.  Dr. Patricia Diaz, Professor of Empire Innovation and Director of the UB Microbiome Center, is the Program Co-Director.

Dental Specialty Options

The postgraduate programs listed below are included as part of the BORST program. All of these postgraduate programs are accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA).
  • Periodontics
  • Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology
  • Orthodontics

PhD Research Areas

The SDM is a leading oral health research institution and home to the nation's first academic department focused on oral health research, the Department of Oral Biology. 

Mentoring and career development activities are thematically grouped into five strategic areas of research focus:

  1. Immunology and innate defenses
  2. Relationship of oral pathogens to systemic disease
  3. Saliva and salivary glands
  4. Microbial pathogenesis of oral organisms
  5. Bone and connective tissues/tissue engineering

Current K12 Scholars

Omar Glover.

Omar Glover, DMD

Admission Year: 2021

Clinical Specialty: Periodontics

PhD Mentor: Dr. Keith Kirkwood

Research Interest: My current focus of research is centered on investigating the interplay between obesity, periodontal disease, and the oral microbiome. Our research entails the utilization of preclinical models to explore the intricate relationship between diet-induced obesity, the immune system, and the proliferation of specific bone marrow hematopoietic stem cell populations which contribute towards bone resorption and increased periodontal disease burden with obesity.

Dam Soh.

Dam Soh, DDS

Admission Year: 2021

Clinical Specialty: Periodontics

PhD Mentor: Dr. Patricia Diaz

Research Interest: My research focuses on the ecology of oral microbiome communities and how the ecological factors can affect dysbiotic shifts in the oral microbiome. We use clinical microbiome studies and in vitro models to study inter-bacterial metabolic interactions that can modulate the environmental determinants of bacterial colonization.