Alexandria, VA – A symposium reporting the outcomes of the AADOCR MIND the Future Program and how other institutions can adopt its features to development and support of a diverse cadre of DOC researchers. was presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of the AADOCR, which was held in conjunction with the 49th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research, on March 12-15, 2025 in New York, NY.
AADOCR has developed a national and sustainable mentoring and mentor training network entitled the AADOCR Mentoring an Inclusive Network for a Diverse Workforce of the Future (AADOCR MIND the Future). The program supports the development of a diverse cadre of dental, oral, and craniofacial (DOC) researchers to advance the objectives of the NIDCR Strategic Plan. The program is funded by a five-year cooperative agreement UE5DE029439 from the NIDCR in response to RFA-DE-19-007: NIDCR Mentoring Network to Support a Diverse Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research Workforce. The grant project period is March 2020 - February 2025.
The program PIs, and alumni mentees and mentors will share their experiences as well as report on quantitative and qualitive outcomes. Data such as alumni grant funding, demographics, and DOC research area diversity as a result of the grant program will be presented. This symposium was relevant for this meeting as it reported outcomes for the first time of the AADOCR MIND the Future Program, now in its fifth year, and addressed MIND the Future program features that other institutions can adopt to promote the support and development of a diverse cadre of DOC researchers.
Organized by Sheri Herren of the International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research, Alexandria, VA, the symposium, “MIND the Future: The Science and Power of Mentoring” took place on Thursday, March 13 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time (UTC-4).
About AADOCR
The American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research to advance health and well-being. AADOCR represents the individual scientists, clinician-scientists, dental professionals, and students based in academic, government, non-profit, and private-sector institutions who share our mission. AADOCR is the largest division of the International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research. Learn more at www.aadocr.org.
