Established in 2004, the Institute of Oral Health Research (IOHR) fosters expertise and excellence in oral health research. Focused on creating profound understanding of the biology and pathology of craniofacial tissues, its primary focus is on advancing oral health through active participation in basic science, translational, and clinical research.
IOHR boasts robust research programs in areas such as skeletal development, epigenetics, oral cancer, microbiology and immunology, periodontal regeneration therapeutics, and clinical periodontics. The institute's overarching goal is to support researchers throughout their career trajectories. Members have access to top-notch university-wide facilities and resources that transcend departmental boundaries. Services include comprehensive support to faculty, students, and postdoctoral fellows, facilitating collaborative efforts with various schools and colleges within UAB.
Strategic Goals & Objectives
Research Advisory Committee
The Research Advisory Committee (RAC) is a standing committee comprised of both elected and appointed SOD faculty and administrative members. The committee oversees and facilitates the research objectives and scholarly activities of the faculty and the students. This committee also organizes the school’s annual Scholars Symposium, serves as a study section for the review of faculty and student research proposals, and periodically evaluates the school’s research objectives and programmatic themes, as well as the allocation and effective usage of the laboratory space.
Enrichment Opportunities for Faculty & Students
Research Skill Enhancement Seminar Series
About
The Research Skill Enhancement seminar series offers an interactive mentor-student experience for master's trainees, graduate students, post-doctoral associates, and residents to enhance their scientific research and presentation skills. Students and residents from various departments and disciplines generate a cohesive and effective research presentation on current developments in their research fields.
Benefits to Participants
Our team thoroughly evaluates and compares current research methods, techniques, and approaches to gain a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying research programs. We provide constructive feedback to students regarding their research and offer actionable recommendations for improvement. Additionally, we actively support the development of strong presentation skills and effective organization to ensure optimal success.
For more information, contact Dr. Quamarul Hassan:
Academic Career Club
The Academic Career Club was initiated in 2002 to support and provide guidance for students and faculty seeking a productive career in dental academics. Through this program, sponsored speakers provide information on the lives and work of notable dental academicians and guidance on how to achieve a successful career and personal life. The group meets to discuss special presentations related to scholarly activities and research in clinical and basic science, related didactic activities, and provides general counseling on the development of future plans and goals. It is intended to provide guidance to faculty, while affording a flavor of the academic life to student members interested in academic careers in dentistry. These programs are offered regularly and feature speakers on various aspects of academics, including practical information on such matters as constructing a curriculum vitae, career paths, ongoing the SOD clinical studies and grant opportunities.
Grant Application Guidance & Support
IOHR plays a crucial role in guiding and assisting faculty, students, and postdoctoral fellows in preparing federal NIH/NIDCR grant applications and industry foundation contracts. This includes aiding in budget drafting, supplying checklists, facilitating letters of support, guiding letters of recommendation, and overseeing letters from collaboration, as well as conducting internal and external grant reviews prior to submission. The institute also conducts informative programs to educate faculty and staff on various aspects of grant opportunities, effective grant writing, application submission, and adherence to new federal research guidelines.
Facilities & Equipment
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Overview
The IOHR occupies the 7th and 8th floors of the SOD. This facility has undergone a $8.8 million renovation, providing more than 26,000 square feet of modern wet laboratory space with offices and shared equipment. The IOHR offers flexible space for use by all SOD faculty doing basic science research which requires tissue culture, molecular biology, biochemistry, immunology, and microbiology resources. The space includes the administrative offices for the director, ten faculty members, six postdoctoral fellows and two administrative staff, with a conference room/library on each floor. It also contains six wet laboratories of approximately 800 sq. ft. each with a common laboratory providing easy access for all investigators. The floor has emergency power, central de-ionized water source, and common-use equipment (e.g., autoclaves, glassware washer, incubators, centrifuges, scintillation counter, freezer, lyophilizer, ice machine). In addition to lab desks, there are 12 desk locations for postdoctoral and graduate students, each with voice/data and wireless internet connections.
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Major Equipment
Instrumentation in Dr. Javed laboratory and the Institute of Oral Health research includes: large capacity temperature baths, five ultra low temperature and liquid nitrogen freezers, Fisher Isotemp deli case, two laminar flow hoods and a chemical fume hood, two Beckman Coulter L-90K ultracentrifuges, IEC refrigerated centrifuges, three Beckman J2-21 high speed centrifuges, microfuges, Beckman Coulter LS 6500 multipurpose liquid scintillation counter, Perkin-Elmer gamma counter, pH meter, balances, fluorescent spectrophotometer, Beckman DU530 UV/Vis scanning spectrophotometer, Nikon Eclipse 80i upright fluorescence microscope with high resolution CCD camera, Leica MZ7.5 dissecting microscope with Spot CCD camera system for digital imaging, Nikon Eclipse 80i inverted fluorescence microscope with high resolution CCD and color camera, X-ray processor and copiers, protein and nucleic electrophoretic fractioning and apparatus, wet and semi-dry protein transfer apparatus, vacuum ovens, bacterial incubators, 3 Eppendorf PCR apparatus, 1 MJ PTC 100 Thermal Cycler, Alpha Innotech FluorChem gel documentation and analysis system, and Polaroid camera for photographing nucleic acid gels. AB Applied Biosystem 7500 Real time PCR, LabConco CentriVap concentrator, Fisher Sonic Dismembrator, Fisher PowerGen 125 Tissue Homogenizer, New Brunswick C1 Platform Shaker. The latest addition is the ODYSSEY® Infrared Imaging System for highly accurate quantification and direct infrared detection of proteins with extreme sensitivity. Common-use equipment includes autoclaves, glassware washer, incubators, -20°C and -80°C freezers, scintillation counter, lyophilizer, fume hoods, water baths, sonicator, ice machine. The following equipment is available: Nikon Eclipse TE2000-E inverted microscope and Nikon Eclipse 90i microscope each with full color and fluorescent cameras, Nikon dissecting microscope with full color camera, Nikon Diaphot microscope, Lonza 4D-Nucleofector system for transfection by electroporation, Licor Odyssey Infrared imaging system for western blot analysis, GE Nanovue spectrophotometer, Jasco V-630 spectrophotometer, liquid nitrogen cyro systems, 4 PCR thermal cyclers (Bio- Rad and Eppendorf), Applied Biosystems 7500 qRT-PCR system, BioTek KCJunior absorbance and fluorescence plate reader, Invitrogen PowerEase and XCell SureLock Western blot system, DNA gel electrophoresis equipment, Alpha Innotech Fluorchem gel documentation system, thermomixers, microtome, paraffin embedding station, cryostat, and bacterial shaker. Each appropriate instrument has its own Dell computer, and there are four additional computers available.
Most Common-use equipment is located withing the School of Dentistry Building. In addition, researchers at UAB have access to a large number of shared equipment and core facilities on campus. More information regarding UAB’s Institutional Research Core Program can be found here: https://www.uab.edu/cores/ircp/
Funding Opportunities
Careers
Within the School of Dentistry, our diverse team includes renowned clinicians and investigators from around the world representing the various specialties in dentistry, as well as a dedicated and professional staff. We invite you to learn more about employment at UAB and search available positions within the School of Dentistry.