Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Foundation Research and Fellowship Awards: A 26-Year Review at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard School of Dental Medicine.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to review outcomes of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS) Foundation's funding awards to members of the OMS department at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in terms of projects completed, abstracts presented, peer-reviewed publications, and career trajectories of recipients.


METHODS
Data were collected from MGH and OMS Foundation records and interviews with award recipients. Primary outcome variables included 1) number of awards and award types, 2) funding amount, 3) project completion, 4) number of presented abstracts, 5) conversion from abstracts to publications, 6) number of peer-reviewed publications, 7) career trajectories of awardees, and 8) additional extramural funding.


RESULTS
Eleven Student Research Training Awards provided $135,000 for 39 projects conducted by 37 students. Of these, 34 (87.2%) were completed. There were 30 student abstracts presented, 21 peer-reviewed publications, and a publication conversion rate of 58.8%. Faculty research awards comprised $1,510,970 for 22 research projects by 12 faculty members and two research fellows. Of the 22 funded projects, 21 (95.5%) were completed. There were 110 faculty and research fellow abstracts presented and 113 peer-reviewed publications, for a publication conversion rate of 93.8%. In the student group, 17 of 37 (45.9%) are enrolled in or are applying for OMS residencies. Of the 10 students who have completed OMS training, 3 (30%) are in full-time academic positions. Of the 12 faculty recipients, 9 (75%) remain in OMS academic practice. During this time period, the department received $9.9 million of extramural foundation or National Institutes of Health funding directly or indirectly related to the OMS Foundation grants.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study indicate that 90.2% of projects funded by the OMS Foundation have been completed. Most projects resulted in abstracts and publications in peer-reviewed journals. These grants encouraged students to pursue OMS careers and aided OMS faculty in developing their research programs.
Resident PGY1, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; Former Research Fellow, Harvard School of Dental Medicine Research, Bostan, MA.
Gino
G
Inverso
Associate Professor and Predoctoral Program Director, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA.
Sung-Kiang
SK
Chuang
Walter C. Guralnick Professor and Chairman, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA. Electronic address: Kaban.Leonard@mgh.harvard.edu.
Leonard B
LB
Kaban
D000043:Abstracting and Indexing; D001900:Boston; D002322:Career Mobility; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018865:Dental Research / Q000191:economics; D003796:Dental Service, Hospital / Q000191:economics*; D005179:Faculty, Dental; D005257:Fellowships and Scholarships; D005380:Financing, Government / Q000191:economics; D005582:Foundations; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D017712:Peer Review, Research; D011643:Publishing; D012109:Research Support as Topic; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012575:Schools, Dental / Q000191:economics*; D013335:Students, Dental; D013515:Surgery, Oral / Q000191:economics / Q000193:education