RESEARCH

Two Dental Student Perspectives

Lindsay Rayburn (left) and Meghan Dubois

Lindsay Rayburn

First-year dental student Lindsay Rayburn sees several benefits from participating in the three-month summer clinical research program.

Foremost is the opportunity to observe the impact clinical research has on patients.

During the two years she worked in Dr. William Giannobile's laboratory, Rayburn said she "enjoyed the opportunity to see what's involved in planning and conducting clinical research studies."

What she learned there and what she is learning in the summer program, she added, will produce another benefit, "a head start in my dental studies," as she described it.

Rayburn, who earned a bachelor's degree in cellular and molecular biology from U-M two years ago, said the summer program may also help her determine if she wants to pursue clinical research as a career after earning her dental degree.

"Ultimately, I'd like to see if I can combine clinical research with my dental studies and, in some way, reach out to help the underserved," she said.

"My mother, Suzanne Johnston Rayburn, received her dental hygiene certificate from U-M in 1972, so I knew from an early age I wanted to be involved in health care in some way. But after volunteering at a local hospital and observing what goes on in a dental practice, dentistry has all the characteristics of a career I'm looking for. Clinical research, I think, will be a bonus, not just for me, but for those I help."

Meghan Dubois

Meghan Dubois, who has been working at the Michigan Center for Oral Health Research for a little more than a year, said Center director, Dr. William Giannobile, urged her to apply for the three-month summer research program. She's glad she did.

"I'm beginning my first year as a dental student at U-M in August and I think the three months I will be participating in the summer program will help me determine if clinical research is something I want to do after I get my dental degree," she said.

Dubois already has had some experience in a dental environment. In high school, she worked for her father, Dr. Matthew Dubois, in his dental office in Southgate, Michigan. "From those experiences, I knew I wanted to help people in some way, and I thought dentistry would be the way to do it," she said.

Since earning a bachelor's degree from U-M with a concentration in biology and economics, Dubois has been working with Giannobile, Janet Kinney, and Dr. Christoph Ramseier to develop the oral saliva test kit.

"It's been interesting to see what takes place in doing this kind of research, and all of the patients have been very cooperative, especially since it's a noninvasive experience for them providing the saliva samples," she said with a laugh.