High praise for Dental Research Student Workshop

The Network for Canadian Oral Health Research just wrapped up its inaugural Canadian Dental Research Student Workshops at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. Organized by Dr. Walter Siqueira, the two-day conference drew 90 participants from dental schools across the country. Along with poster presentations, it covered included such topics as effective writing for graduate school, leadership in academic institutions, the role of the dental clinician scientist and student research groups. Here are some impressions:

Akanksha Srivastava, McGill University "I work more in the public health research sector although it's not dental public health and I really want to thank the organizers of this workshop. It's one of the best I've attended so far. The thing is, coming from a very pure research background, we don't get to meet clinicians and graduate students with a clinical specialty and this workshop did a wonderful job of getting students from all sorts of fields together. Usually when you go to conferences they're very focused on one aspect only and you don't have that kind of interaction that we need when you're talking about research."

Nicole Johnson, Western dental student "I thought the conference was a great way to network and meet people from other universities across Canada, and in the research field and make long-lasting friendships and contacts."

Shahrzad Daneshvar, Dalhousie University: "It was awesome. It was a great time and we really enjoyed it. We learned a lot. Even though it packed right to the last minute, we tried to listen and learn. Thank you."

Yasser Khaled, PhD candidate, U of Alberta. "I think this was probably the best workshop I've ever attended in my life. It was very interesting. I've got lots of new information and good news from it. I would suggest this workshop continue every year and maybe even semi-annually, because I think most of us, if not all, really benefitted from all the information we got especially with speakers from all over Canada."

Karen Ann Bridge -3^rd year dental student, Western University "In addition to offering students information about the career of clinician-scientist, the workshop was instrumental in fostering leadership skills, interview techniques and networking."

Reena Talwar, University of Alberta DDS, PhD FRCD, oral and maxillofacial surgery: "Western successfully organized and implemented the first Canadian Dental Research Student Workshop, which was appreciated by all who attended. We hope to maintain this high standard next year in Alberta."

Nader Hamdan, McGill University: I think it's an unparalleled opportunity for us as graduate students to explore what's there for us, to give us a broader perspective on what we can do, and the potential skills we can use to get the most out of our training. I'm really impressed by the choice of topics. They covered everything. The only thing I think is missing is someone from industry, speaking about the relationship between researchers and industry -how for example, they hire researchers and what are the opportunities."

Adrian Danescu, University of British Columbia: "It was a very good experience. We learned a lot. I'm looking forward to future events like this."

Angi Gullard, University of Alabama, "I was impressed with the quality of research presented, and it was a very special treat t meet and talk to students in Canada who are passionate about research, education and dentistry."

Walter Siqueira, DDS, PhD, Western University: "The conference was very good. I think we started to work together -the ten dental schools, we started to create this collaboration, and now we just need to keep the fire on, and continue to work together."