# The Biomedical Informatics and Behavioral Sciences (BIBS) Summer Research Program

> **NIH NIH R25** · TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCE CTR · 2024 · $135,000

## Abstract

Project Summary /Abstract
The proposed Biomedical Informatics and Behavioral Sciences (BIBS) Summer Research
Program seeks to encourage underrepresented students to pursue oral health research careers.
In 2000, Oral Health in America: A report of the Surgeon General reframed oral diseases as a
bona fide public health issue. Subsequent events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have
exposed inequities in the United States (U.S.) public health infrastructure whose causes and
persistence are often poorly understood. The U.S. dental public health system is no different.
Our central hypothesis is twofold: too few health professionals are engaged in oral health and
dental services research; and insufficient diversity in their ranks hampers the study of oral
health disparities. To address this supposition, the Texas A&M University (TAMU) College of
Dentistry (COD) will develop a new summer program for undergraduate and post-baccalaureate
students interested in dentistry, dental students with a master’s degree, or dental residents with
a master’s degree, particularly the Master of Public Health degree. This innovative program will
leverage the COD’s existing pipeline programming for underrepresented students. BIBS will be
a first-time collaboration among the TAMU Center for Statistical Bioinformatics, the TAMU
Department of Public Health Sciences, and the Texas Oral Health Coalition. Having faculty from
three complementary health research specialties will add perspective for students. In this
proposal, six talented trainees per summer will participate in a comprehensive 9-week program.
The first six weeks will consist of coursework in biomedical informatics and behavioral sciences,
in which trainees will learn programming, statistics, tools for analyzing large data sets, and
codes specific to dental procedures and dental public health. At the start of the program, each
trainee will be paired with a mentor. Working together, they will develop a tailored mentorship
plan and conduct a research project. At the end of the program, trainees will present their
projects and results in a newly established “BIBS Summer Research Conference.”

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10915572
- **Project number:** 5R25LM014219-03
- **Recipient organization:** TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCE CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** Peggy Timothe
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $135,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-20 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10915572

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10915572, The Biomedical Informatics and Behavioral Sciences (BIBS) Summer Research Program (5R25LM014219-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10915572. Licensed CC0.

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