# Research and Mentoring Program for Underrepresented Pre-dental students (RAMP UP)

> **NIH NIH R25** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $126,864

## Abstract

1. PROJECT SUMMARY
Stanford’s Research and Mentoring Program for Underrepresented Pre-dental students (RAMP UP) aims to create a
unified oral healthcare career program by increasing the interest of underrepresented minority (URM), first generation and
low-income (FLI) high school and community college students in oral healthcare careers. We will do so through two avenues:
1) career awareness activities during the academic school year designed to increase URM/FLI students’ interest in an oral
healthcare career and 2) through a paid, 8-week hands-on summer research internship.
RAMP UP is a partnership. Mountain View Los Altos (MVLA) school district has two programs, AVID (Advancement via
Individual Determination) and CTE (Career Technical Education), that engage a predominantly URM/FLI student body in
career awareness activities. Our partnership with MVLA provides an extensive oral healthcare-specific curricula along
coupled with hands-on workshops to high school students who participate in AVID and CTE. Thirty-two MVLA teachers
partner with 11 Stanford mentors in this academic year component of RAMP UP. These career awareness activities set the
stage for recruiting URM/FLI students to the summer research component of RAMP UP.
RAMP UP’s 8-week summer internship is modeled after- and will replace- our highly successful 21-year-old STaRS summer
research internship. Our RAMP UP 8-week, hands-on summer internship emphasizes research skill building, and their direct
application to NIDCR-funded research initiatives. DDS, PhD, and DDS/PhD mentors will serve as research guides, which pre-
dental undergraduates serving as near-peer support. Interns will be involved in cutting-edge research projects, thereby
advancing knowledge in the dental regenerative medicine space. Each week, community-building social activities created
in partnership with local dental schools will stimulate both a sense of discovery and a sense of inclusiveness within the
summer program. An end-of-summer research symposium provides ample opportunity for honing communication skills
and networking, as well as allowing students a chance to celebrate their achievements with family, friends, and other
scientists.
RAMP UP leadership and key personnel are deeply committed to diversity efforts. Dr. Dyani Gaudilliere DDS, MS, MPH is
African American and Native American, who has focused on increasing equity and access for underserved populations in
her position as Chief of Stanford’s Dental Medicine & Surgery. Dr. Jill Helms DDS, PhD is the Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity,
and Inclusion in the Department of Surgery, where she leads a research laboratory focused on craniofacial biology and
regenerative dental medicine. She has served as the Director of a hands-on summer research internship for
underrepresented youth since its inception. A rigorous evaluation plan is in place to identify weaknesses, strengths, and
provide suggestions for programmatic improvements, and a robust dissemination plan ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11058039
- **Project number:** 1R25DE033559-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Dyani Gaudilliere
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $126,864
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2029-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11058039

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11058039, Research and Mentoring Program for Underrepresented Pre-dental students (RAMP UP) (1R25DE033559-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-07-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11058039. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*