Training the Next Generation
***This story appears in the UCLA School of Dentistry's Spring 2023 Magazine***
Dr. Yvonne Hernandez-Kapila serves as UCLA School of Dentistry's associate dean for research, holding the Felix and Mildred Yip Endowed Chair.
She joined our faculty on May 1, 2022, from the UC San Francisco School of Dentistry, with a resume of more than 140 peer-reviewed journal articles and a research focus on molecular biology mechanisms that regulate the pathogenesis of head and neck cancer and periodontal disease.
Stewarding a portfolio of more than $20 million in funded research opportunities, Dr. Hernandez-Kapila is passionate about supporting not only established principal investigators among the School’s acclaimed faculty, but also freshly-minted scientists with a passion for oral health discovery. She is well-positioned for such a role: Over a 25-year career, Dr. Hernandez-Kapila has mentored more than 100 Ph.D., D.D.S., M.D., Masters, and undergraduate students in dissertation work, lab rotations, summer research projects, NIH fellowships, and global research projects.
Below, Dr. Hernandez-Kapila introduces you to four such researchers and the School of Dentistry programs empowering their scientific discoveries … as well as their professional growth.
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Abdul-Rakeem Yakubu, University of Pennsylvania ’23
Bruins-in-Genomics: Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research Training Program Scholar
“It is vital to help advance diversity in science and research by providing foundational exposure to undergraduate students from historically marginalized communities. Under the umbrella of the Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences’ Bruins-in-Genomics program, through the R25 ‘BIG DOC’ grant students are immersed in eight weeks of graduate-level coursework exploring cutting-edge research tools and methods led by leading scientists. Abdul-Rakeem’s participation in 2021 inspired him to pursue a dual D.M.D./D.M.Sc. program at Harvard University.”
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Leah Ye, M.S., D.D.S.
R90 Dentist-Scientist Trainee
“The NIH-funded R90/T90 Program is designed for dentist-scientists and other pre/post-doctoral scholars interested in oral, dental, and craniofacial research. They are provided with multidisciplinary research training opportunities in broad areas of science – from cancer biology to regenerative medicine – and they too become our academic and science leaders of tomorrow. One such scholar, Dr. Ye, is uncovering life's intricate signals responsible for forming the jawbones and face.”
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Vidhya Venkateswaran, B.D.S., M.P.H., R. ’21, Ph.D. ’23
K12 Institutional Career Development Program Trainee
“This program helps dental clinicians advance their career training through a combined clinical residency and Ph.D. program that enables these scholars to work with top scientists in their chosen research fields. It is a critical workforce pipeline to prepare future academic leaders. One of our scholars, Dr. Venkateswaran, is pushing the boundaries of oral cancer science with big data discoveries.”
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Yi-Wei Chen, M.S., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Cancer Group Researcher
“The UCLA School of Dentistry’s postdoctoral scholars are the key engines of our scientific discoveries; making the latest breakthroughs while also elevating our communities through their mentoring and teaching efforts. Dr. Chen is one such hero, who has been a Bruin since 2019 and made seminal contributions to our understanding of cancer development in the context of host-microbe interactions.”