For the second consecutive year, Faculty of Dentistry students turned out in record numbers to be part of the Faculty’s booming research program.

In 2008, a total of 35 students – roughly one-third of the entire student-body – had signed up for the Faculty of Dentistry Student Research Group (SRG). That’s a rise of roughly 10 per cent from the year before, which was also an all-time high. The numbers were part of the SRG’s annual report, which was released this week.

“We have come a long way since 2007, when I first volunteered for the position of the Faculty Advisor to the group,” says Tammy Bonstein, an assistant professor in Restorative Dentistry, now in her third year as the SRG advisor. “Our students not only want to excel in dental and biomedical research, but also to work collaboratively as successful, dedicated and professional team members. Over and over again, our students confirm the tremendous value of these collaborative experiences.”

The University of Manitoba was the first in Canada to launch a SRG in 2007 and was also instrumental in the formation of a national group that is also functioning well today.

Dentistry student Michael Green has stepped in to replace recent graduate Alex Serebnitski as the local and national SRG president, and the group is moving ahead with ambitious plans for recruitment and expansion of programming.

The SRG, in tandem with the BSc (Dent), provides students with research opportunities that don’t exist at many other schools.

“Our BSc (Dent) program is unique in Canada in that it allows dental students to experience and develop their own research projects from the ground up and acquire a degree for their work,” says J. Elliott Scott, Associate Dean (Research).

The surge in student interest comes on the heels of a record-breaking year in funding attained by faculty researchers in 2008. According to recent financial reports, since 2007, research funding at the Faculty of Dentistry has more than doubled. As of March 31, 2009, funding for Faculty research topped $2,600,000, an increase of over 110 per cent since the same period in 2007. The 2008 jump came on the heels of a 32 per cent increase in research funding in 2007.

For more information contact Grant Warren, public affairs, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Manitoba, 204-789–3267 (gwarren@cc.umanitoba.ca).