从奖学金到资金，在威尼斯人娱乐城牙科学院的研究人员Erin Bumann的实验室里，颅面骨的发展将发生重大的事情。
布曼是口腔和颅面科学系的助理教授。 她的实验室的主要目标是确定非手术方法来改变面部骨骼的大小和形状，希望儿童不需要接受手术或需要较少侵入性的手术来治疗颅面畸形。
Most recently, she’s received foundational funding from the 罗伯特·伍兹·约翰逊基金会, a philanthropic organization dedicated to public health. It’s especially meaningful for Bumann, whose grandfather is from Mexico, that the funding comes from the 哈罗德·阿莫斯医学院发展计划. 该项目的设立是为了增加来自历史上弱势背景的教师的数量，并将为她的研究提供四年的支持，以及与该项目的其他学者建立联系的机会，包括年度会议。
“I’m excited for the opportunity to have colleagues around me from similar backgrounds, having some difficult conversations,” said Bumann. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to open up and have some honest conversations while also sharing resources and finding out what’s going on at other programs.”
布曼还被选为美国牙科协会金奖奖学金。 该奖项每三年只颁发给一名全国个人。
根据布曼的说法，她的选择更有分量，因为她是由她的榜样之一玛莎·j·萨默曼（Martha J. Somerman， D.D.S, Ph.D. Somerman）博士选择的。萨默曼是第一位获得美国牙医协会金奖的女性。 她也是美国国立牙科和颅面研究所的前任主任，该研究所曾向布曼颁发了一笔赠款，使她能够继续研究鹌鹑和鸭蛋的颌骨发育。
“Because of the pandemic I hadn’t had a chance to interact with her as much as in past years, so it’s been wonderful to catch up with her and reconnect,” said Bumann. “It’s really meant a great deal that someone with her breadth of experience looked at my body of work and saw it as impactful.”
Another opportunity that comes with the award is presenting her research as a continuing education course at the American Dental Association’s 2023 annual meeting.
“It’s such an important part of research, making sure that the research that we’re doing can directly impact patients,” said Bumann. “There can be a disconnect between dentistry and the research, so communicating with our clinical colleagues is so important and this is a great opportunity for that.”
Mentorship is an important part of Bumann’s work, not only as a mentee but also a mentor to others. “I’ve been really blessed all along my entire career path to have wonderful mentors,” she said. “Mentorship is a big part of what I enjoy and I think it’s so important to pay it forward."
布曼是校园里许多团体的积极导师。 她是Avanzando指导计划的一部分，该计划旨在为校园内的拉丁裔学生提供个性化的支持，以实现他们的学术和职业追求。 她还通过与威尼斯人娱乐城医学院、牙科和药房合作的学生学术、健康和研究培训（STAHR）伙伴关系项目进行指导。 该计划旨在增加来自弱势背景的学生进入医疗保健计划的人数。
For Bumann’s time in the 哈罗德·阿莫斯医学院发展计划, she’s excited to see where other schools have had success in their diversity programs. “I look forward to learning from colleagues at other schools and institutions who’ve already tried different approaches and finding out their best practices,” she said. “I’m hoping to bring some new ideas back with me to 威尼斯人娱乐城.”
最终，对布曼来说，最大的礼物之一就是看到她的学员在威尼斯人娱乐城达到他们的最终目标。 “Last year, five of my past mentees – either from the STAHR program or my lab – all graduated,” she said. “To see that first cohort walk across the stage at Commencement was really special.”