The American Association for Dental Research (AADR) recently announced Jessica Scoffield, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology, as the first recipient of the AADR Procter & Gamble
Underrepresented Faculty Research Fellowship.
“The goal of this fellowship is to support researchers from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups at the early stages of their scientific careers and increase representation of these underrepresented groups at the faculty level in science and academia,” said AADR President Maria Ryan.
Scoffield received her Ph.D. in microbiology at Auburn University in 2012. She studies the role of commensal bacteria in polymicrobial pulmonary and oral infections, and has been published in several prominent journals. After joining UAB in 2018, Scoffield set up her lab with the goal of identifying and characterizing anti-infective strategies used by commensal bacteria and using that knowledge to develop improved therapeutics active against recalcitrant bacterial species.
“I'm honored and excited to be the first recipient of the AADR Procter & Gamble Underrepresented Faculty Research Fellowship,” Scoffield said. “These funds will help my lab generate preliminary data for grant applications and expand our studies in oral polymicrobial infections.”
Scoffield will receive $10,000 as part of the fellowship, which can be used toward her post-doctoral research—establishing laboratories, completing a research project, or preparing a research for publication or grant submission.