Young investigators and translational research.

In the December 2012 Journal of the California Dental Association, we displayed the talents of our dental students and their ability to perform basic research on topics ranging from how to improve wound healing to mechanisms for tumor identification and metastasis. The work of these young investigators assures us that future basic dental research will continue to provide a better understanding of oral biology. These clues would be useless without a cadre of dental investigators who can incorporate this information into strategies that can permit us to take better care of our patients. This month, we feature new and young investigators who are interested in translational research. This is the research of turning clinical observations, basic research findings and technological innovations into clinical strategies for taking care of our patients.