Faculty Research Spotlight: Clinical Trial Trailblazer – Dr. Cristina Godoy
Cristina Godoy, DDS, MPH, CCRP is an associate professor in the Public Health Department at the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Director for Clinical Research and Predoctoral Research at the College of Dental Medicine. Dr. Godoy joined NSU in 2004 and has been conducting clinical trials in dental medicine.
Where were you before joining NSU?
I was in private practice in the Dominican Republic. I was very interested in research and back at that time, research in the Dominican Republic was very, very minimal. Nobody was doing research. And so that’s how I came here.
Where did you find inspiration to pursue a career in dental medicine and research?
I wanted to know why we were doing the things that we were doing in clinic, right? Why did I have to use this product? The whole idea behind evidence-based practice started emerging. A lot of people started gathering evidence. We want evidence. Why are we doing things the way that we’re doing? And so that kind of sparked my interest. And, well, I do want to find out why I’m doing the things that I’m doing and the way that I’m doing them. I wanted to see which product was the best product for this particular procedure or this particular treatment for a patient. And so, I would say that that’s what sparked that need to find out what’s going on behind the scenes.
What is your most memorable clinical trial that you’ve worked on and what were the outcomes or is it still ongoing?
A lot of the clinical trials that we do are looking into the therapeutic and cosmetic effects of consumer dental products. One of the products that we tested, years and years ago, we did a lot of the pre-marketing studies for that sponsor, along with other universities. We were part of that premarketing research that led to this product coming out in the market. And now it’s one of the most used whitening products as a dental consumer product out in the market. We also did research on that specific product to get the ADA seal from The American Dental Association. We saw the evolution of this product, from the very beginning until it went out to the market. And now we have the ADA seal, and so we feel like that was a very big accomplishment and we were part of that.
Another thing that has happened is, I was invited to be one of the contributing authors for the U.S Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health that just came out last December. It was because of my expertise in the research that I’ve done with consumer dental products. That was like a big thing for me to participate in that.
How many clinical trials do you currently have ongoing? And are you able to give us an example of at least one of those without giving any confidential specifics?
Well, the pandemic has hurt the clinical research field a little bit, even though CDM was the first one up and running with clinical trials during the pandemic. Right now, we have one study. We’re testing a new whitening delivery method that would be for over-the-counter use.
I am also working with Dr. Mark Cayabyab on an NIH grant, along with Dr. Toshihisa Kawai, who’s my direct supervisor. We’re working to identify oral biomarkers related to COVID-19 infection. That’s a really interesting study that we look forward to starting.
What are your future predictions for these efforts that you’re currently working on towards the scientific community and in people’s lives?
What we hope to have from what we do, is we want to add to the evidence. Remember what I said in the beginning about evidence-based practice. We want to add on to that evidence, right? We want to contribute to the backstage of dentistry in order for clinicians to make effective evidence-based decisions for clinical care. That’s what my main goal is, just to add on to the evidence.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
To see the outcomes and to see the fruits of the labor. When I see that I’m being selected to be part of the U.S Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health, that’s something major. Somebody is out there looking at what I do, and it’s external to NSU. When I see different sponsors coming to us and saying, “I know what you do for this other company, and I want you to do it for me”. That helps me achieve my goals. I would say that things like that is what makes me feel like we’re getting somewhere.
How has NSU helped you pursue or achieve some of your personal and professional goals that you have set for yourself?
NSU has always been very supportive of everything I do. From funding resources, assistance in writing grants, putting a proposal together, and getting through the clinical research components. Sue Breno has been a major help with that. I would say that NSU has provided support in any way that I needed throughout my career.
I do not like sitting at my desk and I have been able to put on many different hats here at NSU. I am part of the Research Faculty Advisory Committee here, the HPD Grant Committee, and serve as Vice-chair for the IRB. I’m allowed to spread beyond what teeth are. I like that. It keeps me active. It keeps me involved in different things. It keeps me interested, and it keeps me motivated.
How can NSU better serve you to keep achieving your personal and professional goals?
I would say, build collaborative exercises or opportunities among different NSU departments or NSU colleges. If we had events or collaborative opportunities, you know, exercises to bring all these researchers together, we could find more areas to work together.
I’ll tell you a perfect example. I’m working on a study with Dr. Andrew Ozga from HALMOS college and he wanted to look at the microbiome of the oral cavity. He didn’t know that I did clinical research and I didn’t know that he was interested in the microbiome pertaining to oral health. So, we came together and now we have this study going on. There’s a ton of examples like that. I feel like if you could bring us all together, so that we can collaborate with each other and collaborate in research.
Do you have any advice for someone who would like to pursue a career in dental medicine and/or research?
Don’t be afraid to talk to the faculty. Ask questions, be curious because a lot of times faculty, especially research faculty, are so focused on what they’re doing that they don’t see beyond those walls. We’re not scary. We might be scary looking, but we’re not scary. I love it when people come to me and say, “hey, I can’t figure the IRB out, can you help me out?” Well, yeah, sure, bring your laptop, and I’d sit right next to them, and show them step by step. And you know I like doing that. I like the teaching component. I like the mentoring component. Don’t be scared to knock on somebody’s office and ask for help.