Working

Heather Jared, BS, MS
Senior project manager at Rho, Inc., a contract research organization (CRO)

Heather Jared, BS, MS, is the senior project manager at Rho, Inc., a contract research organization (CRO). Her interest in the scientific aspect of oral health has flourished into a 14-year career in clinical research. When asked about the perceived slow knowledge transfer of research to practice, she said there are a few factors to consider. Some of them, she said, have to do with the conclusions of the study and how they impact patient care.

“We need the professional associations to be knowledgeable about the latest research, and to take a position to help clinicians know how the research may impact clinical practice,” Jared said. She explained that some professional associations have published position papers, on research topics such as pregnancy and periodontal disease, which clinicians can use as guides.

She added that some research findings can be implemented immediately in the clinical setting, such as advances in oral cancer screening and caries susceptibility testing chairside. However, other research might not be feasible for immediate use, requiring additional translation from clinical research to chairside application.

“We’ve done the research, and we know this information, but that doesn’t mean we have a way to implement it. The translational part of the research needs more attention,” she said.

Jared said some of the research is ‘almost intuitive,’ adding that she hopes clinicians know the connection between systemic diseases and periodontal disease, but they may not. She emphasized the importance of clinicians taking the initiative in seeking out new research through continuing education and reading peer-reviewed publications.

Jared has always liked science, math, anatomy and physiology. An aptitude for these subjects sparked her interest in systemic health, and developed into an appreciation of how important oral health is to overall health.
“I chose to work in oral health because of how intimately it is related to systemic health,” she said. “I also like the preventative aspect of oral health and how you are able to educate your patients on a regular basis.”

Jared’s interest in science and oral health led her to dental hygiene after other careers left her eager for new challenges. She worked as a pharmacy technician in school, then full-time in banking for several years after getting married, but she wanted to return to college and finish her degree. While trying to decide on a major, she spoke with many of her banking customers about their careers. Jared also decided to take a career assessment inventory, and her ‘perfect match’ was dental hygiene. She earned her bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) in 1995.
“Dental hygiene was a perfect match to my personality, my goals and desires for my career. I also liked that dental hygiene opened up doors to other careers, such as research,” Jared said.

The program at UNC offers its students specialized educational experiences—‘tracks’—in community dental health, geriatric dentistry, hospital dentistry, pediatric dentistry, periodontics and research. During her senior year, Jared did a research internship with an oral pathologist and a dental hygiene instructor to perform a retrospective study to review the correlation of squamous cell carcinoma and lichen planus. That experience began her interest in research.

“I enjoyed reviewing the slides and trying to the put pieces together,” she said. “It was like trying to piece a puzzle together.”

Jared’s enthusiasm for this research project also inspired her to further her education at UNC; she earned her master’s degree in dental hygiene education in 1997. The master’s program requires a research component, so she worked on one of the earliest studies of the relationship between periodontal disease and pregnancy.

“I enjoyed every piece of it,” Jared said. She described her zeal for writing the protocol and trying to determine what data to collect, why to collect it, how to use it in statistical analysis, and what pieces of information would be crucial to establish a correlation. “I loved planning and implementing the study, especially paying attention to the details. Hygienists as a rule are detail-oriented, but research is definitely detail-oriented.”

Jared worked in clinical practice for about seven months after graduation because there weren’t any nearby teaching positions available at the time, and she didn’t want to relocate. After that time, she was contacted by a former research colleague, Steven Offenbacher, DDS, PhD, MMSc, who needed some staff for a new project. Jared worked as a clinical coordinator, helping with recruitment, retention, collecting samples and making sure the data were collected according to protocol.

In 2000, she received a faculty appointment from the UNC School of Dentistry. Jared taught undergraduate and graduate students while continuing her clinical work. 

In 2004, the Offenbacher group was awarded another research grant to look at the relationship between dental prophylaxis and pregnancy outcomes. Jared continued to work with the team and the data-coordinating center, helping to ensure that the team would have the tools necessary to successfully complete the study. During this time, Jared continued to teach graduate and undergraduate students, and mentor other dental hygiene graduate students in research methodology. She said that while she enjoyed interacting with and providing clinical care to patients, she left clinical practice in 2004 to take on a management role in research at UNC that allowed her to focus more fully on the science behind the investigations.

About two years ago, Jared accepted her position at Rho, a full-service CRO supporting federally funded and commercial clinical research. At the time she was hired, Rho had just won a major contract with the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) to fully support its operational and research coordination needs. Jared’s skill set was perfectly suited for her role as senior project manager overseeing dental research.

When starting a new project, Jared remains in contact with the protocol team (the principal investigator, site principal investigators, etc.) to assist with managing the details of the study. This includes writing a protocol and informed consent form, developing case report forms and a database, ensuring that the data to be collected is what is needed for analysis, and assisting the principal investigators preparing the study for implementation. It is also Jared’s responsibility to work with study sponsors and project officers to ensure that the investigators have the tools needed to implement the research. “It always takes more time than people think to get a study ready for enrollment,” she said. “There is a lot of thought behind each step of the study.”

Once the study has been implemented, Jared provides managerial support to the study team by monitoring progress, managing timelines and being a resource for information about the protocol. She said the team members correspond frequently, beginning each morning with a progress assessment. At the end of the study, she assists with the study closeout and publication.

“It’s a lot of communication,” she said. “That’s similar to clinical dental hygiene, because you have to communicate with your patients. Here, we’re communicating with investigators and study staff who are conducting the research.” She added that the skills used in clinical dental hygiene are easily transferred to research; it’s just a matter of what is being communicated.

Jared considers research a viable option for dental hygienists working in clinical practice who might want to pursue different opportunities.

“Hygienists have to think of themselves as allied health providers,” she said. “Hygienists may not have the same clinical experiences as a nurse, for example, but they have taken anatomy, physiology, pathology, chemistry, just like other allied health professionals. As a hygienist, you have to make sure people understand you have this other knowledge base that is more than just teeth.”

Another avenue Jared suggested for dental hygienists to consider is working as clinical research associates, where they learn about the protocols, visit sites to ensure data quality, and monitor study progress. It takes additional training to learn the code of federal regulations, but many community colleges offer education on those topics.

“Those experiences will provide you with a skill set and enable you to transfer your knowledge to another arena,” she said.

Jared added that careers in research, especially in most universities and companies, often come with a full benefits package, including insurance, paid time off and retirement—things that may not be offered in clinical practice.

“The only way we’re going to get a better understanding of diseases and disease processes is to have the research to substantiate the hypotheses,” she said. “Hygienists have a skill set that’s often overlooked, and I would encourage them to fully use that skill set.”

Jared said that many dental hygienists, including others at Rho, work in research as monitors. Universities, she said, will frequently have research departments. She works with dental hygienists who are in research at that level. Jared said the corporate arena may be a little more difficult to enter, but it depends on the position and what qualities are needed to fulfill that position.

“I don’t think it’s as difficult as [other] people think it is,” she said. “It’s about showing how your skill set can be translated to the research setting.”

For more information about Jared or her career, please email Heather_Jared@rhoworld.com.

This edition of Working was prepared by Mariam Pera.