Dr. Sarah Dallas has worked at UMKC for 14 years, since she was recruited as an Associate Professor for a Bone Biology Program in the School of Dentistry, directed by Dr. Lynda Bonewald.
“I had worked with her previously and was excited at the opportunity to be part of a focused bone biology research group with an emphasis on osteocyte biology,” Dallas said. “I came here from a position in the U.K. and so am considered to be part of the “brain drain,” U.K. scientists working in the U.S. due to better research opportunities.”
Since that time, Dallas has obtained more than $5 million in extramural grant funding and is now a Professor with tenure in Oral and Craniofacial Sciences.
“I obtained a $450K instrumentation grant from NIH for a confocal microscope and have set up a campus-wide confocal microscopy core facility that is available to all UMKC investigators,” she said. “Several of my trainees have received awards for the research they have presented at international meetings and have gone on to obtain faculty positions.”
Her current research projects include examination of osteoblasts assembling extracellular matrix proteins and examination of age-related bone and muscle loss and osteoblast functions.
“I have great colleagues and we work together in a highly cooperative way, so the feeling is of a bone biology research team,” she said. “I enjoy seeing my trainees become successful in their next career steps and enjoy interacting with the students postdocs.”
In her work with graduate students, Dallas teaches an oral microbiology course and serves on committees for students at the masters and Ph.D. levels.
“I have mentored one Ph.D. student and would like to have the opportunity to mentor more graduate students,” she said. “I have learned that every student is different, and the key is to find out how to motivate each one to help them be successful.”
Dallas said she is motivated by the excitement of scientific discovery, the ability to be creative, the international exchange of ideas and wonderful interactions with colleagues, students and postdocs.
“My time at UMKC has been happy and productive because I have worked with a very collegiate group of faculty, students and postdocs who work together toward common goals,” she said. “My department has been very supportive and has great leadership, which has made my job easy, so that I can focus on what I do best – research.”