Funding Portfolio

The UCLA School of Dentistry has one of the most robust research programs among all U.S. dental schools. During the 2022-23 fiscal year, the School of Dentistry received more than $17.5M in research contracts and grants, of which $13.4M came from National Institutes of Health (NIH) agencies.

Active Grants

Project Title Project Period
Tara Aghaloo, D.D.S., M.D., Ph.D. S M Peckham Consulting, LLC CDA20242163: Bone Regeneration Project 11/07/23 - 11/07/24 $0
Yan Wang, Ph.D. American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) (Formerly AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR DENTAL RESEARCH (AADR) NIDCR Mentoring Network to Support a Diverse Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research Workforce 08/31/23 - 09/30/24 $0
Nini Tran, D.D.S., Ph.D. Oral Genome CDA20232413: Discussions for Research Interests, Alignment, and Potential Future Collaboration 01/13/23 - 01/13/28 $0
David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.SC. Avellino Lab USA, Inc. CDA20224532: Machine Learning and AI to Develop Biomarkers in Saliva for Cancer Detection 03/01/22 - 02/28/25 $0
Francisco Ramos-Gomez, D.D.S., M.S., M.P.H. Riverside County Office of Education CARE-PD Rural/Migrant Early Head Start Staff & Family Oral Health Training 01/01/21 - 12/31/24 $0
Honghu Liu, Ph.D. Lac-County of Los Angeles Statement of Qualification (#2018-013) 10/14/20 - 06/03/27 $0
Takahiro Ogawa, D.D.S., Ph.D. DIO USA Corporation UV Photofunctionalization of Titanium 06/09/23 - 06/08/25 $501,466
Elizabeth Perez The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation Pediatric Dentistry Clinic Funds 01/01/24 - 12/31/28 $100,000
David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.SC. American Cancer Society, Incorporated Liquid Biopsy Biomarker Development for Malignancy Progression of Oral Premalignant Mucosal Lesions 01/01/24 - 12/31/27 $198,000
Eric C. Sung, D.D.S. The Nicholas Endowment A Proposal in Support of Improving the Oral health of the West of Los Angeles Special Patient Population 10/18/23 - 12/31/24 $50,000
Igor Spigelman, Ph.D. Duke University Blink, Lacrimation, and Nociception: Precision Mapping and Integrated Atlas Generation of Corneal Trigeminal Afferents in Mice and Humans 09/01/23 - 08/31/24 $246,815
Thomas K. Lee, D.D.S. University of Illinois Midwest Integration of the National HIV Curriculum (MINHC) 03/21/23 - 08/31/26 $10,000
Vivek Shetty, D.D.S., DR.MED.DENT. University of California, Irvine Training Institutes for Mobile Health (mHealth) Methodologies 06/01/22 - 05/31/24 $20,000
Fang Wei, Ph.D. Trb3-Directed Target Therapy for Craniofacial Bone Regeneration in Osteoporosis Trb3-Directed Target Therapy for Craniofacial Bone Regeneration in Osteoporosis 09/01/22 - 08/31/24 $50,000
Tara Aghaloo, D.D.S., M.D., Ph.D. Straumann Company Immediate Placement of the Straumann® Bone Level Tapered Implant with Early Loading in Single Tooth Gaps in the Maxilla and Mandible Compared to Delayed Placement 02/17/17 - 04/30/24 $101,920
Flavia Queiroz Pirih, D.D.S., Ph.D. University of Florida Molecular Control of Bone Development and Inflammation by FBXO11 05/01/22 - 04/30/25 $36,913
Tara Aghaloo, D.D.S., M.D., Ph.D. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Foundation Objective Clinical, Radiographic and Biochemical Parameters Associated with Treatment Outcomes for Patients with MRONJ 01/01/21 - 12/31/24 $75,000
Sunil Kapila, B.D.S., M.S., Ph.D. American Association of Orthodontists Foundation Faculty Career Enrichments in Orthodontics Consortium 07/01/22 - 06/30/29 $211,027
Ichiro Nishimura, D.D.S., D.M.Sc., D.M.D. Maruho Co., Ltd. (Japan) Analysis of Molecular Mechanisms Related to Wound Healing Enhancement by Reserpine via Suppression of Npas2 Expression; Toward Development of Topical Medicine for Treatment of Hypertrophic Scars and Periodontal Disease 08/15/22 - 08/14/24 $444,231
David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.SC. Aionco, Inc. Machine Learning /Artificial Intelligence to Develop Genetic (WGS/WES) Information for Cancer Detection 07/18/22 - 07/17/24 $148,088
Renate Lux, Ph.D. 3M corporation (Incl3mhealth care & 3 M pharmaceuticals) The Effect of Light-cured Fluoride Varnish to Remineralize Post-orthodontic White Spot Lesions and Change the Oral Microbiome: A Split-mouth Randomized Clinical Trial 08/26/21 - 02/06/24 $19,880
Yvonne Hernandez-Kapila, D.D.S., Ph.D., F.A.C.D., F.I.C.D., E.L.A.M. Fellow University of Michigan Treponema - Host Cell and Tissue Interactions 05/01/22 - 01/31/27 $604,933
Daniela Orellana, D.D.S., M.S. The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation Programmatic Support to the UCLA Children's Dental Center 07/01/19 - 06/30/24 $50,000
David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.SC. Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation EFIRSASM Liquid Biopsy for Early Detection of Sjogrens Syndrome and SICCA Patients 09/01/20 - 02/28/24 $74,998
Tara Aghaloo, D.D.S., M.D., Ph.D. University of Southern California Center for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Tissue and Organ Regeneration (C-DOCTOR) 05/07/20 - 04/30/24 $2,136,475
Cun-Yu Wang, D.D.S., Ph.D. RNAimmune, Inc. Testing the Efficacy of Ras mRNA Vaccine for Colorectal Cancer 06/07/21 - 11/30/24 $645,590
Min Lee, Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Hydrogel Delivery of DBM and Exosome Mimetics for Bone Repair 08/10/22 - 05/31/27 $741,003
Sunil Kapila, B.D.S., M.S., Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Local and Systemic Multi-Omics of TMJ Disorders 09/09/22 - 08/31/24 $420,198
Flavia Queiroz Pirih, D.D.S., Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Genomewide Association Studies in Peri-implant Bone Loss 02/01/22 - 01/31/24 $429,000
Jimmy Hu, Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Mechanical Regulation of Transcription in Dental Epithelial Stem Cells Through Cell Packing and Tissue Forces 04/01/22 - 03/31/27 $722,011
David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.SC. NIH-NCATS National Center for Advancing Translational Science Acoustofluidic Separation (AFS), Purification and Raman Spectral Fingerprinting of Single EVs: From Cell of Origin to Target Cell and Biofluids 09/05/19 - 07/31/24 $2,593,103
Samantha Martinez NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Immunoregulatory Role of Saliva Polymeric IgA1 in the Pathogenesis of Primary Sjögren's Syndrome 07/02/21 - 06/30/24 $311,999
Cun-Yu Wang, D.D.S., Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research The Inhibition of HNSCC Growth and Metastasis by Targeting KDM4A 07/01/21 - 04/30/26 $1,188,139
Bo Yu, D.D.S., Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Regulation of Alveolar Bone Marrow MSC Senescence in Skeletal Aging and Periodontitis 07/02/21 - 04/30/26 $1,107,793
Jimmy Hu, Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Using Single Cell Transcriptomic Analysis to Uncover Genetic Pathways for De Novo Generation of Dental Epithelial Progenitors 06/14/21 - 05/31/24 $311,999
Ichiro Nishimura, D.D.S., D.M.Sc., D.M.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Responsible Conduct of Research Training in Biomedical Data Science for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research 04/01/21 - 03/31/24 $269,937
David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.SC. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Bruins in Genomics: Dental, Oral & Craniofacial Research Training Program (BIG DOC) 01/15/21 - 12/31/25 $891,355
Hung Ton-That, Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Post-Translocational Protein Folding in Gram-Positive Bacteria 09/22/20 - 08/31/25 $1,449,268
Vivek Shetty, D.D.S., DR.MED.DENT. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Personalized Digital Behavior Change Interventions to Promote Oral Health 08/01/19 - 03/31/27 $1,952,089
Francisco Ramos-Gomez, D.D.S., M.S., M.P.H. DHHS-HRSA Health Resources and Services Administration Community Access Rural Education in Pediatric Dentistry (CARE-PD) 07/01/20 - 06/30/25 $1,854,940
Sotirios Tetradis, D.D.S., Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Pathophysiologic Mechanisms During Initiation of Medication Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaws 09/16/20 - 08/31/25 $1,441,420
Cun-Yu Wang, D.D.S., Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Targeting Super-Enhancers Suppresses Cancer Stemness and Invasion of HNSCC 08/01/20 - 05/31/25 $1,586,175
Hung Ton-That, Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Virulence Determinants of Fusobacterium Nucleatum 09/01/18 - 08/31/24 $1,725,459
Honghu Liu, Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research PROMIS Oral Health Toolkit-Supported School-Based Oral Health Program 06/01/20 - 05/31/24 $3,040,759
David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.SC. NIH-NCI National Cancer Institute EFIRM Liquid Biopsy Research Laboratory: Early Lung Cancer Assessment 09/15/23 - 08/31/28 $932,146
Nini Tran, D.D.S., Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Exploring Knowledge Gaps in Childhood Caries Through Integrated Biological and Clinical Research 09/15/18 - 08/31/24 $702,007
Cun-Yu Wang, D.D.S., Ph.D. NIH-NIA National Institute on Aging Epigenetic Regulation of Autophagy and Stemness of MSCs in Skeletal Aging 09/15/23 - 08/31/24 $392,709
Francisco Ramos-Gomez, D.D.S., M.S., M.P.H. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Examining Impacts of Structural Racism and Discrimination on Hispanic Treatement Differences and Oral Health Disparities; Known Internally as "Smiles of Hope - Proyecto Hispanico de Esperanza" (SoPHE) 09/21/23 - 09/20/24 $572,258
Hung Ton-That, Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Molecular Assembly on the Cell Surface of Actinomyces 09/14/18 - 08/31/24 $2,008,474
Sunil Kapila, B.D.S., M.S., Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Interdisciplinary Collaborative for Advances and Research Excellence in TMDs (ICARE TMD) 09/19/23 - 09/18/24 $312,000
Feng Li, M.Sc., Ph.D. NIH-NCI National Cancer Institute Novel Ultra-Short Cell Free DNA Biomarkers for Early Detection of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer 07/15/23 - 06/30/25 $183,494
Yi-Wei Chen, M.S., Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Targeting Grainyhead-Like 2 Suppresses Entry Factors of SARS-CoV-2 in Epithelial Cells of Oral Mucosa 04/01/22 - 03/31/24 $429,000
Reuben Kim, D.D.S., Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Osteomucosal Healing and Immunity in Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw 07/19/23 - 07/18/24 $390,000
Honghu Liu, Ph.D. NIH-NIMHD National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities An Integrated Intervention using a Pill Ingestible Sensor System to Trigger Actions on Multifaceted Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health Among PLWH 09/24/23 - 04/30/28 $1,025,878
Igor Spigelman, Ph.D. NIH-NINDS National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Peripherally-Restricted Non-Addictive Cannabinoids for Cancer Pain Treatment 08/01/23 - 07/31/25 $3,174,343
Flavia Queiroz Pirih, D.D.S., Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research The Role of CXCL10-CXCR3 Axis in the Compounding Effects of Diabetes Mellitus in Periodontitis 08/01/23 - 07/31/25 $432,203
Hung Ton-That, Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research UCLA Dentist-Scientist and Oral Health-Researcher Training Program 07/01/21 - 06/30/26 $1,261,864
Yvonne Hernandez-Kapila, D.D.S., Ph.D., F.A.C.D., F.I.C.D., E.L.A.M. Fellow NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research UCLA Dental Specialty PhD Program 06/01/23 - 05/31/28 $219,893
Hung Ton-That, Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research UCLA Dentist-Scientist and Oral Health-Researcher Training Program 07/01/21 - 06/30/26 $492,619
Yan Wang, Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Oral Microbiome Establishment and Development of Latinx Children at the US-Mexico Border 07/01/23 - 06/30/28 $139,185
Vivek Shetty, D.D.S., DR.MED.DENT. NIH-NIDA National Institute on Drug Abuse Training Institutes for Mobile Health (mHealth) Methodologies 02/15/20 - 01/31/24 $828,154
Cun-Yu Wang, D.D.S., Ph.D. NIH-NCI National Cancer Institute Molecular and Epigenetic Control of Wnt/ß-Catenin-Mediated Oncogenesis by KDM4B 02/01/20 - 01/31/25 $1,696,996
Min Lee, Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Tribbles Homolog 3 and BMP-2 Induced Bone Formation 06/04/18 - 05/31/24 $1,848,597
Vinodh Bhoopathi, B.D.S., M.P.H., D.Sc.D. DHHS-HRSA Health Resources and Services Administration California School-Linked Electronic Dental Referrals and Community Based Education for Dental Students (SEEDS) Initiative 09/01/22 - 08/31/26 $794,557
Cun-Yu Wang, D.D.S., Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Epigenetic Regulation of Orofacial Bone Homeostasis and Aging by KDM4B 09/10/18 - 05/31/24 $1,848,795
Yvonne Hernandez-Kapila, D.D.S., Ph.D., F.A.C.D., F.I.C.D., E.L.A.M. Fellow NIH-NCI National Cancer Institute Oral Microbiome and Inflammatory Status in Antimicrobially-Treated Oral Cancer Patients 09/01/22 - 05/31/27 $1,279,264
Hung Ton-That, Ph.D. NIH-NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Metabolic Modulation of Fusobacterium Nucleatum Virulence 03/01/23 - 02/28/25 $212,450
Sunil Kapila, B.D.S., M.S., Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco The Mechanistic Control of Bone Quality and Joint Crosstalk by Osteocytes 07/01/22 - 05/31/25 $42,024
Honghu Liu, Ph.D. LAC-Department of Public Health Baldwin Hills Health Assessment and Environmental Justice Study (#EVAL-WOS-34) 05/26/21 - 06/30/24 $399,964
Jimmy Hu, Ph.D. United States Israel Binational Science Foundation(Bsf) Identifying Mechanisms of Basal Stem Cell Delamination and Differentiation in the Mouse Incisor 10/02/22 - 09/30/26 $67,111
Fariba S. Younai, D.D.S. Lac-Department of Public Health Oral Health Care Services (OHS) for Ryan White Program (RWP) Eligible Persons Living with HIV (PLWH) 07/01/19 - 02/29/24 $8,060,000
Honghu Liu, Ph.D. Ca-Department of Public Health Referral Management System and Data and Statistical Coordination Center 05/01/23 - 04/30/26 $356,880
Honghu Liu, Ph.D. Ca-Department of Public Health County Level Oral Health Estimates in California 03/16/23 - 12/31/25 $414,930
Yong Kim, Ph.D. UC Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program Amniotic Exosomal Extracellular RNA from Fetal Lung Affected by Prenatal Nicotine Exposure 07/01/20 - 06/30/24 $536,772
Feng Li, M.Sc., Ph.D. NIH-NCI National Cancer Institute Novel Ultra-Short Cell Free DNA Biomarkers for Early Detection of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer 07/15/23 - 06/30/25 $183,494