Funding Portfolio

The UCLA School of Dentistry has one of the most robust research programs among all U.S. dental schools. In the 2019 – 2020 fiscal year, the School of Dentistry received over $20M dollars in research contracts and grants, of which nearly $10M came from eight of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) agencies.

New Grants – Grants awarded on or after July 1, 2020

PI Name
Sponsor
Project Title Project Period
Award
Honghu Liu, Ph.D. Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (Became Lundquist) Short and Long Term Outcomes of Doxycycline Versus TMP - SMX for SSTI Treatment 07/01/20 - 06/30/21 $18,366
Min Lee, Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University Direct And Indirect Contributions of Perivascular Stem Cells to Bone Healing 07/01/20 - 06/30/21 $56,558
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 - 08/31/21 $75,000
David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.SC. Spectrum Intermediate LLC Saliva Liquid Biopsy for Earliest Dectection of Lung Cancer 01/12/21 - 01/11/22 $624,000
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 - 12/31/21 $317,185
David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.SC. NIH - NCATS National Center for Advancing Translational Science AFS/SERS Saliva- Based Sars- Cov- 2 Earliest Infection and Antibodies Detection 12/21/20 - 11/30/21 $904,071
David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.SC. NIH - National Heart Lung Blood Institute Saliva Covid - 19 Infection, Viral Load and Immunity Test 09/01/20 - 08/31/21 $312,000
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 - 05/31/21 $397,538
Sotirios Tetradis, D.D.S., Ph.D. NIH - NIDCR National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Rese Pathophysiologic Mechanisms During Initiation of Medication Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaws 09/16/20 - 08/31/21 $361,258
Igor Spigelman, Ph.D. NIH - NIAAA National Institute on Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism Joseph Munier: Sex Differences In Neuroendocrine Mechanisms of HPA Axis Dysfunction in Alcohol Use Disorder 09/30/20 - 09/29/21 $37,337
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 - 06/30/21 $450,000
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 - 06/30/21 $226,808
Nini Tran, D.D.S., Ph.D. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Integrative Analysis of the Oral Microbiome of American Indian Infants and the Impact of a Childhood Obesity-Prevention Home Visiting Program on Early Childhood Caries 07/01/20 - 06/30/22 $329,823
Alireza Moshaverinia, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D., F.A.C.P. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research The Role of Elasticity of Biomaterials on the Stem Cell-Host Immune Cell Interplay 07/01/20 - 06/30/22 $312,000

Continuing Grants – Grants awarded before & during FY 19-20

PI Name
Sponsor
Project Title Project Period
Award
Shen Steve Hu, Ph.D., M.B.A Tobacco- Related Disease Research Program Effects of e-cigarette aerosol on oral epithelial cell metabolism 04/01/18 - 03/31/21 $481,843
Tara Aghaloo, D.D.S., M.D., Ph.D. Osteo Science Foundation Danny Hadaya: The Effects of Platelet Rich Fibrin on Bone Regeneration 09/01/20 - 08/31/21 $10,000
Igor Spigelman, Ph.D. New York University Peripherally - Restricted Cannabinoids for Cancer and Chemotherapy - Induced Pain 01/01/20 - 12/31/20 $19,731
Benjamin M. Wu, D.D.S., Ph.D. University of Southern California Center for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Tissue Organ Regeneration (C-DOCTOR) 05/07/20 - 04/30/21 $37,131
David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.SC. UCLA David Deffen School of Medicine/Stem Cell Institute Saliva Covid-19 Infection & Immunity Test 05/01/20 - 11/30/21 $198,212
Renate Lux, Ph.D. UC Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program Haghighi, Farnoosh: The Effect of Cigarettes and Electronic Cigarettes on Oral Candida Pathogenesis 07/01/19 - 06/30/22 $198,036
David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.SC. UC Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program Cheng, Jordan: Characterization of Smoking-Associated Circulating Tumor DNA (ctDNA) for Lung Cancer 09/01/19 - 08/31/22 $134,619
Mo Kwan Kang, M.S., Ph.D., D.D.S. UC Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program Lee, JaeYoung: Epigenetic Mechanisms in the Inflammatory Oral Lesion of Smokers 04/01/19 - 03/31/22 $198,036
Fariba S. Younai, D.D.S. DHHS-HRSA Health Resources and Services Administration Oral Health Care Services (OHS) for Ryan White Program (RWP) Eligible Persons Living with HIV (PLWH) 07/01/19 - 02/28/22 $4,400,000
Honghu Liu, Ph.D. LA County Department of Public Health Oral Health Collaborative Consortium 03/01/20 - 06/30/22 $1,849,405
Sanjay M. Mallya, B.D.S., M.D.S., Ph.D. Seoul National University A Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Effectiveness and Safety of Dual Energy Cone Beam Computed Tomography (DE-CBCT) Imaging for Quantitative Measurement of Jaw Bone Mineral Density (BMD) 05/01/19 - 04/30/21 $149,499
American Cancer Society, Incorporated Nell-1 in Osteosarcoma 07/01/18 - 06/30/21 $33,954
Bill Piskorowski, D.D.S. Unihealth Foundation Community-based Clinical Education (CBCE) Program 12/02/19 - 12/02/22 $749,100
Daniela Silva, 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
Min Lee, Ph.D. Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation Enhanced Biological Activity of Demineralized Bone Matrix with Noggin Suppression in Polymer Matrices 08/01/18 - 07/31/21 $299,000
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 - 01/30/23 $101,920
No-Hee Park, D.M.D., Ph.D. Keystone Biomedical, Inc. Effect of Monoclonal Antibody against Porphyromonas Gingivalis on the Development of atherosclerosis in mice 09/01/19 - 08/31/21 $156,000
Flavia Queiroz Pirih, D.D.S., Ph.D. DENMAT Corporation Tray Application of Hydrogen Peroxide Gel as an Adjunct to Scaling and Root Planing in the Treatment of Periodontitis: A Randomized, Controlled Three-Month Clinical Trial 09/06/19 - 06/30/22 $71,820
Igor Spigelman, Ph.D. Migraine Research Foundation Triptan-Induced Latent Sensitization: Neural Dynamics Underlying Medication Overuse Headache 01/16/20 - 01/15/21 $50,000
American Association of Orthodontists Foundation BP-NELL-PEG Systematic Therapy Regenerates Spaceflight-Induced Bone Loss in the Craniofacial Skeleton 07/01/18 - 06/30/21 $30,000
Benjamin M. Wu, D.D.S., Ph.D. National Association of Orthodontists Foundation Standard Characterization of Clear Orthodontic Aligners 07/01/18 - 06/30/21 $75,000
Sahar Ansari, Ph.D. Academy of Osseointegration A Novel Growth Factor-Free Adhesive Hydrogel Delivery System for Enhanced Bone Tissue Engineering Applications 05/01/20 - 04/30/21 $30,000
Honghu Liu, Ph.D. National Institute of Mental Health Measuring and Monitoring Adherence to ART with Pill Ingestion Sensor System 09/23/15 - 07/31/21 $3,998,038
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Novel Systemic PEGylated NELL-1 Therapy for Craniofacial Osteoporosis 04/01/17 - 03/31/22 $791,100
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Defining a Novel Function for Salivary Exosomes in Modulating Host Immunity Against Cancer 04/01/20 - 03/31/22 $312,000
David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.SC. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Chiang, Samantha: Oral-piRNAs Enhance Re-epithelialization in Oral Wound Healing 09/01/17 - 02/28/21 $117,922
Cun-Yu Wang, D.D.S., Ph.D. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Epigenetic Regulation of Orofacial Bone Homeostasis and Aging by KDM4B 09/10/18 - 05/31/23 $1,852,500
Ichiro Nishimura, D.D.S., D.M.Sc., D.M.D. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research UCLA Dental Specialty and Ph.D. Program 09/01/18 - 08/31/23 $671,901
Vivek Shetty, D.D.S., DR.MED.DENT. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Personalized Digital Behavior Change Interventions to Promote Oral Health 08/01/19 - 07/31/21 $460,271
Honghu Liu, Ph.D. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research PROMIS Oral Health Toolkit-Supported School-Based Oral Health Program 06/01/20 - 05/31/24 $3,048,288
Nini Tran, D.D.S., Ph.D. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Exploring Knowledge Gaps in Childhood Caries Through Integrated Biological and Clinical Research 09/15/18 - 08/31/23 $702,000
Hung Ton-That, Ph.D. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Molecular Assembly on the Cell Surface of Actinomyces 09/14/18 - 08/31/23 $2,012,489
Cun-Yu Wang, D.D.S., Ph.D. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research PGC-1a Regulates Inflammation and Bone Loss in Periodontitis Through NF-kB 04/01/17 - 03/31/22 $2,239,815
Hung Ton-That, Ph.D. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Post-translocational Protein Folding in Gram-positive Bacteria 09/01/18 - 02/28/21 $672,812
Hung Ton-That, Ph.D. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Virulence Determinants of Fusobacterium Nucleatum 09/01/18 - 08/31/22 $1,563,375
Min Lee, Ph.D. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Tribbles Homolog 3 and BMP-2 Induced Bone Formation 06/04/18 - 05/31/23 $1,852,302
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Immunomodulatory Effects of Cytomegalovirus-induced Salivary Soluble Form of MHC Class I 04/01/18 - 03/31/21 $311,750
Jimmy Hu, Ph.D. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research An Investigation of the Roles of Mechanical Signaling in YAP-Mediated Tooth Renewal 04/01/19 - 03/31/22 $753,080
Cun-Yu Wang, D.D.S., Ph.D. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Molecular Regulation of MSC Fate Decision and Bone Formation by PGC-1a 02/01/17 - 01/31/22 $2,196,805
Benjamin M. Wu, D.D.S., Ph.D. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Center for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Tissue Organ Regeneration (C-DOCTOR) 03/01/17 - 02/28/21 $1,568,842
Ichiro Nishimura, D.D.S., D.M.Sc., D.M.D. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Competitive Equilibrium-Based Displacement of Biophosphonates as Novel Therapeutic Approach for BRONJ 03/30/17 - 02/28/21 $753,092
Vivek Shetty, D.D.S., DR.MED.DENT. National Institute on Drug Abuse Training Institutes for Mobile Health (mHealth) Methodologies 02/15/20 - 01/31/24 $828,154
Honghu Liu, Ph.D. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Short and Long Term Outcomes of Doxycycline Versus TMP-SMX for SSTI Treatment 07/16/18 - 06/30/21 $81,758
Igor Spigelman, Ph.D. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Synaptic Mechanisms of HPA Axis Dysregulation in Alcohol Dependence 09/15/16 - 06/30/21 $1,732,500
David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.SC. National Cancer Institute Ultra-Short Circulating Tumor DNA (uctDNA) for Liquid Biopsy of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer 04/16/19 - 03/31/21 $373,230
Cun-Yu Wang, D.D.S., Ph.D. National Cancer Institute Molecular and Epigenetic Control of Wnt/ß-Catenin-Mediated Oncogenesis by KDM4B 02/01/20 - 01/31/25 $2,142,675
David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.SC. National Cancer Institute EFIRM-Liquid Biopsy (eLB): Ultrasensitive ctDNA and miRNA Detection forEarly Assessment of Lung Cancer 09/13/18 - 07/31/23 $3,338,320
David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.SC. National Cancer Institute Advancing EFIRM-Liquid Biopsy (eLB) to a CLIA-Certified Laboratory Developed Test (eLB-LDT) for Detection of Actionable EGFR Mutations in NSCLC Patients 03/06/17 - 02/28/22 $1,136,746
David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.SC. 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 - 07/31/21 $822,662