School of Dentistry Top Recipient of NIH Grants in 2025

A researcher looking through a microscope

In 2025, the UCSF School of Dentistry remained the top recipient of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants among U.S. dental schools, with a total of $27,617,484 in funding for 55 grants.  

The school has received the most NIH funding 25 times since 1995. This unmatched record is made possible by the dedication and excellence of the UCSF School of Dentistry research faculty, learners, and staff.  

NIH research grants are the gold standard of research support in the United States. The UCSF schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Nursing received a total of $824 million in NIH research grants in the past year, reflecting the university's devotion to scientific discovery.  

Several NIH institutes provided support to the UCSF School of Dentistry in 2025. Thirty-three of the grants came from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, seven from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, four from the National Cancer Institute, and the remaining 11 from other NIH institutes. 

Wanida Ono, DDS, PhD, DMSc, professor and chief of orthodontics, believes UCSF's leadership in research puts it at the forefront of discovery and innovation. 

"This large number of NIH awards is no surprise. UCSF offers an exceptional environment for research, particularly in translational science," Dr. Ono said. "As an orthodontist-scientist, this integration makes the UCSF School of Dentistry the ideal place for me to expand my research through collaboration. I look forward to working with fellow investigators and clinicians within the School of Dentistry and across the broader UCSF community to advance science and improve patient care." 

New grants received by the school in 2025 include: 

  • "Harnessing Novel Human Endocrine Progenitor Biology for Enhanced Generation of Beta Cells from Stem Cells" — PI: Julie Sneddon, PhD; funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). 
  • "The biological mechanisms of racial disparity in head and neck cancer" — PI: Fatemeh Momen-Heravi, DDs, PhD, MPH, MS; funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). 
  • "Unraveling the Regulation of Transcription and Activity of Calcium Transporter SLC24A4 in Enamel Formation" — PI: Yan Zhang, MD, PhD; funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). 
  • "Understanding corneal limbal stem cells during wound healing" — PI: Sarah Knox, PhD; funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI).  
  • "Developmental and molecular basis for a craniofacial metabolic syndrome" — PI: Jeff Bush, PhD; funded by NIDCR. 
  • "Oral Health Influences Among Emerging Adult Women of Central and South American ancestry" — PI: Benjamin Chaffee, DDS, MPH, PhD; funded by NIDCR. 
  • "Effects of the Oral Microbiome on Adverse Outcomes of Pediatric Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation" — PI: Pam Den Besten, DDS, MS; funded by NIDCR 
  • "Investigating the role of ELAVL1 as a post-transcriptional regulator of cranial neural crest development" — PI: Minyoung Kim; funded by NIDCR 
     

U.S. schools of dentistry top 10 NIH grant recipients for 2025 

Organization                                                 Awards             Funding 
University of California, San Francisco           55                      $27,617,484 
University of Southern California                     35                      $21,342,587 
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor                30                      $16,407,309 
University of Pennsylvania                              46                      $14,981,395 
New York University                                        25                      $14,381,126 
University of California, Los Angeles              23                      $14,316,904 
University of Florida                                        34                      $13,794,978 
University of Maryland, Baltimore                  19                       $12,281,418  
University of Texas Health Science Center    20                      $9,770,084 
Virginia Commonwealth University                19                       $7,528,030