Recent Awards Granted to Faculty

PROJECT: “Optimizing a Protein-Based Pneumococcal Vaccine through TLR2 Targeted Adjuvant Strategies”

UFCD Faculty Seed Grant $10,000 for One Year

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. Nadeem Khan, Department of Oral Biology

PROJECT: “Functional Amyloid Formation in Streptococcus Mutans”

NIH/NIDCR R01DE034692 $2,227,451 for Four Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. L. Jeanine Brady, Department of Oral Biology

CO-INVESTIGATORS

Dr. Jacqueline Abranches, Department of Oral Biology
Dr. Joanna R. Long, College of Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology

PROJECT: “Pain Phenotypes in Advanced Peripheral Arterial Disease”

NIH/NHLBI R03HL183012 $41,298 for Two Years

CO-INVESTIGATORS

Dr. Roger B. Fillingim, Department of Community Dentistry and Behavior Science
Dr. Terrin Vasilopoulos, College of Medicine, Department of General Anesthesiology

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. Samir K. Shah, College of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Vascular

PROJECT: “CTRNB Bridge Funding”

Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease $25,000 for One Year

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. Luis Martinez, Department of Oral Biology

PROJECT: “Evaluating the oral Health Variable in the VA Corporate Data Warehouse”

VA Informatics & Data Science Pilot Grant $25,000 for One Year

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. William D. Duncan, Department of Community Dentistry and Behavior Science

PROJECT: “Effects of Orofacial Pain on Brain Fluid-Regulatory Mechanisms and Pain-Related Behavior”

UFCD Faculty Seed Grant $15,000 for One Year

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. Robert Caudle, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

PROJECT: “SRD-ROSF2026: Fast-Sintering Protocols for Dental Zirconia: Establishing Processing-Structure-Failure Causality in Anatomical Crowns”

UF Research: Strategic Research Development $100,000 for Two Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Dr. Mateus G. Rocha, Department of Restorative Dental Sciences
Dr. Juan C. Nino, College of Engineering, Department of Materials Science & Engineering

CO-INVESTIGATORS

Dr. Josephine Esquivel-Upshaw, Department of Restorative Dental Sciences
Dr. John J. Mecholsky, College of Engineering, Department of Materials Science & Engineering

PROJECT: “SRD-ROSF2026: Epigenetic MRI (eMRI) for Noninvasive Imaging of DNA Methylation in Living Human Brains: A 2-Year Foundational Study”

UF Research: Strategic Research Development $100,000 for Two Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Dr. Yenisel Cruz-Almeida, Department of Community Dentistry and Behavior Science
Dr. Eric S. Porges, College of Public Health & Health Professions, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology
Dr. Qianqian Song, College of Medicine, Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics

PROJECT: “Delineation of the Mutational Burden and Immune Microenvironment of Oral Mucosal Melanoma”

American Association for Dental Oral and Craniofacial Research $2,100 for One Year

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Heba El-Ahmad, 6th Year DMD/PhD Candidate, Department of Oral Biology

MENTOR Dr. Shannon Wallet, Department of Oral Biology

PROJECT: “Development and Testing of an Augmented Reality Program for Orthodontic Bracket Placement”

UFCD Student Seed Grant $3,000 for One Year

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. Emile Karam, 2nd Year DMD Student

MENTOR Dr. Divakar Karanth, Department of Orthodontics

PROJECT: “Collaborative for Research to Advance TMD Evidence (CREATE)”

University of Pittsburgh/NIH/NIDCR/ U54DE035413 $3,413,159 for Five Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. Yenisel Cruz-Almeida, Department of Community Dentistry and Behavioral Science

CO-INVESTIGATORS

Dr. Roger B. Fillingim, Department of Community Dentistry and Behavioral Science
Dr. William D. Duncan, Department of Community Dentistry and Behavioral Science
Dr. Margarete Ribeiro Dasilva, Department of Restorative Dental Sciences
Dr. Kyle Allen, College of Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Dr. Pedro Antonio Valdes Hernandez, College of Medicine, Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics

PROJECT: “UF Health Matching support for NIH U01 Award”

UF Health/U01DE033262 $30,000 for Three Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. Daniel McNeil, Community Dentistry and Behavioral Science

Project: “AI-Powered Endodontic Assessment Using ADEX Criteria”

UFCD Faculty Seed Grant $20,000 for One Year

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. Ane Poly da Rocha, Department of Endodontics

PROJECT: “Enterococci-Interspecies Interaction in the Vaginal Tract”

American Heart Association $231,000 for Three Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. Ling Ning Kaylie Lam,   Department of Oral Biology

PROJECT: “Investigating Anti Gram-positive Impact of IndigoLT”

Agrigro Marketing, Inc./AGR00036922 $10,000 for One Year

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. Robert Shields, Department of Oral Biology

PROJECT: “Olfactory receptors: Influence on the host response against Porphyromonas gingivalis”

UFCD Postdoctoral Seed Grant $5,000 for One Year

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. Nicole de Mello Fiallos, Department of Oral Biology

MENTOR Dr. Frank C. Gibson, III, Department of Oral Biology

PROJECT: “Developing an automated interceptive orthodontic diagnostic and treatment planning system using NLP”

UFCD Student Seed Grant $3,000 for One Year

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. Tyler B. Magill, Resident, Department of Orthodontics

MENTOR Dr. Divakar Karanth, Department of Orthodontics

PROJECT: “The Role of human PNPT1 Variants in Mitochondrial RNA Homeostasis and Sjögren’s Disease Pathogenesis”

UFCD Postdoctoral Seed Grant $5,000 for One Year

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. Beatriz Helena E. Silva Veronese, Resident, Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Diagnostic Sciences

MENTOR Dr. Seunghee Cha, Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Diagnostic Sciences

PROJECT: “COHGX”

Florida DOH, Clinical Contract $3,572,595 for Five Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. Ana I. Garcia, Dean, College of Dentistry

PROJECT: “Repurposing CNS-penetrant therapeutics for the treatment of cerebral cryptococcosis in a mouse model of CD4 T cell deficiency”

Universidade Federal Do Rio De Janeiro/UK Department of Health and Social Care/AGR00035610 $32,817.40 One Year

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. Luis Martinez Torres, Department of Oral Biology

PROJECT: “UFCD Matching support for NIH U01 Award”

UFCD/U01DE033262 $45,000 for Three Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. Daniel McNeil, Community Dentistry and Behavioral Science

PROJECT: “Clinically-Calibrated Accelerated Fatigue Test for Predicting the c=Clinical Performance of Dental Restorative Materials”

University of Minnesota/NIH/NIDCR R33DE033183 $32,865 for Three Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. Bruno Lima, Department of Endodontics

PROJECT: “Comparison of the Effectiveness of Virtual Reality-Based Education and Conventional Teaching Methods in Orthodontic Education”

UFCD Faculty Seed Grant $20,000 for One Year

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. Divakar Karanth, Department of Orthodontics

PROJECT: “Role of BAP1 in the Biphasic Life Cycle of KSHV”

NIH/NIDCR F31DE035811 $136,742 for Three Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Alessandro Leo, 3^rd Year PhD Candidate

MENTOR Dr. Bernadett Papp, Department of Oral Biology

PROJECT: “Effects of Photobiomodulation and Topical Diclofenac on Inflammation and Pain in Knee Osteoarthritis”

UFCD Faculty Seed Grant $20,000 for One Year

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS Dr. Margarete Ribeiro-Dasilva, Department of Restorative Dental Sciences Dr. Roger B. Fillingim, Department of Community Dentistry and Behavior Science

PROJECT: “AHEC (R1) Tobacco Training and Cessation Program”

UF AHEC Program Office, FLDOH/COPTHI $13,975 for One Year

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Dr. Olga Ensz, PI, Department Community Dentistry and Behavioral Science

CO INVESTIGATOR Dr. Karin Schey, Department of Periodontology

PROJECT: “Importance of Post-translational modifications in Streptococcus mutans pathophysiology”

NIH/NIDCR R01DE022559
$1,925,705 for Five Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Dr. Jacqueline Abranches, Department of Oral Biology

CO INVESTIGATORS
Dr. Luiz Fernando Wurdig Roesch, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Department of Microbiology Cell Science

PROJECT: “Evaluation of Microplastic Generation During Toothbrushing”

UFCD Student Seed Grant
$3,000 for One Year

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Victoria Polishuk, 3^rd Year DMD Student

MENTOR
Dr. David K. Langford, Department of Pediatric Dentistry

PROJECT: “Mechanisms of Integrative and Conjugative Elements in Oral Bacteria”

NIH/NIDCR R01DE33403
$1,071,636 for Three Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Dr. Robert Shields, Department of Oral Biology

PROJECT: “Harnessing High-Resolution Proteomics to Uncover and Target Neoepitopes in Sjogren’s Disease”

NIH/NIDCR R56DE028544
$16,910 for Two Years

CO INVESTIGATORS
Dr. Indraneel Bhattacharyya, Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences
Dr. David Ostrov, College of Medicine, Department of Pathology

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Dr. Cuong Nguyen, College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Infections Disease and Immunology

PROJECT: “Emergency department provider centered intervention for non-traumatic”

NIH/NIDCR R00DE031723
$735,222 for Three Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Dr. Tumador Khouja, Department of Community Dentistry and Behavior Science

CO INVESTIGATORS
Dr. Megan E. Gregory, College of Medicine, HOBI, Department of Biomedical Informatics
Dr. Guogen Shan, College of Public Health and Health Professions, Department of Biostatistics
Dr. Michael R. Marchick, College of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine

PROJECT: “Innervation of the knee and TMJ”

NIH/NIAMS UC2AR082196
$1,178,766 for Two Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS
Dr. Robert M. Caudle, Multi PI, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Dr. Yenisel Cruz-Almeida, Multi PI, Department of Community Dentistry and Behavior Science.
Dr. Kyle D. Allen, Multi PI, College of Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering

CO INVESTIGATORS
Dr. Margarete Ribeiro Dasilva, Department Restorative Dental Sciences
Dr. Melvin F. Dolwick, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Dr. Hernan Augusto Prieto Saavedra, College of Medicine, Department of Orthopedics Rehabilitation

PROJECT: “ACCELERATE-BASSO: Coordinating Center for Accelerating Behavioral and Social Science through Ontology”

Indiana University/NIH/NIA U24AG088019
$87,612 for Four Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS
Dr. William D. Duncan, Department of Community Dentistry

PROJECT: “Elucidating the effects of sublingual tablets containing buprenorphine on dental caries, and development of a novel formulation”

NIH/NIDCR F30DE035751
$144,363 for Three Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS
Kyle Kasparian, 5^th Year DMD/PhD Candidate

MENTOR
Dr. Jacqueline Abranches, Department of Oral Biology
Dr. Christopher McCurdy, College of Pharmacy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry

PROJECT: “Semantics Standards and Tools for Spatial and Contextual Exposome Data”

Indiana University/NIH/NIEHS R24ES036131
$65,818 for Four Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS
Dr. William D. Duncan, Department of Community Dentistry

PROJECT: “Expression of markers of type 2 diabetes-induced premature cellular senescence in gingival biopsies of individuals with periodontal health and periodontitis”

NIH/NIDCR R03DE034007
$307,000 for Two Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Dr. Poliana Mendes Duarte Reis, Department of Periodontology

PROJECT: “Oral Cancer Diagnosis and Outcomes: Role of Medicaid Dental Coverage and Dental Utilization”

NIH/NIDCR R01DE035198

$2,243,996 for Five Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Dr. Astha Singhal, Community Dentistry and Behavioral Science

CO INVESTIGATORS
Dr. William D. Duncan, Community Dentistry and Behavioral Science
Dr. Yi Guo, College of Medicine, Department of Health Outcomes & Biomedical Informatics
Dr. Provita Rahman, College of Medicine, Department of Health Outcomes & Biomedical Informatics

PROJECT: “The effect of clinical consultation methods on the acceptance of the Invisalign treatment plan”

Align Technology, Inc. AGR00034723

$24,999 for One Year

UF PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Dr. Calogero Dolce, Department of Orthodontics

PROJECT: “Viral mechanism for engaging lytic cycle promoting host transcription factors”

NIH/NIDCR R21AI188702

$402,150 for Two Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Dr. Bernadett Papp, Multi PI, Department of Oral Biology
Dr. Zsolt Toth, Multi PI, Department of Oral Biology

PROJECT: “Mechanisms sustaining lytic herpesviral infection in the oral cavity”

NIH/NIDCR R01DE034280

$2,350,692 for Five Years

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Dr. Bernadett Papp, Multi PI, Department of Oral Biology
Dr. Zsolt Toth, Multi PI, Department of Oral Biology