Collaborative Science to Achieve Disruptive Innovations in Dental, Oral and Craniofacial (DOC) Research (RM1 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Purpose

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) (RFA-DE-24-003) is designed to support highly integrated research teams to address challenging questions with the potential to significantly advance dental, oral, and craniofacial (DOC) fields of research. Each project should have a unified and well-defined scientific goal within the NIDCR mission that requires a team with diverse perspectives and expertise in a variety of intellectual or technical areas and is beyond the experience and capabilities of one or two investigators. Teams are encouraged to consider transformative, and disruptive innovative objectives with defined 5-year outcomes.

Application Due Date: November 22, 2023

Program Objectives and Scope

The goal of this funding opportunity is to support transdisciplinary research that solves important problems related to DOC fields. The funding opportunity is designed to support highly integrated research teams of three to six PDs/PIs to address ambitious and challenging research questions of high priority to NIDCR. This funding opportunity aims to support a team of experts, with well-defined roles, that seek to cross technical and conceptual boundaries through transdisciplinary collaboration to achieve a common goal. The research goal should be clear, cohesive, and sufficiently focused so that meaningful and measurable outcomes or deliverables can be achieved.

Novel team-science collaborations should focus on challenging and complex research goals that would not be achievable by a single investigator and that are of high priority to NIDCR, for example:

Patient-controlled technologies that draw on best practices from other fields of medicine and that reduce health disparities and/or improve oral health throughout the life span.
Preventative dental caries vaccine development leading to significant reduction in early childhood caries incidence.
Non-opioid pharmacotherapies treatments for DOC-related pain that minimize undesirable side effects.
Dental Restorative Systems with clinical service life that exceed current commercial materials.
Approaches to advance prophylactic and therapeutic strategies to manage HIV and its oral manifestations and comorbidities.

Eligible Individuals

Any eligible scientists with the interest and ability to develop a team-science program to address an important research question are welcome to work with their institutions to submit an application. The application is required to be submitted as a multiple PI application, with a minimum of three and a maximum of six PDs/PIs. It is highly encouraged to include early career stage investigators as part of the team.

NIDCR Contact

Amanda Melillo, Ph.D.
amanda.melillo@nih.gov

Technical Assistance Webinar

In the Technical Assistance Webinar recording provided below, NIDCR staff members give technical assistance to potential applicants by explaining the purpose and goals of NIDCR's RFA-DE-24-003 as well as key dates and features, and the peer review process.

This webinar provides the background and objectives of NIDCR’s RFA-DE-24-003 Collaborative Science to Achieve Disruptive Innovations in Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research as well as support with the application process for the related RFA.