Dental Clinical Research Core

The Dental Clinical Research Core (DCRC) supports investigator-initiated clinical research. The DCRC assists with protocol development, scientific reviews, regulatory compliance (Institutional Review Board, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Office for Human Subjects Research Protections), database development, adverse event/serious adverse event reporting, subject scheduling, study coordinator support, and research nursing support. Through formal external study monitoring, the Data Safety Monitoring Committee, Institutional Review Board, and internal quality controls, the Office of the Clinical Director ensures that clinical research is ethical, efficient, and of high scientific quality.

Patients evaluated at the NIH Clinical Center—such as those with primary immunodeficiencies, those with inherited genetic disorders that affect craniofacial structures, and those undergoing cancer therapy—are enrolled in NIDCR clinical research projects. Clinical investigators, staff clinicians, research nurses, and research fellows work with the DCRC and the Office of Clinical Trials Operations and Management to carry out these studies while maintaining patient safety and regulatory compliance.

To facilitate translational research, the DCRC supports clinical research studies that complement ongoing basic science laboratory projects. Current, open NIDCR clinical research protocols include studies of the following:

• Craniofacial anomalies (Janice Lee, D.D.S., M.D., M.S.)
• Salivary gland disorders (Blake Warner, D.D.S., Ph.D., M.P.H.)
• Periodontal disease (Niki Moutsopoulos, D.D.S., Ph.D.)
• Oral chronic graft-versus-host disease (Jacqueline Mays, Ph.D., D.D.S., M.H.Sc.)
• Metabolic bone disorders (Alison Boyce, M.D.)
• Routine wisdom tooth extraction (Janice Lee, D.D.S., M.D., M.S.)