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Obtain Funding & Types of Clinical Research

  1. Obtain Funding & Types of Clinical Research
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NIDCR supports a variety of clinical research, including interventional and observational studies, to advance fundamental knowledge about dental, oral, and craniofacial (DOC) health and disease.

Types of Clinical Research

Analysis of Existing Data or Specimens

If you are using private information, data, or specimens, your research may be exempt from the Code of Federal Regulations 45 Part 46. You may refer to the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) decision tool or consult with your institutional review board (IRB) or independent ethics committee (IEC). The NIDCR evaluates each project independently to determine oversight needs and whether the NIDCR Clinical Terms of Award (CToA) applies.

Observational Studies

In an observational study, the investigator simply records observations and analyzes data, without assigning participants to a specific intervention or treatment. These studies may focus on observation of risk factors, natural history, variations in disease progression or disease treatment without delivering or assigning an intervention. They often assess specific health characteristics of the enrolled human subjects by collecting medical/dental history, exposure, or clinical data; obtaining biospecimens (e.g., for biomarker or genomic analyses); or obtaining photographic, radiographic, or other images from research subjects.

Interventional Studies

The NIH defines an intervention as a manipulation of the subject or the subject's environment for the purpose of modifying one or more health-related biomedical or behavioral processes and/or endpoints. NIH further defines a clinical trial as a research study in which one or more human subjects are prospectively assigned to one or more interventions (which may include placebo or other control) to evaluate the effects of those interventions on health-related biomedical or behavioral outcomes.

Learn more about the types of research NIDCR supports and funding opportunities here or on the NIH Central Resource for Grants and Funding information page.

For due dates on or after January 25, 2018, NIH requires all applications involving one or more clinical trials to be submitted through a notice of funding opportunity specifically designed for clinical trials.

For more information, contact your NIDCR Program Official or the Office of the Clinical Director.

Additional Resources