NIDCR's quarterly newsletter

In this issue:

June 5: NIH Barmes Lecture Returns with Ambassador John Nkengasong

The Fogarty International Center and NIDCR will co-host the 2024 David E. Barmes Global Health Lecture: Global HIV/AIDS Response: Then, Now, Future, by Ambassador John Nkengasong, Ph.D., U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Senior Bureau Official for Global Health Security and Diplomacy. The lecture will take place on Wednesday, June 5, from 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET in the Natcher Conference Center on the NIH campus and via videocast.

Resolution Honoring NIDCR’s 75th Anniversary Passed in U.S. Senate

With unanimous support, the U.S. Senate introduced and passed a resolution recognizing NIDCR’s 75th anniversary. The resolution recognizes the institute’s role in improving the dental, oral, and craniofacial health of the nation through research, training, and the dissemination of health information.

Recording Now Available: Sealant Implementation Webinar

In observance of National Children’s Dental Health Month, NIDCR and the American Dental Association jointly held a webinar featuring a panel discussion on the current landscape of dental sealant uptake and implementation for prevention of caries in children, particularly among those from underrepresented groups.

Nadine Samara Finds Her Calling at NIH

In recognition of Women’s History Month, the NIH Record published a profile on NIDCR Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator Nadine Samara, Ph.D., who studies the sugars that bacteria make and use to evade the host immune system. In the profile, she stressed the importance of making people feel safe, supported, and mentored in her lab.

Save the Date: NIH Professional Development & Networking Workshop — September 24-25

The 2024 NIH Diversity Supplement Professional Development and Networking Workshop will take place September 24-25, bringing together scholars from NIH institutes and centers, including NIDCR. The virtual event will demystify the NIH grant process and allow scholars to meet NIH program staff, present their research, and network.

NIH To Increase Pay Levels for Pre- and Postdoctoral Scholars at Grantee Institutions

NIH will increase annual pay levels for research trainees who receive the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards at NIH-funded external institutions. The increase applies to more than 17,000 predoctoral and postdoctoral scholars and includes additional funds for childcare and training-related expenses.

Interested in Becoming an NIDCR Trainee? Apply Now

• NIDCR Director’s Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award Fellowship — Open until filled
• NIDCR’s Director’s Postdoctoral Fellowship to Enhance Diversity in Dental, Oral, & Craniofacial Research — Open until filled
• Sang-A Park Memorial Intramural Postdoctoral Fellowship — Applications due Aug. 1

Healthy Mouth, Healthy Body

For the last 40 years, NIDCR has supported research on the biological links between the mouth and the rest of the body, commonly known as the “oral-systemic connection.” In that time, scientists have unveiled a multitude of connections between oral diseases such as gum disease and tooth decay, and conditions like diabetes, dementia, cardiovascular disease, preterm birth, AIDS, and cancers, among others.

Facing Cancer Head-On

We need better ways to treat and prevent head and neck cancers, which often go undetected until they’re quite advanced. From cancer vaccines and tumor-killing therapies to computer algorithms that map suspicious growths in the mouth, ongoing NIDCR-supported research aims to bring better care to patients with head and neck cancer.

Gum Cells May Trigger Inflammation, Gum Disease

Aside from their role as a protective physical barrier, epithelial cells that line the mouth and gums may directly activate the immune system, triggering chronic inflammation that leads to gum disease. A study led by NIDCR Associate Scientific Director Niki Moutsopoulos, D.D.S., Ph.D., provides evidence that these cells may play a bigger role in disease development than previously thought.

Gum Disease-Related Bacteria Tied to Colorectal Cancer

Scientists identified a specific subtype of Fusobacterium nucleatum — a type of bacteria implicated in gum disease — that may promote the growth of colorectal tumors. The study, which was partly funded by NIDCR, suggests that therapies targeting these bacteria in tumors could help reduce the severity of some colorectal cancers.

Topical Solution Halts Tooth Decay in Children

A topical liquid, silver diamine fluoride (SDF), can stop tooth decay in young children, according to a clinical trial funded by NIDCR. SDF can be easily and painlessly swabbed onto cavities and could be a potential tool for improving children’s oral health.

Bone Marrow Cells Reveal Secret Weapon to Battle Bacteria

NIH’s I am Intramural Blog recently featured the work of NIDCR Senior Investigator Eva Mezey, M.D., Ph.D., and her colleagues, who discovered that bone marrow stem cells make hepcidin, a small molecule that can kill bacteria and tame overreactive immune responses caused by inflammation.

Wrecking Cellular Recycling to Learn About Lung Cancer

In a SciBites video from the NIH Intramural Research Program, Maya English, a postbaccalaureate research fellow in the lab of NIDCR’s Achim Warner, Ph.D., described her research on how protein recycling goes awry in certain lung cancers. What she learns may inform treatments for diseases that arise from faulty recycling.

The Perplexing Pancreas

The NIH Catalyst recently highlighted investigators, including NIDCR’s Shmuel Muallem, Ph.D., who are using multifaceted approaches to better understand pancreatic disease. Dr. Muallem’s lab is exploring how drugs approved for cystic fibrosis might be repurposed to correct dysfunctional fluid secretion in mouse models of pancreatitis and Sjögren’s disease.

UM Research Discovers New Way to Generate Human Cartilage 

Scientists Identify Key Step in How Teeth Develop in the Womb

New Resource for NIH-Affiliated Researchers: NIH Cloud Lab

NIH-affiliated researchers and students can receive up to 90 days of free access to NIH Cloud Lab, a self-paced, interactive, cloud-based training program and commercial cloud service. Researchers and students can explore cloud capabilities for research and access bioinformatic tutorials and data sets in a secure, NIH-approved environment.

NIH Guidance on Marking Changes in Resubmission Application

Starting May 25, 2024, markups should not be used to identify changes in grant resubmission applications. Applicants should include in the Introduction attachment a summary of all substantial changes and a response to weaknesses raised by the prior review.

NIH Scientists Find Weak Points on Epstein-Barr Virus

By studying the interactions between lab-generated monoclonal antibodies and an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) protein, researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have uncovered new details that could aid treatment and vaccine development. EBV can reside in cell linings of the throat, sometimes leading to nose and throat cancer.

NIH Launches Research Network To Evaluate Cancer Screening Technologies

The newly launched Cancer Screening Research Network will evaluate the benefits and harms of promising new technologies for cancer screening and determine how to incorporate them into the standard of care. This clinical trials network will support the Biden-Harris administration’s Cancer Moonshot program.

Researchers Optimize Genetic Tests To Tackle Health Disparities

A recent NIH-funded study has devised new ways to improve a genetic testing method called a polygenic risk score to more accurately assess disease risk regardless of genetic ancestry. Genomic datasets used to calculate scores often overrepresent people of European ancestry, which can contribute to health disparities.

275 Million New Genetic Variants Identified

Researchers have discovered more than 275 million previously unreported genetic variants, which were identified from data shared by nearly 250,000 participants of NIH’s All of Us Research Program. These results can help scientists better understand genetic influences on health and disease, especially in communities that have been left out of research in the past.