Research Funding Awards

  • Dr. Lobat Tayebi (PI), Director of Research and Professor in the Department of Developmental Sciences has received an NIH R21 award for the project entitled, “Synthetic osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (OOKP, Tooth-in-Eye surgery)”.  The two-year (09/23-08/25) $425,000 award from the National Institutes of Health, National Eye Institute will feature the design and fabrication of a tissue-engineered synthetic keratoprosthesis for the OOKP surgery as a replacement of the osteo-odonto-lamina so that surgeons do not need to harvest teeth and surrounding jawbone of the patients, reducing patient morbidity.  The synthetic 3-D printed titanium alloy implant was patented by Dr. Tayebi working in the Delta Dental Research Laboratory as part of the Dental School’s portfolio of technologies.  Osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (OOKP) or Tooth-in-Eye surgery is an exceptional procedure that can save severely injured corneas, however, the procedure is limited by harvesting dental tissues which causes patient morbidity. The OOKP procedure is effective and capable of treating corneas after multiple corneal transplantation failures, chemical burns, corneal graft failure, or other pathologies. 
  • Dr. Pradeep Bhagavatula (PI), Professor, Program in Dental Public Health in the Department of Clinical Services and Dr. Shengtong Han (Co-PI), Assistant Professor of Biostatistics have received a one-year $50,000 award from The Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute (NMDSI) for their research project entitled “Follow-up care after Emergency Department visits for Non-Traumatic Dental conditions (NTDC) in Southeastern (SE) Wisconsin.” Dr. Naveen Bansal and Dr. Wenhui Shen from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics are co-investigators.
  • Dr. Shengtong Han, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics in the Marquette University School of Dentistry is the Marquette University P.I. on an N.I.H. R01 sub-award for an N.I.H. National Human Genome Research Institute (N.H.G.R.I.) R01 Project entitled, “Refining mutation rates and measures of purifying selection with an application to understanding the impact of non-coding variation on neuropsychiatric diseases.” The University of Chicago is the primary on the award.
  • Dr. Guentsch, Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgical Sciences at the Marquette University School of Dentistry is the P.I. on a new Research Service Center Agreement with Straumann Dental Implants entitled, “Sleeve or sleeve-less guided implant surgery.”  The Research Service Center Agreement was coordinated by the Office of Corporate Engagement. This research award continues to build on the Marquette University Dental School’s strong research theme of Biomaterials, Dental Medical Devices, and Tissue Engineering. 
  • Reagan Saxe and Jennifer Bjork, both clinical supervisors in general dental sciences receive research funding from the Office of the Provost - Project title: “Craniofacial Growth Prediction Using Machine Learning” (Read more).
  • Dr. Lobat Tayebi, Associate Professor and Director of Research at the Marquette University School of Dentistry has been awarded an F.Y.23 Faculty Development Award to present a paper and chair a symposium at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research in Portland, Oregon during March 15-18, 2023.
  • Dr. Mariana Reis, a post-doctoral researcher in the School of Dentistry, has been awarded a Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institutes of Health worth about $1,457,000 to study the effect aging and periodontal disease has on oral health in living organisms (Read more).
  • Dr. Shivam Mehta, Clinical Assistant Professor of Developmental Sciences at the Marquette University School of Dentistry, has obtained research funding from the American Association of Orthodontics Foundation (A.A.O.F.) for the Research Project entitled, “Orthodontic Diagnosis with Artificial Intelligence.” The one-year $20,000 award is through the Orthodontic Faculty Development Fellowship Award (O.F.D.F.A.) program. This continues the Marquette University School of Dentistry’s success at receiving funding from the A.A.O.F. Past Marquette University School of Dentistry fellowship award recipients have included: Dr. Dawei Liu, Dr. Bhoomika Ahuja, and Dr. Ghada Nimeri.
  • Dr. Vrisiis Kofina, Graduate Program Director for Periodontics in the Dental School, has been awarded the F.Y.22 Faculty Development Award to attend the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research in Atlanta, Georgia on March 22- 26, 2022.
  • Dr. Christopher Okunseri, Professor and Predoctoral Program Director for Public Health in the Department of Dental Clinical Services, has obtained new research funding from the N.I.H. - National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research (N.I.D.C.R.) for the research project entitled, “No-Show Prevention Practices in Dental Care Settings Serving Underserved Populations.” Prof. Okunseri is the Marquette University Principal Investigator on this Multi-Investigator award. This award is a phased award – we have received notice that a milestone-driven planning phase (U.G.3) has been funded. The amount funded for the first year of the two-year phase 1 U.G.3. is $337,401. This phase of the project starts February 1, 2022. Based on successful achievement of the project milestones, transition to a clinical trial implementation phase of up to an additional five years (U.H.3) would result in a total award of $4.2 M awarded over all seven years. Funding is a vehicle to conduct research. (Read more)
  • Dr. Vrisiis Kofina, Assistant Professor and Program Director of Graduate program in Periodontics, has been awarded the Bud and Linda Tarrson Fellowship by the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation. The fellowship is a $30,000 award ($10,000 per year, for up to 3 years) for periodontists who show great potential for research and leadership.