National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), a sub-agency of the Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health, administers federal funding and procurements for research and development in oral health, dental diseases, and craniofacial conditions. NIDCR operates dual funding streams—contracts for supplies, equipment, and services that support research infrastructure, and grants that underwrite investigator-initiated and center-based research programs.

NIDCR awards contracts at a modest but steady cadence. Since 1997, the Institute has issued 1,851 total federal contract awards valued at $149.8 million in combined potential, with $125.8 million obligated to date. Recent annual volume stands at 87 awards in 2022, 107 in 2023, 99 in 2024, 36 in 2025, and 36 year-to-date in 2026. The contractor base is highly fragmented—440 distinct prime contractors have been awarded over the portfolio history, and the top five contractors by award count account for 40 percent of recent awards. Scitech Services Inc. dominates by count with 101 awards and $12.2 million in combined potential value across the last five years; Government Scientific Source Inc., 10X Genomics Inc., Nikon Instruments Inc., and IT1 Source LLC follow at 15, 13, 12, and 10 awards respectively. By potential value, the top five represent only 11 percent of recent combined value, indicating that no single contractor commands substantial contract spending. The set-aside mix is heavily skewed toward open competition—96 percent of awards carry no set-aside designation, with small business set-asides accounting for 3 percent of volume and 8(a) activity negligible.

NIDCR is substantially more active in grant-making than contracting. The Institute has obligated $7.05 billion in federal grant dollars across 3,283 total awards since 1976, with $7.46 billion in combined federal and non-federal share. The grant recipient base is highly fragmented—404 distinct recipients across the portfolio history, with the top five by award count and by federal dollars covering only 16 and 5 percent of recent activity respectively. University of Pittsburgh, the Regents of the University of California San Francisco, Regents of the University of Michigan, University of Florida, and the Research Foundation for the State University of New York are the most active recipients by award count, each receiving between 35 and 42 awards in recent years; University of Pittsburgh, UCSF, University of Michigan, University of Florida, and the University of Pennsylvania lead by federal dollars obligated, each receiving between $55 million and $85.5 million. Grant awards are predominantly Project Grants (82 percent) with a smaller share of Cooperative Agreements (18 percent). Note: the grant award portfolio includes recorded award dates extending to 2030, indicating funded research projects with extended performance timelines; the most recent grant award on file is dated 2030-03-01.