This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121), will fund a $317,669 research project conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) from September 2024 through August 2026. The project aims to examine how everyday experiences shaped by upstream psychosocial factors, such as perceived vulnerability due to immigration policy, influence oral health outcomes among adults of...
This Project Grant award of $198,000.00 from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121), will support a research study at The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) to examine how one's background and socioeconomic factors shape oral microbial diversity and determine the extent to which these microbes contribute to oral health differences in the United States. The study will utilize 16S ribosomal...
This Project Grant award of $1,530,868 from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) aims to elucidate the link between oral health and different subtypes of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VAD). The key objectives are to: 1) establish the relationship between poor oral health and clinical biomarkers of dementia, 2) test biological pathways (systemic inflammation, accelerated aging, oral microbiome) linking oral health to AD and VAD,...
This $433,125 Project Grant awarded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research (CFDA 93.121) program, will fund research to investigate the potential biological factors underlying the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and dental caries in children. The study aims to examine the relationships among ACEs, the oral microbiome, dental caries, and salivary stress and immunological biomarkers in children....
This federal Project Grant award for $331,999 from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121) aims to determine the causal relationship between poor oral health and heart disease. The primary awardee, Lehigh University, will construct polygenic scores using a GWAS-by-subtraction genomic structural equation model to identify genetic risk factors for poor oral health. They will then leverage this to...
The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) awarded a $572,261 Project Grant under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121) to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to examine the impacts of structural racism and discrimination on oral health treatment disparities and outcomes for Hispanic children. The research project, titled "Examining Impacts of Structural Racism and Discrimination on Hispanic Treatment Differences and Oral...
The University of Illinois, under a $581,037 Project Grant award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Trans-NIH Research Support Program (CFDA 93.310), will conduct research to investigate the mechanisms underlying oral post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) in minority populations. The key objectives are to: 1) analyze the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on oral PASC indicators and perturbations in oral immune surveillance in Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White cohorts; and 2)...
This Project Grant award of $156,589 from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (CFDA 93.121 - Oral Diseases and Disorders Research) supports a research project to leverage electronic health record (EHR) data to better identify adults likely to seek emergency department treatment for non-traumatic dental conditions. The primary goals are to: 1) Use machine learning models to predict emergency department use for non-traumatic dental conditions based on medical and social...
This $1,999,789 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121) aims to advance oral health equity through strengthening the scientific basis for innovations in population approaches to improving dental care access, utilization, and quality. The research program will incorporate a framework that integrates multi-level perspectives and approaches (e.g., patient, provider, and...
This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (CFDA 47.075) program will provide $298,025 to The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania to investigate the progression of dental wear and dental senescence over a 50-year simulated chewing period. The study will employ a mechanical chewing simulator and analysis techniques to measure changes in dental function, occlusal topography, microstructure, and elemental composition of...
ECONOMIC STRESSORS AND OPPORTUNITIES AS INFLUENCES OF EMERGING ADULT ORAL HEALTH - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT ORAL DISEASES ARE AMONG THE MOST COMMON CHRONIC CONDITIONS OF HUMANKIND; THEIR ORIGINS CAN OFTEN BE TRACED TO SOCIOECONOMIC AND BEHAVIORAL CIRCUMSTANCES MUCH EARLIER IN LIFE. FREQUENTLY OVERLOOKED ARE KEY LIFE TRANSITIONS WHEN BEHAVIORS AND CIRCUMSTANCES ARE ESPECIALLY FLUID AND POTENTIALLY MALLEABLE WITH APPROPRIATELY TAILORED INTERVENTIONS. EMERGING ADULTHOOD (THE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD FROM ADOLESCENCE TO ADULTHOOD) IS ONE SUCH LIFE STAGE THAT HAS GARNERED LIMITED ATTENTION IN ORAL HEALTH RESEARCH. EMERGING ADULTHOOD IS A PARTICULARLY SENSITIVE PERIOD MARKED BY CHANGES IN SOCIOECONOMIC STRESSORS, HEALTH RISK FACTORS, AND POTENTIAL PROTECTIVE OPPORTUNITIES AS YOUNG PEOPLE ENTER NEW SOCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THIS PROPOSED PROJECT COMBINES DETAILED MEASURES OF ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND BEHAVIORAL FACTORS WITH QUALITY ASSESSMENTS OF ORAL AND SYSTEMIC HEALTH IN A DIVERSE, PROSPECTIVE EMERGING ADULT COHORT. WE WILL EXAMINE POTENTIAL INTERACTIONS BY RACE/ETHNICITY AND GENDER IDENTITIES AND THE SPECIFIC BEHAVIORAL PATHWAYS CONNECTING SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS TO DISEASE RISK, POTENTIALLY REVEALING HEALTH PROMOTION OPPORTUNITIES DURING THIS FORMATIVE DEVELOPMENTAL PERIOD. INDEED, SUCH INSIGHT INFORMS A LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE TO TEST HOW ACQUIRED ACCESS TO SOCIOECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AFFORDED BY HIGHER EDUCATION IMPACTS THE TRAJECTORY OF ORAL DISEASES, ESPECIALLY AMONG THOSE FROM MINORITIZED AND/OR DISADVANTAGED BACKGROUNDS. THIS TIME-SENSITIVE PROPOSAL LEVERAGES THE NOW-LAUNCHING NHLBI-SUPPORTED ECONOMIC AND EDUCATIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO EMERGING ADULTS' CARDIOMETABOLIC HEALTH ("3E") COHORT STUDY OF 4,000 DIVERSE FIRST-YEAR COLLEGE STUDENTS FROM TWO PUBLIC HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION (>50% FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS, >40% PELL GRANT RECIPIENTS). THIS PROPOSAL AUGMENTS RICH PROSPECTIVE ECONOMIC AND BEHAVIORAL DATA WITH ORAL HEALTH-SPECIFIC RISK FACTORS AND SELF-REPORTED AND OBJECTIVE MEASURES ORAL HEALTH. SPECIFICALLY, THIS PROJECT WILL: AIM 1. EXAMINE THE INFLUENCES OF EARLY ADULTHOOD SOCIOECONOMIC STRESSORS ON ORAL HEALTH OVER TIME, INCLUDING AS POTENTIALLY MODIFIED BY RACE/ETHNICITY AND GENDER. AIM 2. EXAMINE THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF EDUCATION-RELATED OPPORTUNITIES (E.G., ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMMING, BASIC NEEDS SUPPORTS, SOCIAL CAPITAL) AS PROTECTIVE FACTORS AGAINST ADVERSE ORAL HEALTH OUTCOMES (E.G., SERVICE NON-UTILIZATION, GINGIVAL INFLAMMATION). AIM 3. ASSESS THE MECHANISTIC ROLE OF HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIORS IN LINKING SOCIOECONOMIC STRESSORS AND EDUCATION-RELATED OPPORTUNITIES TO ORAL HEALTH OUTCOMES. EMERGING ADULTHOOD, A TRANSITION PERIOD IN HEALTH BEHAVIORS AND SOCIOECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY, IS A POTENTIAL PIVOT POINT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRONIC DISEASES AND HEALTH INEQUALITY. UNDERSTANDING INFLUENCES OF ORAL DISEASES NEAR THEIR EMERGENCE WILL INFORM MORE EFFECTIVE ORAL DISEASE PREVENTION EFFORTS.