This federal Project Grant award from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121) provides $2,764,816 to support research aimed at personalizing therapy for human papilloma virus-related (HPV+) oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPSCC). The key objectives are to: 1) elucidate the interactions between HPV E6 oncoprotein levels, mitochondrial function, and OPSCC progression; and 2) define strategies to...
This $642,488 Project Grant was awarded on June 10, 2025 by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121). The grant supports research to investigate the role of the MARCHF8-autophagy pathway in promoting immune evasion and tumor progression in human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HPV+ HNSCC). Specifically, the researchers aim to: 1) determine if targeting MARCHF8...
This $638,903 federal Cooperative Agreement award, granted by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121), aims to validate a novel prognostic biomarker for human papillomavirus-positive (HPV+) oropharyngeal cancer (OPC). The project, led by the Washington University in St. Louis, seeks to validate the "HPVHet" biomarker across over 1,000 diverse HPV+ OPC patients from the U.S., Europe, and...
This federal Project Grant award of $2,796,216.00 was provided by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research (CFDA 93.121) program. The award supports research to determine the mechanisms of action for a lead molecule, OHM1, that can disrupt the interaction between the human papillomavirus (HPV) oncoprotein E6 and the p300 transcriptional co-activator, thereby reactivating the p53 tumor suppressor pathway and boosting...
This federal Project Grant award, valued at $164,322.00, was provided by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121). The award supports research to investigate the evolution of pro-tumoral myeloid cells during the transition from oral epithelial dysplasia to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, with a focus on the role of the SOX2 oncogene and its impact on the STING immune signaling pathway. The...
The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) awarded a Project Grant (CFDA 93.121 - Oral Diseases and Disorders Research) to the University of Arizona in the amount of $118,763 for the period of September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2026. The grant will support Dr. Robert Jackson's research focused on assessing the role of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) in transforming versus productive infections in oral epithelial tissues. The research aims to characterize the viral...
This federal Project Grant award from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121) provides $515,812 to The Johns Hopkins University to study the progression of HPV-related oropharynx cancer (HPV-OPC) and how it differs between individuals with and without HIV. The study aims to: 1) characterize the impact of HIV on oral HPV16 persistence, 2) evaluate the performance of oral and blood biomarkers for...
This $252,915 federal 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 develop machine learning approaches to classify aggressive tissue phenotypes and predict disease-free survival in HPV-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The project, led by Dr. Yingci Liu at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, will leverage existing molecular data repositories...
This Project Grant award of $1,913,543 from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121), will support research to investigate the role of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in susceptibility to oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. The key objectives are to: 1) compare the prevalence and incidence of oral HPV infection in people living with HIV (PLWH) taking ART and people taking ART for pre-exposure...
This federal Project Grant award, valued at $2,042,210.00 and issued by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121), supports research to investigate the mechanisms by which chronic HIV infection contributes to the development of oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) in persons living with HIV (PWH). The key products and services to be delivered through this 5-year award include: Determining the HPV types present in...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research Federal Grant Program (CFDA 93.121), provides $2,942,347 to the Regents of the University of Michigan to study the role of HPV integration structures in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) molecular heterogeneity.
The key objectives are to:
Determine the accuracy of using short read sequencing technologies as a proxy for identifying structural features of HPV integration events in HNSCC tumors.
Define how the structural characteristics of HPV integration impact the expression and structure of adjacent host and viral-host fusion transcripts.
Identify "driver" HPV integration structures that are clonally enriched and associated with poor treatment outcomes in HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPV+ OPSCC).
The award period is from August 1, 2024 to April 30, 2029. The University of Pittsburgh is a sub-awardee, responsible for collection of HPV+ OPSCC tissue/plasma samples and conducting whole genome sequencing.