Project Grant R01DE036397
- The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research awarded Brigham & Women's Hospital Inc. $160,704 on September 12, 2026, under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121) to develop a viral gene therapy strategy for treating chronic craniofacial and dental pain caused by trigeminal nociceptor activation. The funded research will identify gene enhancers uniquely active in trigeminal ganglion nociceptors and functionally screen adeno-associated viruses (AAVs)...
- Federal Project Grant Award Summary The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research awarded a Project Grant of $239,405 to Massachusetts General Hospital (The General Hospital Corporation) for the period July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2027, under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121). The research focuses on elucidating the neural circuit mechanisms underlying peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) as a treatment for trigeminal neuropathic pain (TNP), a condition...
- The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research awarded a cooperative agreement of $571,544 to The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco on September 1, 2026, under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121) to conduct a pivotal Phase III multi-site clinical trial of high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation at the primary motor cortex for trigeminal neuropathic pain. The trial evaluates the safety, efficacy, and durability of...
- The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research awarded The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio $433,125 on August 1, 2026, under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121) to investigate neuronal-glial coupling mechanisms in temporomandibular joint pain. The project examines the role of connexin 43, a gap junction protein expressed in satellite glial cells, in modulating trigeminal ganglion neuron-glia communication and pain processing in...
- The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research awarded Duke University $444,125 on September 1, 2026, under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121) to investigate central nervous system and autonomic correlates of temporomandibular disorder pain. The research characterizes how altered brainstem circuit activity and brain glymphatic flow relate to autonomic dysfunction in patients with chronic painful temporomandibular disorder (TMD). The project measures...
- The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research awarded The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center $686,858 on August 1, 2026, under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121) to improve care and understanding of facial synkinesis. The research compares long-term clinical outcomes and patient-reported benefits of two treatment approaches—chemodenervation with botulinum toxin versus selective neurectomies combined with chemodenervation—and identifies...
- The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research awarded the Regents of the University of Michigan $135,000 on August 1, 2026, under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121) to support research dissecting the neural and molecular mechanisms of trigeminal low-temperature sensation. The funded research addresses orofacial neuropathic pain stemming from somatosensory nervous system dysregulation, including cold allodynia and cold hyperalgesia in conditions such as...
- The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research awarded Trustees of Boston University $249,000 on May 1, 2026, under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121) to investigate neutrophil-sensory neuron interactions in dental pulp inflammation and pain. The research addresses pulpitis, an inflammatory disease of the dental pulp currently managed through invasive procedures such as root canal therapy and tooth extraction. The project examines how neutrophils drive...
- Federal Project Grant Award Summary The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) awarded Massachusetts General Hospital $433,657 on August 11, 2025, under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121) to develop a novel rodent model of hemifacial spasm (HFS). The project, with a completion date of August 10, 2027, focuses on creating a mouse model using lysophosphatidic acid (LPA)-induced demyelination of the facial nerve to replicate the involuntary facial...
- The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke awarded Massachusetts General Hospital $1.130557 million on August 20, 2026, under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279) to develop a non-viral lipid nanoparticle-delivered gene therapy for acute pain treatment as an alternative to opioids. The project focuses on creating a focal-delivery, non-opioid therapeutic targeting postsurgical pain as the primary indication, with secondary applications to acute exacerbations...
The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research awarded Brigham and Women's Hospital Inc. $694,824 on September 1, 2026, under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121) to develop targeted gene delivery strategies for trigeminal neuralgia treatment. The project will identify trigeminal nociceptor subtypes that drive chronic facial pain in trigeminal neuralgia using nociceptor-specific transgenic mouse lines in a validated disease model, then develop a novel gene therapy that selectively silences these nociceptors without affecting other peripheral or central nervous system cell types. To overcome current viral vector limitations that cannot discriminate among sensory neuron subtypes—a critical constraint in facial tissue where mechanosensation must be preserved—the research leverages single-cell transcriptomics and epigenomics to identify cis-regulatory elements that drive gene expression selectively in trigeminal nociceptors. The team will generate single-cell epigenomic profiles of mouse, macaque, and human trigeminal ganglia to nominate evolutionarily conserved enhancers active in nociceptors, construct adeno-associated viruses in which candidate enhancers drive reporter gene and molecular barcode expression, assess cell-type specificity by single-cell RNA sequencing, and advance top candidates for validation. Successful completion will yield insight into nociceptor subtypes contributing to trigeminal neuralgia and trigeminal nociceptor-specific AAVs for use in pain research. Work is performed in Boston, Massachusetts, with a period of performance from September 1, 2026, through May 31, 2031.
Mod # | Description | ReasonForModification | Federal Obligation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not listed | $694.8k | 9/1/26 |