Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) awarded the University of Missouri System $304,650 under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121) for a two-year Project Grant effective July 6, 2026, through July 5, 2028. The award funds research to engineer salivary gland cell sheets that restore secretory function in radiation-damaged salivary tissue. The research addresses a critical clinical need, as over 82,000 head and neck cancer patients annually undergo radiation therapy that permanently damages salivary glands, resulting in hyposalivation with limited effective treatments. The investigative team will develop and validate temperature-responsive cell sheet technology—in which primary salivary gland cells cultured on polymer-coated dishes detach without enzymatic treatment and maintain extracellular matrix and cell-cell junctional proteins—to restore tissue organization and function in irradiated mouse models.

The core deliverables include demonstration of functional salivary gland restoration through cell sheet transplantation and mechanistic characterization of juxtacrine and paracrine signaling pathways that mediate the therapeutic effects. This translational research effort aims to establish cell sheet engineering as a viable regenerative treatment alternative to currently ineffective saliva substitutes and temporary secretory agonists, with potential for clinical application in head and neck cancer survivorship care.