Total NIH support to US dental schools, 2005-2009

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Research Funding
• Dental Institution Performance Metrics
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) Awards

Background:

• NIH research funding is crucial for advancing dental science and innovation.
• Understanding funding trends across dental institutions is essential for strategic planning and resource allocation.
• The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) is a primary source of funding for dental research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare total NIH research funding across US dental institutions between 2005 and 2009.
• To analyze the contribution of NIDCR versus other NIH Institutes/Centers (ICs) to dental school funding.
• To evaluate the role of NIH funding in assessing the research performance of dental schools.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the NIH RePORT database to extract comprehensive award data for US dental schools.
• Categorized funding by NIH Institutes/Centers (ICs) for the period 2005-2009.
• Analyzed total NIH funding, NIDCR-specific funding, and funding from other ICs, including R01 awards and research training grants.

Main Results:

• Fifty dental schools received a total of $974.393 million in NIH funding; 69.3% from NIDCR and 30.7% from 21 other ICs.
• Funding from ICs other than NIDCR increased by 34.6% between 2005 and 2009.
• NIDCR's role in funding US dental institutions diminished, comprising 50% or less of its global awards during the study period.

Conclusions:

• Total NIH funding, encompassing all ICs, serves as an objective metric for evaluating dental school research performance.
• While NIDCR remains a significant funder, its relative contribution to US dental schools has decreased.
• Diversification of funding sources beyond NIDCR is evident, with other NIH ICs playing an increasingly important role.