History

The Dental Research Center was initiated in 1965-1966 by construction of a building of 40,000 square feet designed for the conduct of basic research. In 1967 the Center became a federally-supporded regional Institute for Dental Research with the goal of providing the infrastructure for fundamental (both laboratory and patient-based) research into dentally relevant problems. One of the primary goals of the Institute grant was the recruitment of high quality biomedical researchers into the field of oral biology. The Dental Research Center at UNC began to recruit aggresively a number of outstanding scientists from outside the traditional dental research mainstream and, through the efforts of these individuals, was successful in creating strong research programs in mineralized tissue research, neuroscience, collagen biochemistry, craniofacial growth and malformations, hemostasis, velopharyngeal pneumodynamics, and biomaterials. Through its continued support of these programs, the Dental Research Center established an enviable track record of productive, high quality basic research.

Funding as a Dental Research Institute ended in 1987, and the research funding base has continued and offset this change through a combination of R01 investigator initiatives for federal funding, K and P awards, and funding through a variety of non-NIH agencies, non-profit organization, and corporate contracts. Change in the funding base, from the central Institute grant to other funding sources, has been a gradual process. Fortunately, many faculty have been successful in acquiring and maintaining R01 initiatives, complementing research that began many years ago. Recruitment of new faculty and additions in research focus have resulted in growth and research progress in several research disciplines throughout the School. Emphasis is being placed, in several instances, on identifying well-qualified faculty to promote new areas and reinforce more traditional, less well-represented research programs.

Research within the DRC and the larger School of Dentistry continues to reflect scientific prioritizations nationally and internationally, and contributes to ongoing peer-reviewed and scholarly activity and knowledge in the dental and biomedical research arena. Today, the School of Dentistry ranks in the top five dental research institutions in the nation as assessed by funding levels from NIH. For total NIH funding in federal fiscal year 2001, the UNC School of Dentistry ranked third of 58 dental research institutions in the nation. The School has been among the top ten in overall NIH funding for the last fifteen years. The School's ranking of third for fiscal year 2001 reflects the strong motivation and desire this faculty has in pursuing extramural research support.

Within the last decade, research activities and research programs within the DRC and School of Dentistry in diverse oral health issues have continued to expand into several areas including:

• orofacial and craniofacial disorders,
• biomaterials, implantation,
• calcium metabolism, mucosal immunology,
• cariology,
• periodontal diseases,
• inflammatory; processes,
• hard surface mineralization,
• protein structure-function,
• neurosensory mechanisms,
• the study of oral diseases and risk factors in human populations.

Other significant current research focuses on:

• the molecular biology of cell targets,
• immune system mechanisms,
• viral properties critical in research on HIV infection and AIDS,
• host cell responses to implant placements and molecular determinants of osseointegration in dental implants,
• temporomandibular joint disorders,
• relationships of pregnancy outcomes and periodontal disease pathogens, and
• clinical research activities incorporating strengths in clinical trials and basic research.

The Dental Research Center has served as a nucleus for much of the School of Dentistry's research activities, providing laboratories, scientific equipment to support a wide range of basic sciences and clinical research, and core facilities for research administrative support; computer support; microscopy, image analyses, and histology; electronics engineering; animal research; glassware washing and sterilization; and clinical research through the GO Health Clinic. Research in the School has grown from the initial DRC base to encompass many other areas (epidemiological, health services and health policy, clinical research in craniofacial development and anomalies, orthodontics, and oral pathology, periodontics, radiology and dental materials) is conducted through the School of Dentistry and other adjacent collaborative University units. Scientists constituting the research faculty represent a range of clinical dental disciplines and basic sciences departments, and include basic biomedical scientists with primary academic appointments in the School of Dentistry and/or the School of Medicine and clinical researchers in the School of Dentistry departments. Support for the broader research activities in the School, including opportunities for visiting scientists and students of all types, is available through Dental Research, its investigators and facilities, research programs initiated or based here, and the Office of the Associate Dean for Research.

There have been significant changes to Dental Research since its original inception in 1965-66, not least of which is a shift from Institute-centralized grant funding mechanisms and research focus to grant support from a network of sources and to research themes that are widely diverse. Expanded research through the School of Dentistry reflects research strengths both complementary of existing recognized research programs and representative of research leadership nationally in new and emerging areas. The research position of the School today and the reputation of researach conducted here is largely atributable to the ability of the research community here to build on strengths and priorities set in motion over the last twenty-five years, much of which occurred through the Dental Research Center mechanism. In addition to significant differences in the composition of the research funding base for Dental Research and School research that have occurred over the years, great changes have occurred in the faculty complement and with their collective expertise, interests, and abilities to conduct research, and with training programs that have expanded opportunities for research involvement at all levels. Our School has been fortunate in being able to establish strong research programs, provide opportunities for growth and faculty recruitment, and support investigators day-to-day. Research emphases and needs are driven by the dynamics of these faculty and their initiatives and successes.

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