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College of Dentistry UNIVERSITY of FLORIDA
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Dentistry Maintains Top 10 NIH Funding Rank

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At the University of Florida College of Dentistry, our researchers are driven by a vision of the future where debilitating oral diseases and chronic pain are a thing of the past.

This stacked bar chart displays the UF College of Dentistry Research Awards by UF Fiscal Year from FY20 to FY25. The chart shows a general upward trend in total funding, starting at $15.5 million in FY20 and reaching a peak of $20.1 million in FY25. Each bar is divided into three funding sources, color-coded as follows: Federal (Blue): The largest contributor, increasing from $13.4M in FY20 to $17.5M in FY25. Non-Federal (Orange): Fluctuates over the years, peaking in FY22 at approximately $2.4M. UF/UFCD (Green): Internal funding that remains the smallest portion, peaking in FY25 at nearly $2M.

Because of a relentless pursuit of discovery, the UFCD research enterprise has once again ranked among the Top 10 dental schools in the U.S. for National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding — a standard of excellence we have proudly held since 2000. In the past year alone, our faculty and student researchers have accrued nearly $14 million in NIH funding to move from curiosity toward laboratory breakthroughs and into real-world treatments. This caliber of funding is a vital fuel that simultaneously strengthens our clinical, educational, and service missions.

According to the 2025 Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, which includes award data from all NIH institutes, UFCD ranks fourth in research funding among the country’s public dental schools and seventh among all U.S.-based dental schools.

(FY20 to FY25) Total research funding has shown a general upward trend, growing from $15.5 million in FY20 to a peak of $20.1 million in FY25. Federal funding remains the largest contributor (increasing from $13.4M to $17.5M), supported by various Non-Federal and internal UF/UFCD funding sources.

Team Science in Action

Sustaining this level of excellence requires a village. UFCD’s thriving research enterprise is built on a foundation of “team science” where our clinical faculty, public health experts and basic scientists break out of their silos to collaborate on complex oral and systemic health challenges.

A prime example of this is the UF Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence, or PRICE. Housed within UFCD, PRICE unites over 50 researchers, clinicians and trainees from nine different UF colleges. Working closely with the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute and the UF Institute on Aging, this interdisciplinary powerhouse is dedicated to advancing the understanding and treatment of pain. The results of this collaboration speak volumes: in 2024 alone, PRICE investigators secured over $25 million in federal research funding and shared their breakthroughs through more than 400 scientific publications.

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Rather than a tally of our institutional grants, we measure success by the people driving them. By deliberately investing in interdisciplinary relationships, we are actively developing the oral health researchers of the future.

Programs like our T90/R90 Comprehensive Training Program in Oral Biology — the largest training award at UF — have empowered over 40 predoctoral fellows and 26 postdoctoral fellows to become national leaders in oral infectious diseases and immunology.

Through the Integrative and Multidisciplinary Pain and Aging Research Training, or IMPART, program and the UF PAIN TEAM, our postdoctoral fellows are partnering with experts at the UF Institute on Aging and the College of Engineering. They are in the clinic and the lab, searching for holistic solutions to systemic pain and addiction that will change patients’ lives.

Centers of UFCD Discovery and Clinical Innovation

From the Center for Dental Biomaterials to the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network, our multidisciplinary research approach positions UFCD at the forefront of oral health innovation. We are committed to leaving no stone unturned to find the resources necessary to solve the most complex craniofacial and systemic health challenges, ensuring that today’s scientific discoveries translate directly into a healthier future for the communities we serve across the state and beyond.

2025 Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research rankings

NIH Funding | Top 10 dental schools

  1. University of California San Francisco $27,617,484
  2. University of Southern California (Private) $21,342,587
  3. University of Michigan Ann Arbor $16,407,309
  4. University of Pennsylvania (Private) $14,981,395
  5. New York University (Private) $14,381,126
  6. University of California Los Angeles $14,316,904
  7. University of Florida $13,794,978
  8. University of Maryland Baltimore $12,281,418
  9. University of Texas San Antonio $9,770,084
  10. Virginia Commonwealth University $7,528,030