School of Dentistry ranks No. 1 in Texas, top 10 nationally in NIH funding

UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry is ranked No. 1 in Texas and 10th nationally among dental schools that received research funding from the National Institutes of Health in 2023, according to the annual rankings released by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research in early February.

The annual rankings evaluate institutions, departments, and investigators based on the funding they receive from the NIH over the previous federal fiscal year.

The School of Dentistry reported $7.7 million in research grants funded through September 2023.

“The School of Dentistry is uniquely suited to be among the top research-focused dental schools in the world,” said Mary “Cindy” Farach-Carson, PhD, associate dean for research and director of clinical and translational research. “Surrounded by the incomparable resources of the Texas Medical Center institutions, our exceptional faculty are poised to tackle the top research challenges in oral health, oral biomaterials and craniofacial biology. Oral health is essential to overall health, thus the opportunity to partner with other UTHealth Houston schools and TMC institutions allows our researchers to successfully compete for funding to provide new tools and solutions to transform oral and overall health care delivery.”

The dental school’s national ranking marks an eight-spot improvement from No. 18 the year prior.

“The School of Dentistry is excited to have achieved one of its long-standing goals, reflecting on the commitment by our faculty, staff, students, and residents towards research,” said Dean John A. Valenza, DDS. “We have often said that our strengths in patient care and research are foundations of excellence in education. As we have elevated the school’s stature in caring for patients and conducting research, our students and patients are the ultimate beneficiaries of these efforts towards improving both oral and overall health.”

The School of Dentistry was one of four UTHealth Houston schools to be ranked among the nation’s leaders in research funding. Joining the dental school No. 1 in Texas was Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston (No. 18 nationally) with $5.3 million in grant funding and UTHealth Houston School of Public Health (No. 15 nationally) with $24.8 million in research grants, respectively. McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston placed 53rd out of 144 medical schools with $112.3 million in NIH funding. Additionally, 16 of McGovern’s 23 departments were included in the FY23 rankings, with five departments in the top 20.