Ono elected to NIDCR Special Grants Review Committee

Associate Professor Noriaki Ono, DDS, PhD, of UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry has been elected as a Standing Member of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research’s Special Grants Review Committee (DSR).

His appointment will run from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2028.

The DSR provides scientific merit review of applications for support of fellowship, career development and individual and institutional training programs, and applications submitted to the NIDCR Small Grant Program.

Membership on the DSR Study Section represents a major commitment of professional time as well as a unique opportunity to contribute to the national biomedical research effort. Study sections review applications submitted to the National Institutes of Health, make recommendations on the applications to the appropriate NIH national advisory council or board, and survey the status of research in their fields of science. These functions are of great value to the medical and allied research fields.

Ono was noted in his nomination for his demonstrated competence and achievement in his scientific discipline as evidenced by the quality of his research accomplishments, publications in scientific journals, and other significant scientific activities, achievements, and honors. Service on a study section also requires mature judgment and objectivity as well as the ability to work effectively in a group, additional qualities his nominators believe he will bring to this important task.

Originally from Tokyo, Ono joined the School of Dentistry’s Department of Diagnostic and Biomedical Sciences in July 2021. His research, which has been supported by the NIH since 2012, focuses on the fundamental biology of skeletal stem cells, with a further scope on understanding pathophysiology of dental, craniofacial, and skeletal deformities and diseases that affect millions of children and adults. Ono’s laboratory studies the function of skeletal stem cells in development, diseases, and regeneration of bone and cartilage.

Ono, who comes from a family with a lineage of dentists and orthodontists, holds doctorates in dental surgery and philosophy, as well as an orthodontic certificate, from Tokyo Medical and Dental University. He also completed a research fellowship in the Endocrine Unit of Massachusetts General Hospital. He was an associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry prior to joining UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry.