NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research said last week that it will provide an undisclosed amount of funding for research into the role of microbes in human oral health and disease using metagenomic approaches.
The funding announcement is a reissue of an existing program, which was previously released in December 2006.
NIDCR said it is interested in research “on the total oral microbial community … using metagenomic approaches built upon recent developments in DNA sequencing, gene assembly, and bioinformatics.” The goal is to completely characterize all microbes and their genes in the oral environment.
The institute is looking for projects “that will analyze the genomes of both cultivatable and uncultivable bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi, and parasites.”
Applicants “will be expected to work with state-of-the-science genomic sequencing centers and bioinformatics groups to sequence and annotate all microbes in the oral cavity under conditions of health and disease.”
The size and duration of each award will vary, and the total amount awarded and the number of awards will depend upon the numbers, quality, duration, and costs of the applications received, according to NIDCR.