Research Grant Recipients
2025 successful applicants who received funding from the Ministry of Health Oral Health Research Fund and the NZ Dental Research Foundation.
Ministry of Health Oral Health Research Fund
| PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR | OTHER NAMED INVESTIGATORS | PROJECT TITLE | AWARDED |
|---|---|---|---|
| Associate Professor Manikandan Ekambaram | Jenny Tangis, Associate Professor Susan Moffat, Dr Yvonne Golpak, Professor Ben Motidyang (UO) | Cultural Safety in Primary Oral Healthcare in Aotearoa New Zealand: Challenges and Perspectives | $4,250 |
| Associate Professor Carolina Loch | Professor Sunyoung Ma, Professor Jonathan Broadbent | The impact of the climate crisis on oral health: first steps towards building a NZ perspective | $15,730 |
| Dr Moira Smith (UO Well) | Professor Jonathan Broadbent | Silver diamine fluoride uptake among oral health practitioners and services in Aotearoa New Zealand: a ‘Year 1’ evaluation | $49,942 |
| Professor Mauro Farella | Hamza Parvez Siddiqui, Associate Professor Peter Mei | Mandibular Advancement with Clear Aligners for Sleep-Disordered Breathing: A Crossover Study | $29,240 |
| Dr Sunitha Gowda (Health NZ/Te Whatu Ora) | Mr Heuiwon (Chris) Han (AUT), Ms Anishma Ram (NZDA) | Oral health literacy and access to dental care among Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease patients in the Northern region | $32,000 |
| Dr Yvonne Golpak | Professor Jonathan Broadbent | Perceptions on Oral health Country Profiles by Dental leaders of Pacific Island nations and New Zealand | $9,425 |
NZ Dental Research Foundation
| PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR | OTHER NAMED INVESTIGATORS | PROJECT TITLE | AWARDED |
|---|---|---|---|
| Associate Professor Peter Mei | Professor Zhiyi Huang (UO), Dr Simon Guan, Professor Mauro Farella, Ruijie Zhang | AI in the Chair: White Spot Lesion Detection and Prediction for Patient-Centred Dental Care | $9,760 |
| Dr Adith Venugopal | Professor Mauro Farella, Professor Azam Ali, Associate Professor Haizal Hussaini, Yen Tran | Detecting micro and nanoplastic leakage and Bisphenol A presence in clear aligners: an in vivo study | $14,450 |
| Dr Noren Nor Hasmun | Associate Professor Manikandan Ekambaram, Associate Professor Nicholas Heng, Marah Alsaid | A Novel Study on the Association Between Oral Microbiome Diversity of Molar Incisor Hypomineralisation, and Oral Health Outcomes | $14,970 |
| Professor Andrew Tawse-Smith | Tao Wang, Professor Sunyoung Ma, Dr Kai Chun Li, Associate Professor Tino Mercado | The influence of implant supra-structure on the efficacy of mechanical implant surface decontamination methods: an in vitro study | $10,850 |
| Associate Professor Dawn Coates | Charles Danson, Dr Kai Chun Li, Ghsaq Alhamdani, Professor Warwick Duncan | Development of a new rapid release medicament for oral ulcers | $6,812 |
| Dr Kai Chun Li | Professor Paul Cooper, Professor May Mei, Dr Jithendra Ratnayake, Eisha Imran | Development of a zinc-substituted nanohydroxyapatite toothpaste derived from waste bovine bone for caries management and antibacterial activity | $9,734 |
| Dr Simon Guan | Associate Professor Li Mei, Professor Richard Cannon, Desmond Cheong | Halitosis in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment with clear aligners and fixed appliances | $3,000 |
| Professor Lei (May) Mei | Yipeng (Evon) Fu, Dr Kai Chun Li, Associate Professor Manikandan Ekambaram | Bonding to carious dentine: the role of silver diamine fluoride in reduced saliva condition | $8,210 ($5,000 from DIG) |
| Associate Professor Lei (May) Mei | Tiya Zhang, Dr Kai Chun Li, Associate Professor Manikandan Ekambaram | Filling without drilling: a novel glass ionomer cement enhanced by calcium silicate and zirconia | $13,170 |
| Associate Professor Tino Mercado | Mr Samuel Carrington, Professor Jim Mann (UO), Professor Andrew Tawse-Smith, Professor Warwick Duncan | The relationship of periodontal management to the glycemic control of diabetes mellitus in Māori, Pacific and New Zealand European populations | $15,000 ($10,000 from CDET) |
| Dr Erwin Lamping | Peng Qiu, Professor Sunyoung Ma, Dr Kai Chun Li, Dr Trudy Milne | Are tissue-adhesive PEEK implant and abutment surfaces able to promote gingival-tissue integration? | $14,996 |
| Dr Jithendra Ratnayake | Professor Paul Cooper, Associate Professor Peter Cathro, Dr Lynda Wixon | Development of M2 macrophage exosome loaded bovine derived Zn-Hydroxyapatite nanoparticles for pulp-dentine complex tissue regeneration | $12,880 |
| Associate Professor Joanne Choi | Associate Professor Nicholas Heng, Mr John Aarts, Mr Andrew Cameron (GU), Xiaoxia Wang | Influence of post-washing durations on the properties of additively manufactured dentures | $15,000 |
| Dr Mona Koushan (UC) | Professor Lincoln C. Wood (UO), Associate Professor Jeff Foote (UO), Dr Janine Cochrane | Capacity Management Policies for Enhancing Accessibility, Availability, and Affordability of Dental Services for the Youth Population (Aged 18–24 Years) | $15,000 |
Key
Named investigators are from the Sir John Walsh Research Institute, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago unless noted otherwise.
| KEY | INSTITUTION |
|---|---|
| UO | University of Otago |
| AUT | Auckland University of Technology |
| NZDA | New Zealand Dental Association |
| DIG | NZ Dental Industry Group Research Award |
| CDET | Continuing Dental Education Trust (Auckland) Award |
| GU | Griffith University |
| UC | University of Canterbury |
| UO Well | University of Otago, Wellington |
