The goal of this program is to increase research capacity, research participation, and grant submissions at the Mike Petryk School of Dentistry. This program provides funding requests for up to $8,000 to support and promote eight research areas under the minor grant funding program. 

Both generic and specific Terms of Reference have been developed for the minor funds, and when there are differences between the terms in this document and the terms in Specific Terms of Reference, the terms associated with the Specific Terms of Reference will prevail. The management and adjudication of these research/endowment funds will be overseen by different adjudication committees. Each endowment fund may identify the governing allocation committee that oversees the adjudication of its applications. 

The annual call for minor grants will be announced in the Spring. Special calls may be announced in the Fall (subject to fund availability).

Overview

• Eligibility: Faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students

• Generic Terms of Reference

• Specific Terms of Reference: See individual funds below

• The application form and instructions can be found in each funding opportunity below

• The 8 Minor grants are listed below.  Please click the funds to learn more.

Open for Fall 2025 - Special Call

Closed until Spring 2026

Endodontics Endowment Fund (EEF)

Project 1: Optimizing Endodontic Regeneration with A Novel Dual-Action Hydrogel

Awardee(s): Prasanna Neelakantan, Yuli Berlin-Broner

Project 2: Incidental Detection of Untreated MB2 Canals on CBCT: Clinical Relevance and Implications

Awardee(s): Camila Pacheco-Pereira, Yuli Berlin-Broner, Hannah Tyrrell

Fund for Dentistry (FFD)

Project 1: Periodontal disease contributes to systemic disease by activation of the tissue renin-angiotensin system (tRAS) and acceleration of vascular age

Awardee(s): Yuge Chen, Maria Febbraio, Xuejia Zhang, Prasanna Neelakantan

Project 2: Investigating Potential Associations Between Advanced Periodontitis and Skin Disorders Using Health Administrative Data

Awardee(s): Raisa Catunda, Maria Febbraio, Maryam Sharifzadeh-Amin, Aida Mohammadabadi

Project 3: Managing non-carious cervical lesions using modeling for clinical decision making in patients

Awardee(s): Ahmed Hussain, Samer Adeeb, Tao Liu, Paige Merko

Project 4: Predicting Teen Adherence to Removable Orthodontic Appliances Using the Integrative Behavior Model

Awardee(s): Carlos Flores-Mir, Arnaldo Perez-Garcia, Akriti Tiwari

Project 5: Patients and Care Providers’ Views on Patient Engagement in Periodontal Care: A Qualitative Description Study

Awardee(s): Ava Nasr Esfahani, Arnaldo Perez-Garcia, Manuel Oscar Lagravere Vich, Alexandra Diana Ellen Sheppard

Project 6: Distance, weather, and scheduling factors as predictors of patient initiation and completion of non-surgical periodontal therapy. A chart review study

Awardee(s): Arnaldo Perez Garcia, Nazlee Sharmin, Mahsa Saeidian, Emily Grisé, Chrysi Stavropoulou

Geriatric Oral Health Research Fund (GOHRF)

Project 1: The State of Geriatric Education: Assessing the Educational Preparedness and Confidence of Dentistry and Dental Hygiene Students and Early-Career Practitioners in Geriatric Care 

Awardee(s): Laura Hildebrandt, Sharon Compton, Cheryl Arntson

Project 2: Exploring Community Partner Perspectives on Dental Hygiene Student Continuing Care Rotations

Awardee(s): Cheryl Arntson, Sharon Compton

Gerald Stewart Radiology Endowment Fund (GSREF)

Project 1: A Gamified Model for CBCT Landmark Identification and Clinical Decision Support in Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology

Awardee(s): Camila Pacheco-Pereira, Nazlee Sharmin, Ava K Chow, Swarna Yerebairapura Math

Oral Health Community Engagement Fund (OHCEF)

Project 1: An Exploration of Community-Based Clinical Education (CBCE) in Canadian Dental Hygiene Programs: Barriers, Benefits, and Practices

Awardee(s): Cheryl Arntson, Sharon Compton, Emma Lewis, Hollis Lai

Oral Medicine and Oral Pathology Fund (OMOP)

Project 1: Improving Clinical Reasoning Skills in Oral Medicine Graduate Programs: Knowledge Graph Construction Using Large Language Models

Awardee(s): Tahereh Firoozi, Reid Friesen, Hollis Lai, Hamid Mohammadi

School of Dentistry Education Research Fund (SDERF)

Project 1: Implementation and Evaluation of a Digital Resource Hub in Dental Education

Awardee(s): Ava K Chow, Nazlee Sharmin