National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D., announced the selection of Jonathan E. Burke, D.M.D., as director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). A practicing dentist, Dr. Burke is the medical director of an oral and maxillofacial consulting firm in Philadelphia. He will start at NIH on Sept. 20, 2026.
"Dr. Burke has spent his career at the intersection of surgical excellence and patient care and is a leader in craniofacial trauma and cleft palate reconstruction," said Dr. Bhattacharya. "That depth of hands-on clinical experience gives him a valuable perspective as NIDCR continues to translate groundbreaking research into better outcomes for patients. I am eager for him to join the NIH leadership team."
As NIDCR director, Dr. Burke will oversee the institute's annual budget of more than $520 million, which supports basic, translational and clinical research in areas of oral cancer, orofacial pain, tooth decay, periodontal disease, salivary gland dysfunction, craniofacial development and disorders and the oral complications of systemic diseases. The institute funds approximately 750 awards, 660 investigators and 200 organizations. Additionally, NIDCR supports research training and career development programs benefiting approximately 380 researchers and trainees at various stages of their careers, from high school students to independent scientists.
Dr. Burke is a board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon with over three decades of clinical and academic leadership in the field. He previously served as assistant professor of surgery at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey, where he co-founded the institution's first Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and supervised surgical residents across multiple specialties. While there, he concurrently held a clinical assistant professor appointment at Temple University School of Dentistry, where he trained oral and maxillofacial surgical residents in clinical and operating room settings. He has maintained active hospital privileges multiple health systems, including staff status with the Regional Cleft Palate Program in Camden, New Jersey.
Early in his career, Dr. Burke served as principal or co-investigator on research spanning temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pharmacology, implant devices, and post-surgical pain management. He has also co-authored peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on craniofacial trauma, reconstruction, and TMJ disorders. He has remained an active voice in his field's professional community, delivering invited lectures and scientific presentations at national meetings of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association.
Dr. Burke received his bachelor's degree in pharmacy and his doctorate in dental medicine from Temple University, Philadelphia. He completed his residency through rotations at multiple Philadelphia-area hospitals and completed his postgraduate training as Chief Resident in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, also at Temple University Hospital.
"With gratitude, I thank Jennifer Webster-Cyriaque, D.D.S., Ph.D., who has effectively led NIDCR in an acting capacity since April 2024," said Dr. Bhattacharya. "Her confident and steady leadership has helped the institute fulfill its mission to translate research findings into actionable prevention, early detection, and treatment strategies that improve overall health for all Americans."
