Research Areas

Immunology is the branch of the biomedical sciences concerned with the structure, function, and disorders of the immune system, innate and acquired immunity, and the bodily distinctions of self from non-self.  The immune system protects the body from disease-causing pathogens that invade the body through wounds, or through mucous membranes such as those in the oral cavity and lung.

Several faculty members of the Department of Oral Biology are investigating aspects of potentially important connections between poor oral health and systemic diseases.

Saliva, produced and secreted by salivary glands, is vitally important for the normal function of healthy human beings. We are investigating function of saliva in health and disease by studying the structure/function relationships of salivary molecules, with a particular emphasis on the antimicrobial proteins/peptides and their mechanism of action (please see also Immunology and Innate Defenses).

The human body is home to trillions of bacteria. While most of these bacteria are commensals that exist in a beneficial relationship with their human host, others are pathogens which can cause severe and life-threatening disease. Research efforts on microbial pathogenesis in the Department of Oral Biology are focused on understanding the molecular basis of the mechanisms by which these bacteria cause disease, and the defense response of the human host.

Bone and other connective tissues are important dynamic tissues whose remodeling influences craniofacial development and structure. Studies are conducted in the department on the cellular and molecular aspects of these tissues, and the mechanism of action of many hormones and immunological agents affecting them.

The “bench-to-bedside” (in dentistry, “bench-to-chairside”) process of harnessing knowledge from basic sciences to produce new drugs, devices, and treatments to improve clinical care to benefit human health is called Translational Research.  As there are many distinct activities contributing to the overall progress of human health research, three discrete but synergistic processes have been suggested: