Research Faculty

Dr. L. Baccaglini

lbaccaglini@dental.ufl.edu

Genetic epidemiology or recurrent aphthous stomatits (RAS;in progress). Association between osteoimmune processes and RAS (in development). General interests: oral medicine, epidemiology, genetics, biostatistics, etiopathogenesis.

Dr. R. Fillingim

rfillingim@dental.ufl.edu

Biological, social, and psychological factors that may influence the experience of pain. Understanding the reasons for gender differences in pain thresholds. Effects of pain relieving medications for women and men. 

Dr. H. Logan

hlogan@dental.ufl.edu

Impact of stress on the physiological and psychological experience of pain among humans. Clinical and laboratory models based on neuroendocrine and immune changes during and following painful stimuli.  Intensity of pain and the resulting neuroendocrine and immune biochemical correlates.  Neuroendocrine and immune patters in recovery following painful stimuli in the presence of a stress of relaxed state.

Dr. J.L. Riley

jriley@dental.ufl.edu

Behavioral factors in orofacial pain. Specific topics of interest include the interaction between pain, negative mood, cognitive coping strategies, and treatment outcome; sex differences in report of clinical and experimental pain; treatment compliance; and health care utilization prediction.

Dr. S. Tomar

stomar@dental.ufl.edu

Oral epidemiology and disease surveillance. Dental public health. Tobacco and oral health, including health effects, intervention, and policy. Oral cancer epidemiology, prevention, and disparities. Survey research.

Dr. J. Watson

jwatson@dental.ufl.edu

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Dr. K.J. Anusavice

kanusavice@dental.ufl.edu

Fracture resistance of all-ceramic restorations. Enamel wear by ceramics. Optimization of restoration design. Reducing the risk of PFM failure, color analysis, caries risk assessment, decision analysis, fracture analysis, stress analysis. Bond testing, enamel remineralization, color analysis.

Dr. C. Shen

cshen@dental.ufl.edu

Controlled release of therapeutic agents from dental restorative materials. General properties of glass ionomer cements. Fluoride release from dental materials. Surface properties of dental restorative materials.

Dr. K.-J Söderholm

ksoderholm@dental.ufl.edu

Composite materials, compomers, dental adhesives, and biodegradation of dental composites.

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Gail S. Mitchell

gmitchell@dental.ufl.edu

Educational research: Teaching and learning methodologies, curriculum evaluation.

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Dr. J.E. Haddix

jhaddix@dental.ufl.edu

Instrumentation and obturation techniques for endodontic therapy. Restoration of endodontically treated teeth.

Dr. Roberta Pileggi

rpillegi@dental.ufl.edu

Pulpal Biology, Trauma, and Resorption. Endodontic Instruments.

Dr. F.J. Vertucci

vertucci@dental.ufl.edu

Root canal obturation and instrumentation techniques and materials. Factors affecting the coronal and apical root canal seal; root canal morphology.

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Dr. J.T. Autio-Gold

jautio@dental.ufl.edu

Clinical trials on preventive dentistry: Effect of fluoride varnish in caries prevention. The effect of xylitol-chewing gum in caries prevention. Epidemiology of primary caries. Research in diagnostic methods, including new devices and techniques.

Dr. P.K. Blaser

pblaser@dental.ufl.edu

Bonding vs pins in amalgam restorations. Strength of endodontically-treated teeth restored with composite vs post and amalgam vs amalgam with no post. Procedures for treating Class II restorations with composite.

Dr. V.V. Gordan

vgordan@dental.ufl.edu

Esthetic dentistry: Dentin/enamel bonding to different substrates, resin based composites, tooth bleaching, and alternative treatment of defective restorations.

Dr. N.J. Grimaudo

grimaudo@dental.ufl.edu

Acquired pellicle formation and plaque accumulation on dental restorative materials. Bacterial adherence to implant materials (peri-implantitis). Candida albicans colonization of oral cavity and controlled drug released devices to treat candidiasis.

Dr. I.A. Mjör

imjor@dental.ufl.edu

Secondary caries.  Repair and alternative treatments of defective restoration margins.  Practice based research: (1) reasons for replacement of restorations, and (2) longevity of restorations.

Dr. C.L. Smith, Jr.

csmith@dental.ufl.edu

Sleep disorders, specifically sleep apnea and upper airway resistance syndrome.  Facial pain, particularly as it relates to sleep disorders.

Dr. R.E. Watson

rwatson@dental.ufl.edu

Clinical caries/caries activity.  Sleep apnea/medications-correlations.  Halitosis/mouth malodor.

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Dr. M. Belanger

mbelanger@dental.ufl.edu

Porphyromonas gingivalis is an important periodontal pathogen.  Recently, it has been recognized that P. gingivalis may have an important role in systematic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, prematurity, and low birth weight.  Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in developed countries.  We use human coronary artery endothelial cells as a model to study the interactions of P. gingivalis with the endothelial layer of the vasculature.  Prematurity and associated a low birth weight is the leading cause of death in the first month of life.  We developed a rat model to study adverse pregnancy outcomes during infection with P. gingivalis.  We aim to elucidate the mechanisms by which P. gingivalis virulence factors and the host immune system interact to cause pregnancy complications.

Dr. L.J. Brady

jbrady@dental.ufl.edu

Host-parasite interactions.  Structure-function of streptococcal surface proteins.  Immunogenicity/vaccine development.

Dr. T.A. Brown

tbrown@dental.ufl.edu

Our research program is concerned with mucosal immunity and its role in host defense, and in the mechanisms by which pathogens subvert host defenses.  One of our major areas of interest is molecular vaccines.  We are investigating the use of live attenuated Salmonella strains as vehicles to deliver cloned antigens to the Peyer’s patches in the gut in order to efficiently stimulate a mucosal IgA response.  Because an immune response can be elicited to a selected antigen and not to the entire organism, problems associated with undesirable and potentially dangerous side effects of whole cell vaccines can be avoided.

Dr. R. Burne

rburne@dental.ufl.edu

The primary interests in my laboratory are in the molecular mechanisms governing the ability of bacteria that are capable of causing diseases in humans to modulate their virulence in response to environmental influences. The specific projects in the lab are focused in four major areas. The first is a detailed study of the genetics and physiology of polysaccharide metabolism and its relationship to virulence and biofilm formation by oral streptococci. The second project is a molecular genetic analysis of the role of the major molecular chaperones in gene regulation and responses to environmental stresses. The third project is a broad based approach to understanding the genetics and physiology of ureases and arginine metabolism by streptococci and actinomycetes. The final project utilizes a multi-species biofilm model system coupled with the use of genetically engineered bacteria to explore microbial ecology and the pathogenesis of oral infectious diseases. 

Dr. E.K. Chan

echan@dental.ufl.edu

Our laboratory is primarily interested in autoimmunity with the focus in autoantigens and autoantibodies associated with systemic autoimmune diseases, such as Sjögren’s’ syndrome, and oral cancer.  The two main directions are 1) to identify and characterize specific autoimmune target antigens and understand why autoantibodies are induced and continually produced in different disease states and 2) to use human autoantibodies as unique probes to reveal the molecular and cellular functions of interesting macromolecules and subcellular organelles that are autoimmune targets.  By understanding the biology of autoantigens in health and disease states, we can appreciate the functional and pathogenic potentials of autoantibodies.

Our laboratory is actively characterizing the autoantigen GW182 which is a marker for cytoplasmic structures known as GW bodies (GWBs, or P bodies).  These structures are now identified as the major intracellular site for RNA interference and mRNA degradation.  The most common clinical diagnosis of patients with anti-GW182/GWB antibodies was Sjogren’s syndrome, followed by neurological disease (motor and sensory neuropathy and/or ataxia), and systematic lupus erythematosus.  Several novel autoantigens have been identified in GWBs and we focus on their roles in the regulation of gene expression via RNA interference.

Dr. David Culp

dculp@dental.ufl.edu

We apply multidisciplinary approaches (morphological, physiological, pharmacological, biochemical, molecular and genetic) to study the biology of salivary glands, with an emphasis on the synthesis, secretion and functions of mucins.  Mucins are major constituents of mucus layers of the body and function as a defense mechanism against invading microorganisms.  These glycoproteins are secreted by the highly specialized mucous cell phenotype, which are under complex parasympathetic control.  We recently discovered and characterized the gene, Muc19/Smgc, which encodes the mucin (Muc19) that is selectively expressed by mouse sublingual salivary glands.  Coincidently, we genetically mapped an autosomal recessive mutation, sld, to a 1 megabase critical region of chromosome 15.  The sld phenotype is characterized by the developmental delay and attenuated expression of Muc19.  Interestingly, the critical region contains Muc19/Smgc.  We are currently delineating whether Muc19 indeed harbors the sld mutation, through construction of knockout mouse models and by bioinformatic/gene expression analysis of the critical region.  We are also investigating the associated genetic lesion to determine mechanism(s) by which steady-state levels of Muc19 transcripts are regulated.

We recently initiated a project to induce distinct targeted gene deletions of specific salivary constituents (e.g., Muc19) in mice to test their functions in protecting teeth against the oral pathogen, Streptococcus mutans.  Genetic manipulations of the bacteria are also being carried out to test putative S. mutans virulence factors in caries development.  Determination of the influence of specific bacterial and host determinants in caries development in vivo may ultimately provide important targets for therapeutic intervention in the treatment of patients at high risk for caries.

Dr. M. Handfield

mhandfield@dental.ufl.edu

My laboratory is interested in the study of bacterial, viral and fungal infections of humans.  We are focusing on the development and the use of novel tools to study human diseases directly, rather than in potentially misleading animal models.  We have developed an innovative tool termed In Vivo Induced Antigen Technology (IVIAT, Trends Microbiol. 8:336-339) that uses serum from human survivors of disease as a probe to identify those genetic factors that are uniquely active in the disease process.  IVIAT is a functional genomic technology and it complements other gene sequencing and analytic techniques by very rapidly sifting through a pathogen’s genome to identify those critical genes in human infections.  These genes are potentially valuable targets for novel antimicrobials, vaccine design or diagnostics.

Dr. J.D. Hillman

jhillman@dental.ufl.edu

Bacterial molecular genetics, physiology, mutagenesis, virulence factors, ecology.  Replacement therapy for the prevention of dental caries.  Virulence factors of medical and dental pathogens.  Novel antibiotics.

Dr. R. Lamont

rlamont@dental.ufl.edu

Bacteria-host cell  interactions in the oral cavity. Oral biofilm formation. Signaling and communication between oral bacteria.

Dr. N.I. Magnusson

imagnusson@dental.ufl.edu

Periodontal disease: etiology, diagnosis, progression, prevention and therapy.  Clinical Research, Clinical Trials.

Dr. Y. Park

ypark@dental.ufl.edu

Characterization of genes involved in pathogenicity of an oral pathogen.  Porphyromonas gingivalis:  The ability of P. gingivalis to invade into human gingival epithelial cells appears to be a very important step for the pathogenicity of the organism.  My current research interest is the identification and characterization of P. gingivalis genes which may be involved in invasion and survival in host cells.

Dr. A. Progulske-Fox

apfox@dental.ufl.edu

Molecular biology of virulence of periodontal pathogens; the molecular basis of the associations of periodontal disease and cardiovascular diseases; novel technologies of studying in vivo gene expression in pathogenic organisms.

Dr. C.B. Walker

walkercl@ufl.edu

Molecular mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and the transfer of antibiotic resistant determinants in oral biofilms; effect of antibiotics on bacteria in a biofilm matrix.

Dr. W.L. Wharton

wlwharton@dental.ufl.edu

Craniofacial (including cleft palate).

Dr. W.N. Williams

williams@dental.ufl.edu

Oral motor function as related to craniofacial malformations.  Treatment efficacy (surgical, prosthetic, and behavioral) of cleft lip/palate and other craniofacial abnormalities.  Psychosocial issues related to craniofacial malformations.

Ms. L. Yenatska

lyenatska@dental.ufl.edu

Treatment of Children born with cleft lip and/or palate.  Speech in children with Clefts.

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Dr. R.M. Caudle

rcaudle@dental.ufl.edu

Basic mechanisms of pain transmission focusing on the interactions of neuropeptide and excitatory amino acid receptors. A second line of research involves probing the molecular physiology of the protein responsible for transducing the pain and heat associated with hot chili peppers.

Dr. B.Y. Cooper

bcooper@dental.ufl.edu

Pain Electrophysiology:  Immunocytochemistry on sensory cells.  What are the properties of pain sensing fibers of the peripheral nervous system?  Our lab uses electrophysiology pharmacology and immunocytochemistry to examine these questions in rat sensory cells.

Dr. J.G. Green

jgreen@dental.ufl.edu

Continuous dose local anesthetics for control of surgical pain in HIP graft patients.

Dr. J. Gu

jgu@dental.ufl.edu

Synoptic transmission and modulation of sensory signals.  Functions of Purinergic receptors.  Role of Ca2+ permeable AMPA receptors in dorsal horn neurons.

Dr. M.W. Heft

heft@dental.ufl.edu

Studies of sensory changes during aging.  Pain assessment in humans. Assessment of sensory changes in neuropathic pain syndromes.

Dr. M.K. Nair

mnairmk@radiology.ufl.edu

Digital imaging in dentistry.  3D imaging and image processing.

Dr. M. Stavropoulos

fstavrop@dental.ufl.edu

Bone grafting. Osteoporosis. Guided bone regeneration. Dentoalveolar surgery.

Dr. J.D. Ruskin

nervedoc@dental.ufl.edu

Dental implants. Bone regeneration.

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Dr. Seunghee Cha

scha@dental.ufl.edu

Pathogenesis of Sjögren's syndrome

Dr. J. Katz

jkatz@dental.ufl.edu

The Oral systemic connection receptor for advanced glycation end product (RAGE) role in oral diseases.

Dr. C.M. Stewart

cstewart@dental.ufl.edu

Autoimmune disorders, salivary dysfunction, HIV/AIDS, Oral Medicine – manifestations of systemic diseases.

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Dr. E.A. Lado, Jr.

elado@dental.ufl.edu

Sterilizer monitoring.

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Dr. I. Bhattacharyya

ibhattacharyya@dental.ufl.edu

1) Molecular basis of oral pre-cancer and cancer
2) Clinical research on oral mucosal disorders such as burning mouth syndrome, lichen planus, pemphigoid, etc.
3) Epidemiological survey of various oral lesions submitted as biopsy specimen.

Dr. D.M. Cohen

dcohen@dental.ufl.edu

Molecular diagnosis of oral cancer.  Vesicullo-bullous diseases.  Outcomes research.  Lichen planus.  Unusual oral tumors.

Dr. P.R. Sandow

psandow@dental.ufl.edu

Osteoradionecrosis.  Radiation caries.  Xerostomia, hyposalivation. Candidiasis. Taste and smell.  Cancer-related mucositis.

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Dr. C. Dolce

cdolce@dental.ufl.edu

Bone remodeling during orthodontic tooth movement. Gene activation in osteoblasts in response to mechanical stimulation.

Dr. H.A. Gremillion

hgremillion@dental.ufl.edu

Sex and gender differences in pain.  Sleep disturbances and their impact on orofacial pain.  Bruxism.  Psychological aspects of chronic orofacial pain.  Temporomandibular disorders/orofacial pain.

Dr. L.S. Holliday

sholliday@dental.ufl.edu

Activation of osteoclastic bone resorption.  Integrin-associated signaling in osteoclasts.  Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase.  Cytoskeletal dynamics in osteoclasts.  Structure transport and function of vacuolar H+ ATPase.  Adeno-associated virus in the treatment of osteoclast-involved disease.

Dr. J. Morris-Wiman

morris-wiman@dental.ufl.edu

Morphogenesis and differentiation of taste-related oral structures.  Nerve muscle interaction in jaw muscle development.  Role of extracellular matrix and matrix metalloproteinases in craniofacial development.

Dr. T.T. Wheeler

twheeler@dental.ufl.edu

Orthodontic treatment outcomes.  Orthodontic tooth movement.

Dr. C.G. Widmer

widmer@dental.ufl.edu

Motor control mechanisms for jaw muscles.  Jaw and trigeminofacial     reflexes.  Research diagnostic criteria for temporomandibular disorders    and other orofacial pain conditions.  Nerve-muscle interactions during jaw         muscle development.  Biological basis for masticatory muscle pain.

Dr. R.P. Yezierski

ryezierski@dental.ufl.edu

Pain mechanisms related to the effects of age on pain sensitivity; the role of changes in immune function, HPA axis, and different transmitter systems on varying sensitivity to pain in animals of different ages.  How these changes are affected during normal aging, under pathological conditions and during conditions of stress are also being investigated.  Interest is in evaluating these changes using complex behavioral assessment strategies that involve cortical processing and decision making; plasticity and glia responses to acute and chronic pain conditions at different ages and the impact of cytokines and other inflammatory molecules in the development of chronic pain conditions.

Dr. J. Zuo

mjzuo@dental.ufl.edu

Vacuolar H+ ATPase interaction with microfilaments.  Phosphatidy-linositol signaling in osteoclasts.  Adeno-associated virus and osteoclasts.

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Dr. E. Bimstein

ebimstein@dental.ufl.edu

Periodontal health and diseases in children and adolescents.  Dental education –University.  Sedation of children for dental treatment.

Dr. F.A. Catalanotto

fcatalanotto@dental.ufl.edu

Clinical Aspects of taste and smell.  Health services research-access to case issues.  Etiology & prevation of dental caries.

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Dr. I. Aukhil

iaukhil@dental.ufl.edu

Tissue regeneration biology.  Bone cell differentiation.  Extra cellular matrix biology.

Dr. L. Machion

lmachion@dental.ufl.edu

We are currently working in these lines of research:
1) Understanding the relationship between periodontal disease and diabetes (clinical and animal projects).
2) Understanding the mechanisms of destruction of aggressive periodontal disease in children.
3 Using a biofilm model to understand the mechanism of action and resistance of periodontopathogens.

Dr. Shannon Pop

spop@dental.ufl.edu

My main focus is on developing my research program regarding the secondary complications of diabetes mellitus. 

Diabetes mellitus affects over 21 million Americans, including >9% of the adult population.  The current classification of diabetes is based upon the pathophysiology of each form of the disease.  Type I diabetes is a cellular mediated auto-immune destruction of the insulin producing B-cells of the pancreas resulting in life-long dependence on exogenous insulin.  Type II diabetes results from insulin resistance in which the use of endogenously produced insulin is altered at the target cells.

My broad research focus is on the innate immune responses in both of these diabetic patients populations with the understanding that these are similar diseases with different mechanisms leading to manifestation.  My initial interests involve the interactions of the diabetic host with mucosal pathogens and how these interactions contribute to the disease process of diabetes as well as how diabetic host responses differ from that of a normoglycemic host.  Finally, I am interested in how these potentially aberrant innate immune responses may affect other disease processes which have been classified as secondary complications of diabetes, such as periodontitis, cardiovascular disease, and arthritis. 

Dr. Ozlem Yilmaz

oyilmaz@dental.ufl.edu

Initial attachment mechanisms of P. gingivalis to epithelial cells with respect to complementary receptors on host cell surfaces and signal transduction events following attachment.

Long-term outcomes of P.gingivalis infection on gingival epithelial cell status by examining host cell death survival markers and phenotypic responses throughout the infection.

Modulation mechanisms of gingival epithelial cell survival responses mediated by P. gingivalis through both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways.

Understanding of the means for P. gingivalis’ ability to multiply and spread within the epithelium temporally and its relation to gingival epithelial cell survival.

Motility: Modulation of actin cytoskeleton and associated cell structural-signaling molecules during the intercellular spreading of P. gingivalis in gingival epithelium.

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Dr. A.P. Mauderli

amauderli@dental.ufl.edu

Study of central pain modulation (sensitization and inhibition) in patients with chronic pain diseases (fibromyalgia syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, myofascial pain syndrome) and in sufferers of traumatic brain injury.  Research participants are exposed to series of brief thermal stimuli (thermal probe contacting the skin.)  They are asked to rate the intensity of the pain on a visual analog scale.  Our protocols are designed to measure pain sensitivity and rate of change of sensitivity.

The data collected provide insights into mechanisms that render patients more pain-prone and allow testing drug effects on pain modulation.  The ultimate goal is the development of effective therapeutic strategies to return exaggerated pain sensitivity of chronic pain patients to normal.

Dr. V.J. Sposetti

sposetti@dental.ufl.edu