Oral Biology
Please note that, effective July 1, 2013, Oral Biology faculty will hold primary appointments within the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology. As a consequence of this reorganization, the Oral Biology PhD program will also undergo changes. Applicants interested in the PhD program in Oral Biology for fall of 2014 must apply to the Program in Biomedical Sciences (PiBS).
- David E. Levin, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Molecular & Cell Biology
Research interests: the molecular mechanisms of stress signaling; fungal pathogenesis - Philip Trackman, PhD
Director, Graduate Programs in Molecular & Cell Biology; Professor
Research interests: regulation of extracellular matrix accumulation in mineralized and non-mineralized normal tissues, and in pathologies in which extracellular matrix accumulation is affected; the mechanism by which lysyl oxidase acts as a tumor suppressor - Salomon Amar, DDS, PhD
Director, Center for Anti-inflammatory Therapeutics; Professor
Research interests: the molecular aspects of inflammatory processes and wound healing - Maria Kukuruzinska, PhD
Associate Dean for Research, Professor
Research interests: elucidation of the regulatory mechanisms underlying the interactions between the metabolic pathway of protein N-glycosylation and intercellular adhesion in tissue development and disease; mechanisms underlying salivary gland development; molecular basis of oral cancer. - Frank Oppenheim, DMD, PhD
Professor and First Distinguished Scientist
Research interests: elucidation of structure and function of salivary proteins, which play important role in host defense mechanisms - Ruslan Afasizhev, PhD
Professor
Research interests: the molecular biology of RNA; RNA editing in the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei - Carlos B. Hirschberg, PhD
Professor
Research interests: roles of posttranslational modifications on development and disease - Phillips W. Robbins, PhD
Professor
Research interests: cell wall and glycan biochemistry of protozoan pathogens - Miklos Sahin-Toth, MD, PhD
Professor
Research interests: the role of proteases in pancreatitis - John C. Samuelson, PhD
Professor
Research interests: the cell wall and glycan biochemistry, pathogenesis, and evolution of protozoan parasites, Entameoba, Giardia, Toxoplasma, Eimeria, and Trichomonas - Eva Helmerhorst, BS, MS, PhD
Associate Professor
Research interests: role of the microbiome of the upper gastro-intestinal tract and the oral cavity in the digestion of dietary gluten - Yoshiyuki Mochida, DDS, PhD
Associate Professor
Research interests: pre-clinical basic research using genetically engineered mouse models in dental/bone diseases; genetic disorders; Ellis-van Creveld (EVC) syndrome; how to control recombinant human Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP)-2 for craniofacial reconstruction, bone/cartilage repair and periodontal regeneration - Erdjan Salih, BS, PhD
Associate Professor
Research interests: define at both the qualitative and the quantitative level the phosphoproteome of oral fluids; bone biology - Inna Afasizheva, PhD
Assistant Professor
Research interests: control of mitochondrial mRNA translation in the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei
