Research
Research is integral to the College of Dentistry at Ohio State. Not only does our research contribute to the oral health of people throughout the world, but it also provides students a critically important dimension beyond classroom and clinical education.
Our faculty researchers receive support from the National Institutes of Health – one of the nation's most prestigious research funding institutions. As part of the most comprehensive health sciences centers in the country, with colleges of dentistry, medicine, nursing, optometry, pharmacy, public health, and veterinary medicine all on the same campus, we are committed to collaborative basic, clinical and translational research.
Major research areas
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Cancerous cells ignore the normal rules that control cell division in a given tissue. As a mass of cancerous cells grows out of control, it out-competes its non-cancerous neighbors for space and nutrients. There are at least two critical events that contribute to morbidity and mortality associated with most cancers. First, growth of a tumor beyond a certain size is self-limiting unless angiogenesis provides new blood vessels to support the growing cancer. And second, the majority of mortality associated with cancer is due to invasion of the cancer into surrounding areas and metastasis of the original tumor cells to sites distant from the initial or primary tumor. Angiogenesis and invasion/metastasis are dependent on proteolytic degradation of the extracellular matrix by enzymes that include a variety of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Faculty members in the college are involved in research focused on (a) understanding the regulation of the genes involved in both initiating and blocking angiogenesis and (b) turning on or off the MMP genes that might influence the ability of a cell to move through a tissue. With this knowledge in hand, we have begun to develop and test new and promising therapies that are proving to limit tumor growth and invasion.
Susan Mallery, DDS, PhD - MARTDOCS Mentor
Professor, Division of Oral and Maxillofacial PathologyChristopher Weghorst, PhD
Professor, College of Public Health and The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute -
Research on the chemical senses is conducted by two laboratories in the Division of Biosciences that study the sense of taste. Taste influences what we eat, and thus this sense has obvious consequences for health. Like many other organisms, humans have innate preferences for sweet and salty tastes that signal foods with nutrient content, but have innate distaste for bitter substances, which are often toxic. The ready availability of foods with highly preferred tastes is a likely contributing factor to the “obesity epidemic” in the United States and the increased incidence of heart disease, hypertension and diabetes. Thus, an understanding of how taste interacts with homeostatic systems governing food intake may provide new therapeutic approaches. Similarly, learning how to promote appetite and avoid food aversions and weight loss associated with cancer and other debilitating diseases represents yet another medical challenge.
Oral conditions such as burning mouth syndrome or the removal of 3rd molars can impact the sense of taste. Taste also contributes to our quality of life. People spend countless hours and financial resources eating and exploring new cuisines. Large multinational conglomerates are actively pursuing substitutes for salt and sugar; the pharmaceutical industry is interested in blunting the bitter taste associated with many oral medicines. These medical and health related concerns are recognized by the National Institutes of health and fund basic research in the chemical senses. In the College of Dentistry funded projects include those exploring peripheral transduction mechanisms used by taste receptor cells. Other funded projects are exploring central neural coding of taste and the central pathways, circuits through which taste influences decisions to eat.
Joseph Travers, PhD
Professor, Division of BiosciencesSusan Travers, PhD - MARTDOCS Mentor
Professor, Division of Biosciences -
Current research in biomaterials encompasses physical, chemical and biological aspects of ceramic, metal, polymer and composite materials. Recent studies have investigated the strengthening mechanisms of dental ceramics and the development of new ceramic materials, the metallurgy and structure-property relationships for high-palladium alloys, the synthesis and characterization of polymeric materials for use in composite resins and glass ionomer cements, the esthetic characteristics of restorative and natural dental materials, the formulation of direct dental composite restorative materials based on optimum clinical performance, and the interactions of fibroblasts and epithelial cells with dental materials. Studies originating in the Biomedical Engineering Center have evaluated a copolymer formulation of bone cement for orthopedic implants. Research techniques employed include analytical and descriptive spectrometry, analytical electron microscopy, cell culturing, human visual evaluation, mechanical testing, rheology, thermal analysis (including calorimetry and thermomechanical analysis), and x-ray diffractometry.
William Brantley PhD
Professor Emeritus, Division of Restorative and Prosthetic DentistryWilliam Johnston PhD
Professor Emeritus, Division of Restorative and Prosthetic DentistryDo-Gyoon Kim PhD
Associate Professor, Division of OrthodonticsDiana Leyva del Rio, DDS, MS, PhD
Assistant Professor, Division of Restorative and Prosthetic DentistryAlan Litsky MD ScD
Associate Professor, Departments of Orthopaedics and Biomedical EngineeringScott Schricker PhD - MARTDOCS Mentor
Associate Professor, Division of Restorative and Prosthetic DentistryRobert Seghi DDS, MS
Professor, Division of Restorative and Prosthetic Dentistry -
Infection and host responses to infection and tissue damage are broadly studied within the College of Dentistry and throughout Ohio State University as a whole (see also the Center of Microbiome Science and the Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics). Research within the College of Dentistry is focused on all levels of the infectious and inflammatory processes, ranging from analyses of pathogenic microbes to the adaptive immune response against those pathogens. For example, advanced molecular techniques are used to study microbial communities, comprised of both commensal and disease-associated microbes, in the oral cavity and in the intestines. These studies are helping to identify how microbial populations help to shift the balance between health and disease in the mouth and in the gastrointestinal tract.
Additional research is focused on the early inflammatory response to infection and tissue damage, with faculty in the College of Dentistry studying the regulation of signaling pathways and inflammatory gene expression in cells of the musculoskeletal system, immune system, and brain vasculature. The regulation of the inflammatory response is probed by studying how factors, like mechanical forces and hormones, influence the development of the inflammatory response. Immune cell reactivity to infectious stimuli is also studied in the College of Dentistry within the context of bacterial infections, such as aggressive periodontitis, and viral infections, such as influenza. These studies are demonstrating that unique genetic polymorphisms in certain immune cell types, as well as physiological responses to stressors, alter the development of innate and adaptive immunity to microbes, and affect the ability of the host to respond to infectious diseases.
Sudha Agarwal PhD
Professor Emeritus, Division of BiosciencesMichael Bailey PhD - MARTDOCS Mentor
Associate Professor, College of MedicineProsper Boyaka PhD
Associate Professor, College of Veterinary MedicineAnn Griffen DDS, MS
Professor, Division of Pediatric DentistryGene Leys PhD
Professor, Division of BiosciencesJustin R. Kaspar, PhD - MARTDOCS Mentor
Assistant Professor, Division of BiosciencesAbhay Satoskar MD, PhD - MARTDOCS Mentor
Associate Professor, Department of MicrobiologyJohn Sheridan PhD - MARTDOCS Mentor
Professor, Division of BiosciencesJohn D. Walters DDS, MMSc
Professor Emeritus, Division of Periodontology -
We focus on how our facial and oral tissues develop, how their health is maintained or is disrupted by genetic abnormalities and/or disease, and how we can improve oral care by using novel techniques to promote repair. Specific areas of research include: molecular characterization of bone and tooth development and their mineralization; how mineralizing cells communicate with the peripheral and central nervous system during development and injury; how proteinases facilitate dental enamel development; and how the molecular properties of muscles diverge between species to control activities such as jaw and eye movement. These studies aim to build a foundation of knowledge of how specific tissues accurately form in order to recapitulate this during clinical intervention, restoration, and regeneration.
Overall, our group brings molecular biology, advanced protein isolation methods, and advanced chemistries to investigate the biochemical properties of muscle, bone, cementum, dentin and enamel. We further utilize a sophisticated array of equipment to comprehensively characterize the elastic, viscoelastic, and fracture behavior of healthy and diseased mineralized tissues. Additionally, a number of laboratories are focused on research studies investigating the incorporation of nanotechnology into dental materials for improvement of implants and cavity restorations. Our end goal is to design biocompatible materials that overcome the many complications that can arise from genetics, behaviors, and the process of aging. We seek to accomplish this by providing patients with preventative and restorative options that help sustain the function and health of their oral cavity.
John D. Bartlett PhD - MARTDOCS Mentor
Associate Dean for Research, Professor, Division of BiosciencesBrian L. Foster PhD - MARTDOCS Mentor
Assistant Professor, Division of BiosciencesDo-Gyoon Kim PhD
Associate Professor, Division of OrthodonticsDiana Leyva del Rio, DDS, MS, PhD
Assistant Professor, Division of Restorative and Prosthetic DentistryLuiz Meirelles, DDS, MS, PhD - MARTDOCS Mentor
Assistant Professor, Division of Restorative and Prosthetic DentistrySarah B. Peters, MS, PhD - MARTDOCS Mentor
Assistant Professor, Division of BiosciencesPeter Reiser PhD
Professor, Division of BiosciencesScott Schricker PhD - MARTDOCS Mentor
Associate Professor, Division of Restorative and Prosthetic DentistryZongyang Sun, DDS, PhD
Assistant Professor, Division of Orthodontics -
Oral infections are some of the most common diseases in humans. The two most common oral infections are caries and periodontal disease. Dental caries is the most common chronic disease of childhood and is the biggest unmet health care need among America’s children. Periodontal disease is the most common infectious disease of adults. At least 1/3 of the population is affected by chronic periodontitis, a bacterially induced destruction of the attachment of the tooth to bone. Research is focused on understanding the etiology of these complex diseases and identifying new therapies. We are also interested in the interaction of oral pathogens with host tissues.
Ann Griffen DDS, MS
Professor, Division of Pediatric DentisryJustin R. Kaspar, PhD - MARTDOCS Mentor
Assistant Professor, Division of BiosciencesBinnaz Leblebicioglu, DDS, MS, PhD - MARTDOCS Mentor
Professor & Interim Chair, Division of PeriodontologyGene Leys PhD
Professor, Division of BiosciencesJohn D. Walters DDS , MMSc
Professor Emeritus, Division of Periodontics -
The Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) program at the Ohio State University supports one of the largest groups of PNI researchers in the world. Members of the program are spread across various colleges at Ohio State including the College of Dentistry. The multidisciplinary field of PNI focuses on the bidirectional communication pathways through which the immune, endocrine and nervous systems affect each other. Research among the investigators in the program focuses on regulation of inflammatory and immune responses at the cellular and molecular levels using both humans and animal models. We are particularly interested in the immunoregulatory roles of the nervous and endocrine systems and how these systems are affected by behavioral stress. Stress results in a predictable body-wide set of physiologic adaptations that are activated to restore homeostasis. These adaptational responses are principally mediated by activation of the nervous and endocrine systems which intersect and modulate inflammatory and immune responses. Communication among the nervous, endocrine and immune systems is accomplished through the sharing of common glands and receptors. Therefore, it is the general working hypothesis of the program that interactions among the nervous, endocrine and immune systems modulate diverse physiological processes such as resistance to infection, development of inflammatory disease, and initiation of tissue repair.
Michael Bailey PhD - MARTDOCS Mentor
Associate Professor, College of MedicineJohn Sheridan PhD - MARTDOCS Mentor
Professor, Division of Biosciences -
Tissue injury causes cell death which can impair a tissue's structure and function. Without regard to the type of tissue (whether it is skin, bone, or internal soft organ), injury initiates a set of biological events that attempts to fix the damage and restore the original properties to the tissue. These events have been separated into three overlapping phases including: (a) an inflammatory phase comprised of hemostasis or blood clotting and migration of inflammatory cells to the wound to prevent infection and initiate repair; (b) a proliferative phase for new tissue formation, which involves the in-flow and subsequent proliferation of keratinocytes, fibroblasts and endothelial cells, leading to re-epithelialization, angiogenesis, and granulation tissue formation; and (c) a long remodeling phase involving extracellular matrix maturation aimed at restoring tissue structure and function. The college has multiple faculty members working in the area of wound healing. Their work ranges from understanding the transcriptional control of the multiple genes involved in each phase of tissue repair to understanding how extraneous factors (e.g. hormone therapy, infection, and life stresses) affect the process and outcome of repair.
Sudha Agarwal, PhD
Professor, Division of BiosciencesBinnaz Leblebicioglu, PhD - MARTDOCS Mentor
Professor, Division of PeriodonticsJohn Sheridan, PhD - MARTDOCS Mentor
Professor, Division of Biosciences
Faculty Research Labs
Foster Lab
Kaspar Lab
Peters Lab
Research Opportunities
Research Day
Student research
Research resources
Research Day
Research Day is an annual event hosted by the College of Dentistry to showcase research conducted by our dental students, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and residents.
If you are a non-dental undergraduate student with an excellent academic record, we invite you to consider research opportunities at the College of Dentistry! For more information contact Dr. Scott Schricker.
Office of Research
The priority of the Office of Research is to promote and facilitate basic and clinical research at the College of Dentistry. The office helps college faculty, students and staff with proposal development, grants administration, research strategy, research compliance, safety and lab management. Please contact us for assistance in any of these areas.
