Research Interests

• I. Risk factors of adult and early-onset periodontitis and the study of mediators of periodontal breakdown and the relationship between these mediators and other local and systemic host factors and the progression of periodontal diseases. II. Study of the epidemiology and natural history of periodontal diseases and the effect of aging on the periodontal tissues. I am presently involved in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging which is a collaboration project between a number of institutes within NIH, and is intended to study the natural history of aging and its effect on various host organs. III. Methodological issues and diagnostic systems, and methodologies related to measurement techniques of periodontal outcomes. I have special interest in statistical and analytical methods, and new technologies such as the digital image techniques. During my tenure at the University of Oslo I helped implement new algorithms utilizing the multilevel statistical modeling techniques for the analysis of dental data. I also helped in designing and implementing a program that superimposes dental films and which utilizes algorithms for warping and subtracting digital images. IV. Study the potential induction of periodontal tissue formation by human marrow stromal fibroblasts. During my tenure at the NIH I worked for one year in Dr. Pamella Gehron Robey's lab (NIDCR, Craniofacial and Skeletal Diseases Branch) and used immunocompromised mice to study the potential induction of human and mouse marrow stromal fibroblasts to produce periodontal tissues. I am interested in study of clinical utility of human marrow stromal fibroblasts in the treatment of severe forms of periodontitis and alveolar bone defects. V. Clinical periodontal trials: I have been actively involved in designing and carrying out clinical trials on the prevention of periodontal diseases in adolescents, the study of new therapeutic techniques in periodontal treatment, and clinical trials dealing with dental implants.