Asst. Prof. Chiara Ghezzi Will Study Interactions Between Gum Tissue and Microbes in the Mouth
Asst. Prof. Chiara Ghezzi's research interests include biomaterials, natural polymers, tissue engineering, tissue models, host-tissue interactions and biomaterial design for clinical translation.
05/19/2024
By Edwin L. Aguirre
The human body is inhabited by many different, but interconnected, populations of microbes. Some microbes can make us sick, while others are beneficial to our health. Their balance 鈥� or imbalance 鈥� with each other and their surrounding tissues can exert long-lasting and wide-ranging effects on our overall state of health.聽
Biomedical Engineering Asst. Prof.聽Chiara Ghezzi聽is particularly interested in studying the microbiota, or range of microorganisms, found in the mouth. Those organisms could play a key role in an individual鈥檚 overall health and well-being. According to the , poor oral health is often associated with chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
鈥淭he oral cavity serves as a potential reservoir for opportunistic pathogenic bacteria that can spread systematically to other parts of the body,鈥� Ghezzi says. 鈥淗owever, very little is known about the relationship of various diseases and the oral microbiome.鈥�
In recognition of the importance of Ghezzi鈥檚 research, the National Science Foundation has awarded her its prestigious faculty early career development award. Called the CAREER award, this highly competitive annual program selects the nation鈥檚 best young university faculty-scholars 鈥渨ho most effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their organization,鈥� according to the agency.
The oral cavity serves as a potential reservoir for opportunistic pathogenic bacteria that can spread systematically to other parts of the body, according to Ghezzi.
Ghezzi will use her to understand the connection between human oral tissue and the oral microbiome, and how they interact, by creating a model of the human gum tissue system in her laboratory.聽
鈥淭his is the first time a tissue model will be capable of recreating and sustaining long-term interactions between human microbiome and host tissue in vitro,鈥� she explains. 鈥淧revious attempts have failed 24 hours after the two were placed in contact with each other. The microbes鈥� metabolic activity took over the entire culture, resulting in the rapid depletion of the host tissue component.鈥�
Ghezzi, who is a faculty member of UML鈥檚 Center for Pathogen Research and Training, hopes the project will lead to the identification of predictive disease biomarkers within the oral microbiota and beyond.
鈥淭hese biomarkers could ultimately contribute to the early-stage diagnosis, prevention and treatment of a wide spectrum of chronic diseases, such as periodontitis, atopic dermatitis, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis, colorectal and pancreatic cancers, and Alzheimer鈥檚 disease,鈥� she notes.
The biomarkers could also provide a timely and cost-effective diagnostic option, which could help address the growing racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities among the U.S. population in terms of being able to afford the current associated costs of oral disease diagnosis and treatment.
鈥淚n particular, among working-age American adults, more than 40% of low-income and nearly twice as many non-Hispanic Black or Mexican American adults suffer from periodontitis-related conditions, which negatively impact their quality of life and productivity.鈥�
Ghezzi鈥檚 research collaborators include Biology Prof. Peter Gaines and Dr. Hatice Hasturk of the ADA Forsyth Institute.
Assisting Ghezzi in the laboratory work are biomedical engineering Ph.D. students Anyelo Diaz and Grace Callen and junior student Sydney Campano.