Shaoping Zhang
University of Iowa, IA·Microbiology & Immunology
Periodontitis is a gum disease in which inflammation destroys the bone and soft tissue that hold teeth in place. It affects about 42% of US adults and is linked to diabetes and other whole-body diseases.
- Fields
Microbiology & Immunology
Medicine & Clinical Research
Biomedical Engineering
- Topics
periodontitis
periodontal disease
gum disease
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Dec 2027
What they work on
- Define how a type I interferon (IFN-I)–IL-27 pathway controls the inflammatory IL-17–neutrophil axis in a mouse model of periodontitis, a gum disease that destroys tooth-supporting bone.
- Assess the specific role of IFN-I signaling in myeloid cells, including monocytes that become bone-resorbing osteoclasts, in alveolar bone loss in the periodontitis model.
- Evaluate whether nanoparticles that release IFN-β or an IFN-I stimulator slowly in the gums reduce disease in the mouse periodontitis model.
- Use IFN-β and IFN-I–centered inflammatory networks as biomarkers to further refine the PPC-Staging classification of periodontal disease.
More about the research
Patients differ: about 20% show a distinct pattern of progression. To capture this variety, the team built a data-driven staging system, the periodontal profile classification (PPC)-Staging, from a closely followed community cohort. The team showed that this tool links more strongly to diabetes, stroke and coronary heart disease than earlier classifications.
Why it matters
Periodontitis causes permanent tooth-supporting tissue damage in a large share of adults and is linked to diabetes and heart disease. This work could support type I interferon-based treatments, such as locally delivered slow-release nanoparticles, as an add-on therapy for a subset of patients. It could also provide interferon-related biomarkers to refine how periodontal disease is classified, supporting more precise care.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Adam Lietzan
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC·Microbiology & Immunology·Early-career
Identify the cellular pathways that interleukin-37 (IL-37), an anti-inflammatory cytokine, changes in oral epithelial cells challenged with microbes, using in vitro and in vivo models.
Yingzi Yang
Harvard University, MA·Genetics
Characterize periodontal crestal stem cells, including Gli1+ cells that report Hedgehog signaling activity, and determine how they are activated by injury in the upper rim of the tooth socket where bone, ligament and gum meet.
Daniel Erchick
Johns Hopkins University, MD·Public Health & Epidemiology
Determine whether an early-pregnancy oral health package with antiseptic rinse, exams, hygiene training and supplies lowers the rate of small vulnerable newborns in a cluster-randomized trial of 2,280 pregnancies in rural Nepal.
The school
University of Iowa: 32 labs on PI Pages, $703M a year on research, 418 research doctorates a year.
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