Summer Students Soar at NIDCR

Each summer, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) sponsors high school, college and dental students to work in research labs on campus to get a taste of what it’s like to embark on a career in science. This year’s group of students investigated salivary gland disorders, early face and skull development, pain and more. On July 31, they presented their work at an NIDCR-hosted poster session.

Restoring Saliva Flow

Aishwarya Rao, a predental student at Barnard College, explains her project investigating why some cancer therapies lead the body to attack the salivary glands.

Photo:  NIDCR

Several students investigated the origins of salivary gland dysfunction, which results in dry mouth that can increase the risk of tooth infection or decay. For example, local Poolesville High School student Iris Duan worked in the laboratory of Lasker Scholar Dr. Jacqueline Mays. Duan studied how the immune system sometimes erroneously attacks the salivary glands after a stem cell transplant in a condition known as graft-versus-host disease.

In the laboratory of Stadtman Investigator Dr. Blake Warner, Howard University dental student Thomas Savage studied an autoimmune condition marked by dry mouth and eyes called Sjögren’s disease. Working with salivary gland tissue samples collected from patients, he focused on untangling the molecular processes that underlie the disease, in which immune cells attack the salivary glands.

Cracking the Code to Early Development

Other students focused on how stem cells form the face, including the bones, nerves and cartilage, during early embryo development. Bioengineering major Alaya Chubb worked in Dr. Laura Kerosuo’s lab. Her work focused on DiGeorge syndrome, a disorder that results from a large DNA deletion and causes problems with face and skull development, among other issues.

Chubb created miniaturized organoids from patients and healthy volunteers that replicated living embryos. Once she graduates from the University of Maryland at College Park (UMCP), Chubb plans to attend dental school, where she hopes to merge her passion for regenerative medicine research with dentistry.

Alaya Chubb (l) presents her research.

Photo:  NIDCR

Jacob Svoysky, also an undergraduate at UMCP, spent his third summer in the laboratory of senior investigator Dr. Achim Werner. His project investigated mutations in the enzyme that causes LINKED syndrome, a disorder that affects development of the face and other organs.

Mishaps in face and skull development can also happen as a result of errors in cell division. Phyllicia Hemphill studied a gene mutation that damages tiny, cylinder-shaped structures called centrioles, which ensure cells divide properly. In Dr. Shaun Abrams’ lab, Hemphill helped develop and characterize mouse models of disorders driven by centriole loss.

“This internship deepened my understanding of my current field in dentistry and enhanced my problem-solving skills,” said Hemphill, a Howard University dental student. “Most importantly, it gave me the necessary tools for my future education and career goals.”

Mapping the Brain

Jasmine Gray, a dental student at Howard University, joined the lab of senior investigator Dr. Mark Hoon to help identify groups of neurons in the brain involved in modifying pain perception under different circumstances.

Meanwhile, Remi Brebion, a dental student at the Medical University of South Carolina, investigated a group of neurons in the brain that may be linked to sleep apnea, a disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep.  Under the guidance of Stadtman Investigator Dr. Yuanyuan Liu, Brebion traced the neural circuitry that connects the brainstem to spinal neurons that control the diaphragm, the main muscle responsible for breathing.

“Research serves as the foundation of our treatment and opinions as clinicians, so performing research has allowed me to appreciate each step of the process and critically evaluate and interpret my work,” Brebion said.

Sugary Molecules

In many organisms, including humans and bacteria, bulky chains of sugar molecules decorate proteins and cells and influence key biological processes, including the formation of our faces and the immune system’s ability to distinguish “self” from foe.

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Students from the NIH Summer Internship Program and the NIDCR Summer Dental Student Award program with their mentors.

Photo:  NIDCR

Howard University dental student Baron Edmonson spent his summer in the lab of NIDCR associate scientific director Dr. Kelly Ten Hagen. Edmonson studied large sugary molecules found on cells that are important for developing nasal septum cartilage, which physically supports the structure of the nose and face.

Certain bacteria normally found in the mouth and throat, if they get into the bloodstream, can cause serious infections in babies and young children. The bacteria wear cloaks of sugars that mask them from the body’s immune system. Pablo Cardirola, currently a freshman at Duke University, spent his summer in the lab of Stadtman Investigator Dr. Nadine Samara, figuring out the structure of the enzyme that assembles the bacteria’s sugar cloaks.

Cancer and Regenerative Medicine

After finishing community college, Caden Diaz spent time in Dr. Kenneth Yamada’s lab investigating why cancer cells become more active, change shape and migrate faster in viscous growth conditions that more closely mimic the human body than cells growing in a dish.

In Dr. Pamela Robey’s lab, Bisrat Demissie, a dental student at the University of Pennsylvania, investigated a protein that may be crucial for bone growth and tissue repair.

“It was exciting to see results from my work and know it could help improve health care,” said Demissie. “This experience really motivated me to continue with research.”