Project Grant R01DE035850

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research awarded Oregon Health & Science University $557,951 on August 26, 2026, under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121) to develop and validate an experimental polymicrobial abscess model system for investigating the role of microbial synergy in oral inflammatory dysbiosis.

The research platform uses patient-matched human dental plaque and odontogenic abscess specimens introduced into mice to recapitulate the complex interplay between microbiome ecology and dysregulated host inflammatory control. The model demonstrates that abscess-derived microcosms induce higher-virulence abscesses than patient-matched dental plaque microcosms, and that mouse passaging experiments reveal how inflammatory selective pressure remodels both dental plaque and abscess communities into reduced-diversity inflammophilic communities that trigger persistent unresolving abscesses. The work includes immunoprofiling comparisons to identify distinct neutrophil phenotypes and cytokine responses unique to unresolving abscesses, addressing a fundamental knowledge gap in understanding the host mechanisms sustaining chronic oral dysbiotic diseases.

Performance occurs in Portland, Oregon 97239 with a period of performance extending through July 31, 2031. This is a project grant, the standard assistance type for NIH investigator-initiated research under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program.