SOD Labs and Clinical Researchers
Welcome to the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) School of Dentistry Laboratory page, where you can discover the cutting-edge research and innovative educational programs conducted by our faculty and students. As a leading academic institution, we are committed to providing outstanding clinical care, advancing scientific knowledge, and educating the next generation of oral health professionals. Our state-of-the-art laboratories and facilities are equipped with the latest technology, enabling our researchers and students to explore new frontiers in dentistry, including oral pathology, biomaterials, and community dental research. Whether you are a current student, a potential applicant, or a dental professional, we invite you to explore our laboratory page and learn more about the exciting work taking place at OHSU's School of Dentistry.
Direct links to lab pages: Baker Lab | Bertassoni Lab | Fugolin Lab | Hsu Lab | Kreth Lab | Lampi Lab | Merritt Lab | Momeni Lab | Pfeifer Lab | Wu Lab
Clinical Orthodontics
Nickel- Iwasaki Lab
Our focus is on clinical and translational research that investigates the effects of biomechanics on the craniofacial system. Among our foci are measurements of jaw-loading mechanics and behaviors in order to understand conditions of growth, maintenance, degeneration, and pain associated with the human temporomandibular joint (TMJ).
Contact Jeff Nickel. | Contact Laura Iwasaki
Clinical Restorative Dentistry
Juliana da Costa, DDS, MS
My current research focuses on the use of virtual reality (VR) haptic simulation in dental education. I study how VR-haptic technology can enhance traditional preclinical training and help students develop clinical skills such as caries removal, tooth preparation, and local anesthesia administration. My work examines its impact on student performance, confidence, and learning experiences, while exploring innovative, evidence-based approaches to improving dental education.
Contact Dr. Juliana da Costa
Clinical Vascular Imaging
Hsu Lab
The Hsu lab is focused on developing optical coherence tomography (OCT) as a 3D imaging technology to view detailed slices of tissues and changes in blood vessel formation normally seen via histology. This type of scan could be applied to many aspects of dentistry including detecting thin gingival bio type, fenestration defects and monitoring tooth eruption.
Public Health Research
Lydie Foster Page
The Division of Dental Public Health, led by Dr. Foster-Page, conducts research to advance oral health equity and inform policy. Current projects address health inequalities, prevention of oropharyngeal cancer through HPV vaccination, stigma and bias in dental students’ care of patients with HIV, and the oral health needs of unstably housed individuals. By developing evidence for innovative workforce models and health policies, the Division aims to improve oral health outcomes and reduce disparities at the community and population level.
Contact Lyndie Foster-Page
Richie Kohli
Dr. Kohli, focuses on research, policies, and providing oral health care in underserved populations, including at the Russell Street Clinic and clinics throughout Oregon. Their work focuses on innovative workforce models to improve dental access and care and highlight the importance of oral health to improve oral health outcomes at the local and policy level.
Contact Richie Kohli
CaseCATs
CaseCATs provides a structured opportunity for students to advance their understanding of evidence-based dentistry while refining skills in literature retrieval and critical appraisal. Participants learn to systematically evaluate research, frame and address clinical questions, and present findings in the PICO format through a scholarly poster. Projects are showcased at OHSU Research Day in March and the Oregon Dental Conference in April, offering professional visibility and academic engagement. DS1 and DS2 students typically select a topic of interest within clinical dentistry, while DS3 and DS4 students develop their projects around specific patient cases, ensuring a progression from conceptual exploration to applied clinical analysis.
Contact Samyia Chaudhry and Christina Truong
Biomaterials
Fugolin Lab
The Fugolin lab focus is to design and validate biomimetic synthetic systems that induce minute, orchestrated changes, leading to significant physicochemical and biological responses to external and internal stimuli.
Pfeifer Lab
One of the lab's most exciting breakthroughs involves thiourethane, a compound also used to reinforce other structural materials, incorporated into dental composites to make fillings stronger and longer lasting. The results are striking: the lab developed a filling that is twice as strong as those currently used in dental clinics, along with an adhesive that outperforms standard bonding agents.
But the work doesn't stop at mechanics. The Pfeifer Lab also designs new dental biomaterials that better bond to the tooth, and also to discourage harmful biofilms, bridging polymer chemistry and microbiology to tackle the bacterial side of restorative failure.
Dr. Pfeifer has also explored targeted antimicrobial additives specific to cavity-causing bacteria, an approach designed to avoid the broad-spectrum antimicrobial resistance that has plagued earlier attempts.
Funded by the NIH's NIDCR and recognized with the SOAR award for outstanding mid-career scientists, Dr. Pfeifer's lab offers dental students a rare opportunity to work at the frontier of materials science, polymer chemistry, and clinical relevance with research that directly shapes the restorations you'll place every day in practice.
Contact the Pfeifer Lab | Pfeifer Lab Website
Oral Microbiome
Baker Lab
The oral microbiome is the collection of microorganisms that live in the human oral cavity, and includes bacteria, viruses, archaea, and microeukaryotes such as fungi. These microbes have a major impact on human health, with extremely prevalent and costly oral diseases such as dental caries, periodontal disease, and oral cancers being caused mainly by the bacteria and viruses present in the mouth. In addition to oral diseases, there are increasing lines of evidence linking the oral microbiota to a myriad of extra-oral and systemic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory bowel disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, rheumatoid arthritis, colorectal cancers, and Alzheimer’s Disease. Our lab leverages emerging technologies in sequencing, mass spectrometry, bioinformatics and molecular biology to answer fundamental questions regarding the ecology, physiology, and pathogenesis of the oral microbiome. This has included pioneering the use of nanopore sequencing on saliva and oral bacterial RNA. The resulting work discovered new bacterial species and biosynthetic pathways which impact the ecology of the oral microbiome and its relationship to human disease.
Contact Jonathon Baker | Baker Lab
Kreth Lab
The Kreth lab investigates fundamental processes of commensal bacterial interactions in the oral biofilm. We aim to identify and characterize the molecular mechanisms that promote commensal species to better understand the healthy oral microbiome.
Contact Jens Kreth | Kreth Lab Webpage
Lampi Lab
The Lampi lab at Oregon Health and Science University focuses on investigating the role of deamidation in protein dynamics using multiangle laser scattering and mass spectrometry.
Contact Kirsten Lampi | Lampi Lab Website
Merritt Lab
Research in the Merritt laboratory focuses upon the molecular and cellular microbiology of the human oral microbiome to understand how mucosal health is regulated in the human body. Projects in the Merritt Lab encompass a wide range of topics including clinical microbiology, bacterial genetics, protein biochemistry/structure, and infection biology. Mechanistic studies of microbiome pathobiology are primarily investigated using bacterial strains isolated directly from clinical specimens obtained from OHSU dental clinics. Key interests encompass various aspects of bacterial and host genetics as well as mechanisms of microbiome polymicrobial synergistic pathogenesis and associated immunopathology.
Contact Justin Merritt | Merritt Lab Website
Wu Lab
Our focus is investigating the underlying molecular mechanisms of biofilm formation for bacterial persistence and chronic infections. We are particularly interested in understanding molecular cross talks between microbes and aim to develop new anti-infective approaches that prevent and treat persistent infections.
Contact Hui Wu | Wu Lab Website
Tissue Engineering
Bertassoni Lab
Our focus is 3D bioprinting for the fabrication of complex tissue environments with functional vascular networks for regenerative applications. We are also interested in the development of functional hydrogels for the study of the interaction of biomaterials with matrix molecules on the nanoscale.
Contact Luiz Bertassoni | Bertassoni Lab Website
Baker Lab | Bertassoni Lab | Fugolin Lab | Hsu Lab | Kreth Lab | Lampi Lab | Merritt Lab | Momeni Lab | Pfeifer Lab | Wu Lab