Howard Jenkinson, PhD, professor of oral microbiology and head of research for the School of Oral and Dental Sciences at the University of Bristol, has been awarded a $2.1 million, five-year program renewal from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to further investigate the role of Candida albicans in oral health.
Jenkinson has been funded by the NIH since 2006 for research into Candida albicans. Among other things, he and his team have observed that C. albicans interacts very closely with several different types of bacteria in the human body and that these help C. albicans colonize and cause disease, according to a university press release.
This latest round of funding will enable Jenkinson and his team to focus more specifically on the role of C. albicans in periodontal disease. There is evidence that C. albicans may play a role in tooth loss due to the disintegration of bone in the mandible.
