The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) has awarded researchers from the New York University (NYU) College of Dentistry and the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) Dental Medicine a $2.2 million, five-year grant to study diabetes-related periodontal disease and bone loss.
The researchers will use the grant to investigate the role of succinate, an inflammatory and metabolic mediator crystal, in the development and progression of periodontal disease in patients with diabetes. Using mouse models, they will explore whether elevated levels of succinate accelerate periodontal disease progression and whether altering the signaling of succinate can prevent diabetes-related periodontal disease.
Xin Li, PhD, an associate professor at the NYU College of Dentistry, will serve as the lead principal investigator on the project. Dana Graves, DDS, DMSc, from Penn and Deepak Saxena from NYU will serve as principal investigators.
