AADR Strides in Science

In May 2013, AADR member Jane Shin began her 2013 student fellowship in the HHMI Medical Research Fellows Program. Shin is a D.M.D. student at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. Shin was one of 66 students selected from more than 200 applicants. Shin is taking leave from the D.M.D. program to devote a year to her HHMI Medical Research Fellows Program research project titled “The Role of Appetite Hormone Ghrelin in Type 2 Diabetes-Associated Periodontitis.” Her project mentor is AADR member Toshihisa Kawai, at the Forsyth Institute.

Shin’s study is based on the hypothesis that Ghrelin produced in periodontal tissue plays a regulatory role on bone resorption caused by T cell-derived RANKL in the context of periodontal disease, and diminished Ghrelin in the type-2 diabetes (T2D) condition can be a risk factor for periodontal disease. She will work on examining the possible regulatory role of Ghrelin on soluble RANKL (sRANKL) production by activated T cells in in vitro experiments, and explore Ghrelin in an in vivo mouse model of type 2 diabetes-associated periodontal disease.