The passion for dentistry led Dr. Mariana Reis from Brazil at Marquette. Now, it has helped her receive a highly competitive NIH postdoctoral award to study the effects of aging on an under-recognized but essential type of dental connective tissue.
As a high school student in Brazil, Dr. Mariana Reis was that rare person who wanted to return to the dental office. At the time, she showed a strong aptitude for biology and chemistry, with an interest in health care, but was unsure where to direct her energies. As it turned out, her dentist offered her a standing invitation to drop by the clinic to watch dentistry in action, and she jumped at the chance. “I just loved the interactions with the patients and the commitment to making their lives better,” notes Reis. He was hooked from there.
Now a postdoctoral fellow at Marquette’s School of Dentistry, Reis is realizing her passion. He recently received a prestigious K99/R00 award from the National Institutes of Health, which supports outstanding postdoctoral researchers in the transition from mentored to independent research. The award lasts for seven years and is expected to reach $1.46 million, with the first two years (K99) to be spent under the guidance of Dr. Ana Bedran-Russo, chair and professor of general dental sciences; The last five years (the R00) mark the independent phase. This is the first such K99 grant awarded to a dental associate at Marquette.
Reis’ work examines how cementum—a connective, mineralized tissue that attaches the tooth to the gum and absorbs the pressure of chewing—is adversely affected by aging and periodontal disease. Although only a thin layer of tissue covering the root, cementum plays a large role in supporting the tooth. When this support is degraded, problems arise, such as tooth loss, a common problem for the elderly.
“I just loved the interactions with the patients and the commitment to making their lives better.”
Dr. Mariana Reiss
Reis became interested in cement during her early years in the Bedran-Russo lab, which is doing cutting-edge research on dentin, another mineralized tissue. Realizing that dentin research was far beyond cementum, Reis set herself on a path to fill these gaps in scientific knowledge.
“Researchers might study how much cementum is lost”—for example, through dental procedures like scaling and root planing—”but they don’t really study the tissue itself,” Reis explains. “That’s what I want to look at—the tissue itself.”
During the first two years of the project, Reis will compare healthy and diseased cementum from human teeth in different age groups. It will create an aging profile of cementum by identifying its biomechanical, structural and mechanical characteristics, as well as showing how aging exacerbates periodontal inflammation.
Over the next five years, Reis will monitor the effects of aging and periodontal disease in mice in real time. It will characterize the composition and physicomechanical properties of the cement while inflammation progresses, as well as how the cement regenerates as the disease resolves. While analyzing the molecular mechanisms activated by inflammation, she will examine the role played by genetic molecules called microRNAs.
Through this project, Reis will generate fundamental knowledge about cementum as it relates to aging and periodontal disease. This knowledge will serve as a foundation for the scientific community to come up with future biomedical advances, such as more effective periodontal treatments and regenerative strategies that can ultimately help people maintain healthy teeth and gums as they age.
The research bug hit Reis early in dental school at the University of São Paulo, where her mentors guided her through intensive predoctoral research. With that background, Reis immediately jumped into her PhD, specializing in the study of dental materials.
As her doctoral work drew to a close, Reis weighed her future options, all appealing: research, teaching, clinical work. When he heard about the opening in Bedran-Russo’s lab, with his inspiring research agenda, the scales quickly tipped. “The high level and rigor of Ana’s science, the exceptional quality of her team — it all made me fall more in love with research,” says Reis. “Anna’s support was fundamental for me not to give up. Research is really hard and frustrating at times. But there’s also so much beauty, so much knowledge that can be created.”
Bedran-Russo’s most recent research project on dentin is funded by a $2 million, four-year award through the NIH’s top level of funding, the R01 program. Launched in 2019, it allows Bedran-Russo, who came to Marquette in 2020, to leverage her expertise to help another talented researcher launch an NIH-funded research program of her own. It’s a testament to the power of mentorship and part of a wider trend that has seen the School of Dentistry’s external funding increase by 50 percent over the past decade.
