PFI (MCA): Improving Dental Technology using Microbial Transplantation in the Mouth

这一创新伙伴关系(职业中期推进)(PFI(MCA))项目的更广泛影响是开发一种具有改善口腔健康潜力的新牙科技术。该项目将使用从健康捐赠者那里收集的牙菌斑，并测试如何将其用于口腔微生物组移植--即细菌从健康捐赠者的口腔转移到与口腔问题作斗争的人身上，如龋齿或牙周病。具体地说，该项目将测试将不同的有益微生物混合物引入不同饮食、生活方式或疾病的人的口腔中。这项技术的发展还将支持一位女教员兼企业家的职业发展，她将建立一家公司。她将利用自己的经历教育公众和其他有兴趣建立自己公司的女性。因此，该项目为开发一种可商业化的新技术奠定了基础，该技术可用于牙医办公室或家庭治疗，以防止龋齿和牙周病。该项目将开发一种新技术来改善口腔健康。龋齿和牙周病是全球经历最严重的两种慢性病。需要新的技术来预防和治疗口腔疾病，特别是有助于在口腔中发展健康微生物的治疗。这个项目产生了关于如何将捐赠的带有数千种口腔微生物的牙菌斑移植到需要它们来改善健康的人身上的基本信息。这项研究将检验这些微生物移植在吃不同食物、生活方式不同或患有不同疾病的人身上有多成功。这项研究采用了一种新的3D打印系统，可以在实验室中培养、繁殖和竞争牙菌斑中的微生物来检查这个问题。该项目将告知如何匹配正确的捐赠者和正确的接受者，并使用实验室中的可重复系统确定哪些微生物最适合移植。结果将用于牙医和口腔疾病患者的这项技术的开发和商业化。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact of this Partnerships for Innovation (Mid-Career Advancement) (PFI (MCA)) project is to develop a new dental technology that has the potential to improve oral health. This project will use dental plaque collected from healthy donors and test how it may be used in oral microbiome transplantation – that is, the movement of bacteria from the mouth of a healthy donor to someone who struggles with oral issues such as dental decay (caries) or gum disease (periodontal disease). Specifically, this project will test the introduction of different mixtures of beneficial microbes into the mouth of people with different diets, lifestyles, or diseases. The development of this technology will also support the career development of a woman faculty member-entrepreneur who will build a company. She will use her experiences to educate the public and other women who are interested in building their own companies. As a result, this project builds the foundation for development of a new technology that can be commercialized for the dentist’s office or for an at-home treatment to prevent dental decay and periodontal disease. This project will develop a new technology to improve oral health. Dental decay and periodontal disease are two of the most chronic diseases experienced globally. New technologies are needed to prevent and treat oral disease, especially treatments that help develop healthy microorganisms in the mouth. This project generates basic information on how donated dental plaque – with thousands of oral microbes – can be transplanted into someone who needs them to improve health. This research will examine how successful these microbial transplantations are in people who eat different foods, live different lifestyles, or suffer from different diseases. This research employs a new 3D printed system that can grow, propagate, and compete microorganisms from dental plaque in the laboratory to examine this problem. The project will inform how to match the correct donor to the right recipient and determine which microbes are best to transplant using a reproducible system in the laboratory. The results will be used to develop and commercialize this technology for dentists and people struggling with oral disease.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.