News & Events

New Grant for Machida Lab

The lab of Curt Machida, Ph.D., `83, principal investigator and professor of integrative biosciences and pediatric dentistry, recently received a three-year, $455,520 R15 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. R15 grants are academic research enhancement awards for educational institutions to provide research experiences for students and graduate residents. Under this grant, Machida and his team will study cariogenic microorganisms in children with severe early childhood caries. The title of the project is: “Dominant Mutans Streptococci Genetic Strains in Caries-Active Children.”  article continued here

New School of Dentistry Associate Professor

Marcel Wehrli, Ph.D., is an associate professor in biomaterials and biomechanics,working in collaboration with Professor and Associate Dean for ResearchDavid Morton,Ph.D. Dr. Wehrli joined OHSU in its department of cell and developmental biology in 2001, and is a primary investigator at the Knight Cancer Institute. He received his doctoral degree in molecular biology from the University of Zurich, and completed postdoctoral fellowships at Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Wehrli maintains dual citizenship, in the U.S. and Switzerland. The Wehrli lab includes research assistants Veronica Cochrane and Karen Dewey, as well as administrative assistant Misha Naiman. Dr. Wehrli’s research is focused on Wnt signal pathways, a group of transductors made of proteins that enable communications from the outside to the inside of cells.

Research Funding

Research funding is on the upswing, said David Morton, Ph.D., associate dean for research and professor of integrative biosciences, despite a tough climate in which to gain grants. “Two years ago, it was looking grim for dental school research,” said Dr. Morton. “We were on a downward trajectory, but we have made a remarkable comeback, with a number of new grants coming in, labs funded, and increased applications going out the door. This is a real achievement, given the dollars out there available for research programs.”