Rebecca Black (GRODZINSKY LAB)

Proteomic Analysis of Cartilage Matrix Breakdown and Corticosteroid Effects

Currently there exists no prognostic biomarker to identify the early stages of osteoarthritis (OA), which complicates the application of potentially disease-modifying drugs such as the corticosteroid dexamethasone. Here we utilize a model system of post-traumatic OA using human cartilage explants to quantify the matrix breakdown of diseased cartilage and determine the effects of corticosteroids via mass spectrometry. This analysis identifies novel putative disease biomarkers for early OA and reveals potential metabolic effects of dexamethasone.

Chloe Wu (RIBBECK LAB)

Investigating How Salivary Mucins Influence the Oral Microbiota In Health and Disease

Healthy saliva houses a microbiota marked by high diversity and functional stability, but the environmental drivers behind these community assembly patterns are unclear. Mucins have been shown to regulate microbial behavior in single and dual-species models. Accordingly, we hypothesize that salivary mucins play a critical role in selecting and stabilizing oral communities. Here, I discuss approaches and initial results examining how mucins shape complex oral communities and how saliva is altered in diseases associated with dysbiotic microbiota.