NSU CDM Impressions Fall/Winter 2019

22 | COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE “Ceramide-Mediated Pathology in Periodontitis” and “Impact of Aging on Intracellular Ceramide-Mediated Perio- dontal Bone Lesions.” According to the NIH, approximately 70 percent of the aging population in the United States, in contrast to 40 percent of young and mid-age population, is affected by some form of periodontal disease leading to bone loss. Movila’s studies will investigate the possible pathogenic role of intracellular ceramide leading to periodontal bone loss. “So much research about bone loss in aging is focused on osteoporosis, but somehow, people forget about teeth,” Movila said. The research looks at the impact of aging on periodontal disease on a molecular level and how it is related to periodontal bone loss, he added. The abstract for the second study concludes that there has been a paradigm shift in immunogerontology, suggesting that an alternative, proinflammatory mechanism may be engaged in the age- associated periodontitis. “Once our hypothesis is tested, we will be well placed to develop a novel therapeutic approach for aging-associated periodontitis,” Movila said. RESEARCH NATION Through the NIH’s Diversity Research Supplement, Roodelyne Pierrelus, B.S., will work on Kawai’s study for a year. Pierrelus, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Behavioral Neuroscience in 2019 from NSU’s College of Psychology, plans a career in osteopathic medicine and wants to attend NSU’s Dr. Kiran C.