MicroRNA Study Earns Funding
Dr. Phimon Atsawasuwan, Assistant Professor, Orthodontics, and his collaborator, Dr. Xiaofeng Zhou, Associate Professor, Periodontics, have earned $30,000 in a Biomedical Research Award from the American Association of Orthodontists for their study, “Roles of Secretory miRNA-21 and -29 during Orthodontic Tooth Movement.”
“The project is a clinical research project to investigate the roles of secretory microRNA-21 and -29 in gingival crevicular fluid during the canine retraction in orthodontic patients,” Dr. Atsawasuwan explained.
He noted that his laboratory team “was the first to discover the presence of secretory miRNAs in gingival crevicular fluid and I presented this discovery at the International Association for Dental Research meeting in Boston” in 2015.
MicroRNA-21 and -29 “have a critical role in osteoclast and osteoblast differentiation and function,” Dr. Atsawasuwan explained. “We will start to recruit the patients in the near future. We hope to discover the direct relationship between the level of secretory microRNA-21 and -29 and distance of tooth movement so we can further develop a new modality to improve the orthodontic care.”
Photos: Dr. Xiofeng Zhou, left, and Dr. Phimon Atsawasuwan, right.
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry.