One of the longest-running programs at the UF College of Dentistry, or UFCD, is designed for its newest community members.
The Summer Research Program, or SRP, has been supporting the college’s youngest researchers, incoming first-year dental students, since the program welcomed its first cohort more than 30 years ago.
This 10-week immersion in scientific discovery allows a select group of participants to acclimate to UFCD’s campus, build a community from the get-go and dive into some of UFCD’s most exciting areas of ongoing or emerging research under the mentorship of faculty researchers.
This early focus on scientific inquiry is intentional, said Valeria Gordan, D.D.S., M.S., the college’s associate dean for research.
“The goal of the Summer Research Program is to instill a mindset of critical thinking from day one,” Gordan said. “We are training future clinicians who will not only master the ‘how’ of dentistry but will constantly ask ‘why.’ This program plants the seeds for them to become lifelong learners and leaders in a field that is always evolving.”
The 2026 SRP cohort explored uncharted territory and added nuance to research topics that some of our most forward-thinking faculty have illuminated with foundational research.
*Student researchers below listed in alphabetical order by last name
Elayna Andrews
Faculty mentor: Xianrui Yang, D.M.D., Ph.D.
Nanoplastic Particle Release from Thermoformed and 3D-Printed Aligners
Clear aligners and nanoplastic exposure risk
Clear orthodontic aligners are a convenient and aesthetically subtle alternative to braces in some cases, but under the daily stresses of the human mouth, they risk introducing nanoplastics into the body.
Because patients wear these removable plastic trays about 22 hours a day, the material endures near-constant friction. Within that daily window, an average person swallows roughly 1,300 times.
While seemingly harmless, each swallow forces the tongue against the roof of the mouth, simultaneously compressing the plastic trays against the teeth.
To simulate this significant force of daily wear, Elayna Andrews incubated traditional vacuum-pressed (thermoformed) and newer 3D-printed aligners in ultrapure water at body temperature, 37 degrees Celsius. An orbital shaking device then applied 1,300 cycles of friction.
Her analysis revealed that both aligner types actively shed nanoplastics, that is, microscopic plastic particles measuring under 1 micrometer.
Unlike relatively larger microplastics that typically pass through the digestive tract, these ultra-small nanoplastics are tiny enough to bypass the body’s natural barriers.
Andrews explained that through a process called endocytosis, human cells can engulf and absorb these particles.
This process allows nanoplastic particles to then cross the intestinal lining, potentially triggering cellular stress and inflammation.
Lena Huynh
Faculty mentors: Olga Ensz, D.M.D., M.P.H. & Tina Treloar, CRDH, M.P.H.
Radiographic Outcomes of Grade C Molar-Incisor Periodontitis in Young Individuals
Understanding the importance of treatment adherence in pediatric gum disease
Grade C molar-incisor pattern periodontitis (C/MIP) is a rare but aggressive form of gum disease that affects children and adolescents.
The condition is linked to a specific bacterium, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, which can trigger an unusually strong immune response and cause the body to break down the bone supporting the teeth.
The primary danger of this stealthy infection is rapid bone loss around the permanent first molars and front teeth. Unlike most adult forms of gum disease, C/MIP can progress with few visible signs, making it easy to miss without routine gum measurements and X-rays. If caught early, however, non-surgical therapies can halt the resulting bone loss.
In a retrospective study, Lena Huynh reviewed clinical and radiographic records from 23 patients diagnosed with C/MIP.
She examined how closely patients followed the recommended treatment, which combines deep cleaning below the gumline with antibiotics, and how that affected their long-term recovery.
Huynh’s results confirmed a common-sense truth about treatment efficacy, showing a clear relationship between treatment adherence and healing.
Patients who strictly followed the combined protocol achieved an average “clinical attachment gain,” or new tissue attachment and pocket shrinkage, of 2.40 millimeters. Meanwhile, patients who did not complete both components saw only 0.63 millimeters of healing.
This retrospective study, which contributes to a larger National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research clinical trial, underscores the importance of early detection and treatment.
The findings highlight the need for dental professionals to carefully evaluate routine X-rays for signs of early bone loss and to help patients and families complete the full course of treatment to achieve the best possible outcomes.
Maricel Lopez-Marrero
Faculty mentors: José A. Lemos, Ph.D. & Edroyal Womack, Ph.D.
Targeting Streptococcus Mutans Zinc Export for Species-Specific Anticaries Therapy
Precision targeting of cavity-causing “sugar bugs”
The marketing claim that an oral care product “kills 99.9% of bacteria” is an outdated measure of success.
In reality, broad-spectrum disinfectants wipe out the mouth’s natural defenders in the same swoop as its harmful pathogens. Modern dentistry demands precision.
Maricel Lopez-Marrero investigated species-specific targeting of Streptococcus mutans, the primary bacterial cause of tooth decay.
While zinc is toxic to S. mutans, the bacterium protects itself using a molecular pump called ZccE, which actively ejects excess zinc to survive within plaque.
Using computer modeling to map the ZccE, Lopez-Marrero discovered that mutating two critical amino acid building blocks completely disabled the pump mechanism.
While this genetic mutation proved exactly where ZccE is vulnerable in a laboratory setting, altering the DNA of bacteria living inside a patient’s mouth is not a clinically viable option.
So, Lopez-Marrero evaluated BM229, a newly optimized drug compound that mimics the genetic shutdown she originally observed. The drug acts as a molecular plug, trapping toxic zinc inside the cell and short-circuiting the bacterium’s vital enzymes.
When paired with a zinc source, this targeted approach strategically eliminates S. mutans.
Nadia Milfort
Faculty mentors: Bruno Lima, D.D.S., Ph.D. & Paulo Gabriel, D.D.S.
Oral Microbiota and Enterococcus faecalis Interactions Promote Reciprocal Chlorhexidine Tolerance
Strength in community: Why a persistent pathogen may survive root canal disinfectants
The bacterium Enterococcus faecalis can be killed by disinfectants in isolated lab cultures, yet it remains a primary culprit in failed root canals.
One possible explanation lies in a basic feature of bacteria: they rarely live alone. Instead, they grow within complex, multi-species communities called biofilm, where different microbes interact and influence one another’s behavior.
Nadia Milfort investigated how these interactions affect disinfectant response by comparing E. faecalis alone, a natural dental plaque community, and a combined dental plaque biofilm where E. faecalis made up 2% of the starting mixture.
Using 3D confocal laser-scanning microscopy, which captures slice-by-slice images of microscopic structures and stacks them into a 3D model, Milfort examined the physical layout, or architecture, of these biofilms before disinfectant treatment.
She then exposed all three groups to chlorhexidine, the standard rinsing agent used during root canals, for five minutes at clinical concentrations of 0.05% and 0.1%, evaluating the biofilm’s total mass, metabolic activity, and bacterial survival.
The results revealed reciprocal protection: E. faecalis survived the disinfectant far better within the dental plaque community, and its presence simultaneously boosted the broader biofilm’s resilience.
For example, in conditions mimicking the carbon dioxide levels of the human mouth, a mild 0.05% wash significantly reduced plaque-only mass, but adding E. faecalis required a double-strength 0.1% wash to achieve the same reduction.
Pre-treatment imaging showed that the E. faecalis containing dental plaque was denser than plaque alone, suggesting E. faecalis alters community architecture to form a potential physical shield, though further studies are required to determine whether this directly causes disinfectant tolerance.
Milfort’s findings highlight how important it is for dental researchers to evaluate root canal disinfectants against realistic, multi-species communities that more closely reflect the microbial environments encountered in persistent infections, rather than isolated lab cultures.
Khushabu Patel
Faculty mentors: Daniel McNeil, Ph.D.; Astha Singhal B.D.S., M.P.H., Ph.D. & William Duncan, Ph.D.
Latent Profile Analyses Illuminate Distinct Dental Fear and Anxiety Profiles
Profiling dental dread as a tool for personalized patient care
Thinking about dental distress as a binary “yes-no” concept fails to capture the unique patterns that drive a significant percentage of adults to avoid dental care.
To improve diagnostic models for dental care-related fear and anxiety, Khushabu Patel analyzed data from 734 adults across two standard psychological surveys: the Dental Fear Survey and the Index of Dental Anxiety and Fear. She used latent profile analysis, a statistical clustering method, to identify four distinct profiles:
- Class 1 (61% of patients): No or low fear or anxiety across all categories.
- Class 2 (17.7% of patients): Acute fear and anxiety triggered by immediate sensory inputs in the chair, such as the sight of a needle or the sound of a drill.
- Class 3 (10.9% of patients): Little to no fear or anxiety of clinical instruments, but high fear and anxiety regarding future-oriented worries like financial cost, clinical judgment or a loss of control.
- Class 4 (10.4% of patients): Severe, pervasive distress across all physical and psychological domains.
By separating immediate, chairside fear from future-oriented anxiety, Patel’s work can help dental teams avoid generic reassurances and tailor interventions directly to a patient’s profile. For example, deploying targeted video-exposure tools for Class 2 patients or providing transparent cost counseling to help Class 3 patients regain a sense of control.
Eduardo Vigil De Anda
Faculty mentor: Dayane Oliveira, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D.
Wavelength-Dependent Photobiomodulation in Metabolically Stressed Cell Lineages
Understanding the tissue-specific nature of red light therapy
Commercial “wellness” brands often market red light therapy as a generic, one-size-fits-all cure, but dental biomaterials research shows that cellular recovery depends entirely on the specific tissue and wavelength used.
Eduardo Vigil De Anda simulated the nutrient starvation and cell trauma that occurs during deep dental restorations, testing two distinct oral cell types:
- Resilient, tooth-building odontoblasts
- Fragile, gum-repairing fibroblasts.
His research revealed a clear biological divide in how these tissues respond to light.
Hard-tissue odontoblasts survived starvation without intervention. Exposure to shorter, visible red light (600 to 620 nanometers) activated the specific genes needed to regenerate and harden dentin.
Conversely, soft-tissue fibroblasts died quickly when starved.
But longer, invisible near-infrared light (850 nanometers) rescued the cells and boosted collagen production.
These findings demonstrate that a shift of just a few nanometers in wavelength dictates whether light successfully regenerates deep dentin, rescues dying gum tissue or fails to cross the therapeutic threshold.
Vigil De Anda’s contribution to this ongoing area of UFCD research supports a future where dual-wavelength clinical devices are precisely calibrated to repair both hard and soft oral tissues simultaneously after deep dental work.