Ana Duran-Pinedo, PhD

My Research Program seeks to understand the molecular mechanisms that enable periodontal pathogens to adapt to the dynamic environment of the periodontal pocket and how these adaptive responses promote microbial persistence, dysbiosis, and periodontal disease. Our laboratory combines molecular microbiology, bacterial genetics, functional genomics, and host-microbiome analyses to investigate the regulatory networks that govern bacterial physiology and virulence. A major focus of our research is Porphyromonas gingivalis, a keystone periodontal pathogen whose ability to sense and respond to environmental changes plays a central role in disease initiation and progression. In particular, we investigate how bacterial regulatory systems includingv two component and CRISPRs-Cas systems coordinate gene expression, physiological adaptation, and virulence. Our recent work has demonstrated that CRISPR-Cas systems in P. gingivalis extend far beyond their classical role in adaptive immunity, functioning as global regulators of pathogenic traits and revealing unexpected mechanisms that contribute to bacterial fitness and disease. In parallel, we use metatranscriptomics to study the functional activity of both the oral microbiome and the host during health, disease progression, and response to periodontal therapy. By integrating mechanistic studies in bacterial pathogens with systems-level analyses of clinical samples, we seek to identify the biological processes that drive the transition from a healthy oral ecosystem to dysbiosis and chronic inflammation. My previous research established important contributions to our understanding of Tannerella forsythia’s virulence and helped define functional changes in the oral microbiome associated with periodontitis progression. These studies provided the foundation for my current research program, which focuses on the molecular mechanisms that regulate bacterial adaptation and pathogenicity in P. gingivalis. The long-term goal of my research is to define the regulatory pathways that allow periodontal pathogens to thrive within complex microbial communities and interact with the host, ultimately enabling the development of precision diagnostics and targeted therapeutic strategies for periodontal disease.