Oral health and systemic disease: Part one

Mike Curtis obtained his B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Bristol and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of London. He was a visiting Fogarty Fellow at the National Institutes of Health, USA where he worked on the characterization of anaerobic metabolism and electron flow in microbial communities. Subsequently, he worked at the Medical Research Council Dental Research Unit on risk factors for periodontal disease and led the MRC Microbial Molecular Pathogenesis Group, where he worked mainly on the biology of the periodontal bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis. During the period 2001-17 he worked at Queen Mary University of London undertaking a variety of roles including Head of the Department of Clinical Microbiology, Dean for Research of the School of Medicine and Dentistry, Director of the Blizard Institute, Dean for Dentistry, and Director of the Institute of Dentistry and Deputy Vice-Principal for Health. He was appointed Executive Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences at King’s College London in 2017.

His current research is focused on the pathogenesis of periodontal disease and the relationship of oral health and disease to systemic conditions. His research has been funded by organizations such as the MRC, the Welcome Trust, and the National Institutes of Health. He was awarded Distinguished Scientist in Basic Periodontal Disease Research of the IADR in 2005 and Distinguished Scientist of the European Federation of Periodontology in 2017. He has served as Chair of the Gordon Conference on Periodontal Diseases (2006) and President of the British Society for Dental Research (2007) and he was awarded Honorary Fellowship in Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FDSRCS, 2008) and  Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci, 2009).

Dr. Raul Bescos works as a Lecturer of Nutritional Physiology at the University of Plymouth (UK) where he co-leads the Oral Microbiome Research Group. His current research interest focuses on understanding the link between oral nitrate-reductase bacteria and blood pressure control under different physiological conditions. Recent research from his lab has shown that this group of bacteria are key modulators of the cardiovascular benefits associated with exercise in healthy individuals by promoting nitrogen species availability. Another key focus of his research is to develop new oral care treatments based on natural prebiotics that can help to restore a healthy oral environment in individuals with gum disease and high cardiovascular risk. He has published several dozen scientific papers, given presentations at national and international congresses, and has been a member of several national and international research committees.

Dr Kulveer Mankia is an Associate Professor and Consultant Rheumatologist at Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine and NIHR Leeds Biomedical Research Centre. His research interest is the preclinical phase of rheumatoid arthritis. He currently oversees a broad portfolio of research in this area, including two early phase clinical trials in early arthritis, one using the novel TWiCs methodology. He also leads mucosal work investigating periodontal disease and lung autoimmunity, ultrasound and MRI studies and risk prediction modelling. He runs the Leeds CCP and palindromic rheumatism cohorts, the largest clinical observational cohorts of their kind worldwide.

Dr Mankia qualified in medicine with first-class honours from Magdalen College, Oxford and undertook general medical training at the John Radcliffe and Churchill Hospitals as a NIHR academic clinical fellow. He was awarded a postgraduate diploma in health research from the University of Oxford. He was awarded the Overend Throup Scholarship, which brought him to Leeds for a clinical research fellowship. He completed a Doctor of Medicine on research into preclinical RA from the University of Oxford. Dr Mankia is interested in the role of mucosal factors in the initiation of RA, particularly periodontal inflammation. He collaborates in this area with Prof Deirdre Devine (Leeds) and Prof Kim Midwood (Oxford). His recent work has identified an increased prevalence of periodontal disease and a specific oral dysbiosis in individuals at risk of RA.