Grant: Canadian Microbiome Initiative - LOI

The phrase, the mouth is a window into the human body, denotes its usefulness in providing information on other organs and systems. An example is using a thermometer in the oral cavity to measure body temperature (a vital sign). Using this analogy, we propose Oral Microbiome Profiling (to look at patterns of microbial populations and their functions) as a screening tool for early diagnosis of a multitude of systemic diseases. We believe that because microbes are smaller and less complex than human cells, they will react much quicker to changes in the body environment caused by systemic diseases, and that the mouth is a convenient location to repeatedly sample these microbes. By detecting damages or changes in microbial genetic make-up and functions of one's own microbial populations, we can predict and prevent damages caused by systemic diseases to our own human cells. We will investigate profiles of microbes in dental plaque and saliva obtained from children with obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases; and correlate these profiles (patterns) of oral microbes with clinical disease. Our project will be synchronized with the 5 year plan of the NIH Human Microbiome Project and we would like to propose Oral Microbiome Profiling as a reference benchmark microbiome to other locations of the body, such as skin, airway, urogenital, and gut.