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Exploring the oral microbiome

9 February 2015

Time: 5:30pm
Venue: Perrin Lecture Theatre, Blizard Institute, Newark Street, E1 2AT

The human mouth harbours a complex community of microorganisms, including viruses, fungi, protozoa, archaea and bacteria. Over 700 species of bacteria are present, around half of which have yet to be cultured. Many species which can be cultivated have yet to be named. Oral bacteria are associated with the commonest bacterial diseases of man: tooth decay and gum disease and have been implicated in other, non-oral diseases. Culture-independent methods of microbiome characterisation using next generation DNA sequencing methods have revolutionised understanding of the composition and role of the oral and human microbiomes in health and disease. The culture of currently uncultivable bacteria remains a major goal, in order to understand their role in health and disease and progress has been made with in-vitro co-culture systems which mimic in-vivo community interactions. This talk will highlight Professor Wade’s contributions to molecular microbial ecology.

William Wade qualified in Microbiology in 1978 at the University of East Anglia. He pursued a PhD in Oral Microbiology at Cardiff Dental School and was appointed to a Lectureship there in 1987. He moved in 1993 to the University of Bristol to take up a Senior Lectureship in Oral Microbiology, and in 1996 was appointed Professor of Oral Microbiology at King's College London. Since 2002 he has been an Honorary Senior Research Investigator at the Forsyth Institute, Cambridge, USA. He joined Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London as Professor of Oral Microbiology in August 2013.

A reception will follow the lectur

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