magazine - UCSF School of Dentistry - University of California, San ...

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how extracellular signals turn
osteoblast genes on and off, and the
impact of these cellular decisions on
bone tissue formation and turnover.
What specific research
questions are you attempting to
answer in your current work?
I’m examining the ability of growth
factor signaling to improve bone
strength and ability to resist fracture.
I am also studying the role of bone
quality in hearing loss.
How did you become drawn to
your field of research?
In addition to the scientific interest
of studying the role of bone in ear
development and function, I am
undoubtedly motivated by my
brother-in-law and my graduate
mentor, both of whom struggle with
severe hearing loss.
Who do you see benefiting from
your research?
I am hopeful that by better
understanding bone formation and
composition, therapies may be
designed to prevent fractures caused
by osteoporosis, or to better repair
tissues damaged by osteoarthritis or
bone fracture.
What is it like balancing a
demanding scientific career
with raising two young boys?
Challenging but possible, thanks
to excellent childcare, strong
professional support at UCSF, and
great personal support at home.
Caroline Shiboski
Oral Medicine/Epidemiology
Caroline Shiboski, an associate
professor in the forthcoming
department of Orofacial
Sciences 2 , earned her DDS
degree at Université René
Descartes in Paris, France,
followed by a Masters in Public
Health from the University of
California, Berkeley, and
2 See footnote 1, page 19.
Caroline Shiboski directs the Stomatology Clinical Center.
then a PhD in Epidemiology,
also at Cal Berkeley. Shiboski
completed residency programs
at UCSF in Advanced
Education in General Dentistry,
Dental Public Health and Oral
Medicine. Currently Director of
the Stomatology Clinical
Center at UCSF, Shiboski both
practices and teaches oral
medicine. Shiboski has been
married to her husband, Steve,
an associate professor of
Epidemiology and Biostatistics
at the UCSF School of
Medicine, for 19 years. They
have two sons, ages 9 and 11.
Tell us about your research and
scientific specialty.
As an epidemiologist and oral medicine
specialist I conduct clinical
research on oral diseases that affect
patients with immunosuppression due
to various causes (HIV disease, solid
organ transplantation, hematopoietic
stem cell transplantation). Part of
my current work focuses on oral
cancer epidemiology, in particular on
exploring trends in oral cancer incidence
among younger populations
through national cancer registry data
(the SEER Program).
What does your work with the
SEER Program entail?
Analyses of the SEER Program data
provide the opportunity to identify
site-specific and age-specific trends
in incidence rate and relative survival
rate among people with cancer. From
these analyses, I identified a recent
increase in the incidence of tongue
and tonsil squamous cell carcinoma
among young adults (20-44 years
old). Ultimately, my goal is to design a
study to identify specific risk factors
that may explain this recent increase.
Tell us about your work in
Sub-Saharan Africa.
As a co-investigator in the UCSF
Oral AIDS Center, I designed a collaborative
project with Zimbabwean
colleagues to explore the feasibility of
training nurses in the diagnosis of
HIV-related oral lesions and of using
these lesions as surrogate markers
for HIV disease progression. As the
monitoring of HIV disease progression
through CD4 count testing is prohibitively
expensive in sub-Saharan
Africa, a visual inspection of the
mouth may be an affordable way of
determining when anti-retroviral
therapy should begin — assuming
that such drugs will one day become
both available and affordable in that
part of the world.