Sunstar announces 2025 World Perio Research and Perio Link Award Winners at Europerio11

Sunstar has announced the 2025 winners of the World Perio Research Awards and Perio Link™ Award during a special ceremony at this year’s Europerio11 in Vienna.

Designed to celebrate the groundbreaking work of scientific researchers on the link between oral health and systemic health, the global awards are held every three years and have been sponsored by the Sunstar Foundation since their inception in 2003. Winners of both awards, from the US and the Netherlands, were presented with their awards and prizes during the ceremony at Europerio11.

The Sunstar World Perio Research Awards are selected by the editors of four leading journals in the field of periodontal research, the Journal of Periodontal Research; the Journal of Periodontology; the Journal of Clinical Periodontology and the Journal of Dental Research.

Each Editor-in-Chief selected five papers from their journal that provided important new insights into the relationship between periodontal disease and systemic health, published between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2023. The editors emeriti also each nominated a couple of outstanding papers on the same topic but published in a journal outside the dental field. The Screening Committee evaluated all the pre-selected papers to nominate one first-place winner and two runners-up.

8th Sunstar World Perio Research Award Winners

Title: SARS-CoV-2 infection of the oral cavity and saliva

Team: Huang N, Pérez P, Kato T, Mikami Y, Okuda K, Gilmore RC, Conde CD, Gasmi B, Stein S, Beach M, Pelayo E, Maldonado JO, Lafont BA, Jang SI, Nasir N, Padilla RJ, Murrah VA, Maile R, Lovell W, Wallet SM, … Byrd KM.

Publication: Nature Medicine, May 2021

Dr. Byrd’s research recognized by this award, demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 directly infects and replicates within the oral cavity, particularly in minor salivary glands and mucosal tissues. His team established a comprehensive single-cell atlas, revealing epithelial susceptibility to viral entry and correlating salivary viral load with clinical symptoms like taste loss. These findings emphasized the oral cavity’s role in COVID-19 transmission and salivary antibody responses, paving the way for better diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

Bio: Dr. Kevin Matthew Byrd is an Assistant Professor of Oral and Craniofacial Molecular Biology at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and the former Director of Cell & Molecular Biology at ADA Science & Research Institute. As the Founder of the Human Cell Atlas Oral & Craniofacial Bionetwork, he leads global collaborations mapping oral and craniofacial tissues to better understand their systemic implications in health and disease. His research bridges oral biology, spatial biology, and precision medicine to advance treatments for complex diseases like cancer and chronic inflammation.                                                        

2^nd Winner 

Title: Antepartum periodontitis treatment and risk of offspring screening positive for autism spectrum disorder

Team: Bose C, Valentine GC, Philips K, Boggess K, Moss K, Barros SP, Marchesan J, Wu D, O’Shea TM, Peralta-Carcelen M, Goldstein R, Ramamurthy R, Beck JD.

Publication: Journal of Perinatology, April 2023

Dental scaling and root planing is not harmful in pregnancy. In fact, it not only can improve the pregnant individual’s oral health, but it may also prevent long-term neurodevelopmental harm to one’s children, including signs of autism. Pregnant individuals with the most severe forms of periodontal disease benefit the most with treatment in pregnancy. The oral-systemic health connection in pregnancy is incredibly important – an impact that has the potential to span generations. It is important that obstetricians and healthcare providers caring for pregnant individuals screen pregnant individuals early in pregnancy for oral health to maximize potential health benefits to the pregnant individual and their children.

Bio: Dr. Gregory Valentine is a neonatologist at the University of Washington who focuses on the interplay of oral health and the relationship with systemic health in pregnancy. Specifically, Dr. Valentine seeks to evaluate innovative methods to improve oral health and/or prevent oral disease in pregnancy and the relationship with adverse pregnancy and newborn outcomes. His research portfolio encompasses evaluating xylitol-containing chewing gum, dental scaling and root planing, and other methodologies improve oral health in pregnancy.

3^rd winner

Title: Diabetes, Edentulism, and Cognitive Decline: A 12-Year Prospective Analysis

Team: Wu B, Luo H, Tan C, Qi X, Sloan FA, Kamer AR, Schwartz MD, Martinez M, Plassman BL

Publication: Journal of Dental Research, July 2023

This study demonstrated that the co-occurrence of diabetes and edentulism can lead to worse cognitive function and accelerated cognitive decline for older adults aged 65 to 74 years. The findings have important policy and clinical implications for preventing cognitive decline among older adults, especially those with diabetes and poor oral health. For individuals with both poor oral health and diabetes, regular dental visits should be encouraged in addition to adherence to the diabetes self-care protocol. Regular cognitive screening may be needed in the primary care setting for older adults with poor oral health and diabetes. Furthermore, the link between oral health and cognition should be emphasized during routine cleanings; dental care and programs are needed to reduce the societal cost of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Bio: Vice Dean for Research and Dean’s Professor in Global Health at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, as well as an Affiliated Professor at the College of Dentistry, New York University. An internationally recognized leader in gerontology, Dr. Wu has led numerous NIH-funded studies on oral health, dementia caregiving, and long-term care. A prolific researcher, she also mentors scholars worldwide.

3rd Sunstar Perio Link Award

The Sunstar Perio Link Award aims to raise awareness of the link between oral health and general health and allows researchers to share their latest discoveries that make an impact beyond the scientific community.

The self-nominated award was open to all researchers and clinicians who published a research paper on the link between oral health and general health (between January 1 2021 and December 31 2023) and who submitted a one-minute video to explain the findings of their paper in a way understandable to the general public.  The winner of the award is decided by who received the most public votes on Sunstar’s YouTube channel.

Winner

Title: Cardiovascular risk assessment in periodontitis patients and controls using the European Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) model. A pilot study.

Team: Kosho MXF, Verhelst ARE, Teeuw WJ, Gerdes VEA, Loos BG.

Publication: Frontiers in Physiology, January 2023

This research investigated the frequency of patients with a ‘high’ or ‘very high’ CVD risk in the dental university clinic, among patients with and without periodontitis. Patients in these CVD risk categories often require lifestyle advice or medical treatment. The periodontitis group is particularly noteworthy as an ‘at-risk’ group for systemic conditions such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), given that periodontitis and CVD share many common risk factors, such as genetics, smoking, overweight/obesity, diabetes, and stress. The study found a notable proportion of patients with a ‘high’ or ‘very high’ CVD risk in both the periodontitis group (43.8%) and the control group (30.7%). Another interesting finding was the examination of a ‘very high’ CVD risk in relation to localized and generalized periodontitis. The research revealed that the frequency of a ‘very high’ CVD risk was 9.1% in the control group, 16.4% in the localized periodontitis group, and 29.5% in the generalized periodontitis group. This indicates that the extent of periodontitis also plays a role.

Bio: Periodontist Madeline Kosho currently works at the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), where she’s pursuing a PhD. Madeline combines her clinical practice with research, striving to enhance the understanding of oral-systemic health, investigating the potential of the detection of (underlying) systemic conditions in the dental setting, and exploring the use of salivary biomarkers from oral rinses. Her work allows her to contribute to both the scientific community and patient care, with the aspiration of making a meaningful impact on the lives of others.

Commented Mayumi Kaneda, Director of the Sunstar Foundation which oversees both awards: “The award entries were again extremely strong, and we’re proud that both of our awards promote insightful research and help develop greater knowledge about the connection between oral health and systemic health.  It was wonderful to celebrate with all the winners at Europerio11 to mark their achievements, research and contributions to developing greater knowledge of this crucial connection.”