Sroussi and Treister Awarded $3.7M National Institutes of Health Grant to Study Chronic Graft Versus Host Disease

Herve Y. Sroussi, DMD, PhD and Nathaniel S. Treister, DMD, DMSc, of the Division of Oral Medicine and Dentistry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have been awarded a $3.7M National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 Grant for their study entitled “Long-Term Oral Health Outcomes in the Chronic GVHD Consortium.”

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is a complex immune-mediated disease commonly seen in recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. cGVHD can severely affect the health of numerous organ systems including the oral cavity, one of its most common and significantly affected targets. This study will explore the long-term effects of cGVHD on oral health with the ultimate goal of improving the patients’ quality of life and maximizing treatment effectiveness and outcomes.

Drs. Sroussi and Treister will serve as co-principal investigators on the study which is a collaboration between the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/University of Washington School of Dentistry in Seattle, WA.

Herve Y. Sroussi, DMD, PhD
Director for Research, Division of Oral Medicine and Dentistry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Associate Professor of Oral Medicine, Infection, and Immunity, Harvard School of Dentist Medicine

Dr. Herve Sroussi is the director for research in the Division of Oral Medicine and Dentistry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He is as an associate surgeon at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center and an associate professor at Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

Dr. Sroussi earned his dental degree from The Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine. He completed an oral medicine residency at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Dentistry (UCSF) and he is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Medicine. Dr. Sroussi completed a PhD in Oral Science at UCSF in the field of mucosal immunology and virology.

Dr. Sroussi was a recipient of a NIH Dentist Scientist Award and K22 Career Award.

Before joining Brigham and Women’s, he was the director of the Oral Medicine Clinic, the director for graduate studies, and an associate professor with tenure and at the University of Illinois College of Dentistry in Chicago, IL.

Dr. Sroussi’s research is primarily focused in the field of oral mucosal infection and immunity with an emphasis on innate immunology and immune suppression.

Nathaniel S. Treister, DMD, DMSc
Chief, Division of Oral Medicine and Dentistry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Associate Professor of Oral Medicine, Infection, and Immunity, Harvard School of Dentist Medicine

Dr. Nathaniel S. Treister is the chief of the Division of Oral Medicine and Dentistry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Treister also serves as an associate surgeon at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center and is a consulting staff member of Boston Children’s Hospital. He is an associate professor at Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

Dr. Treister earned his dental degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. He completed an oral medicine residency at Harvard School of Dental Medicine/BWH and is board certified in oral medicine. Dr. Treister’s primary clinical interests include oral mucosal diseases and oral complications of cancer therapy and, in particular, graft-versus-host disease.

Dr. Treister’s research is primarily focused in the field of oral complications related to cancer therapies, with particular interest in hematopoietic cell transplantation, mucositis and graft-versus-host disease. The goal of his research is to better understand the underlying pathology of these oral complications and how best to manage and improve outcomes. His work has been supported by the Children’s Oncology Group and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research as well as through internal institutional funding.