January 24, 2002
Senior fellow in Dentistry named Magnuson Scholar, clinical scholar
A senior fellow in the Department of Oral Biology at the University of Washington School of Dentistry has received two different and prestigious honors. Dr. Ozlem Yilmaz has been named a Magnuson Scholar by the university, and awarded a clinical scientist (KO8) grant by the National Institutes of Health.
Yilmaz studies periodontal disease, an inflammatory infection that affects up to 50 million people in the United States. She has discovered a key means by which the bacteria that cause periodontal disease, Prophyromonas gingivalis, can attach to host cells and initiate the destructive process. Agents designed to inhibit the attachment step could prevent bacterial survival, and thus eliminate or reduce the severity of the disease.
“Early in my Ph.D. studies, I discovered the more I learned about the workings of oral pathogenic processes, the more interested I became. There are significant gaps in our understanding of the initial interactions between P. gingivalis and gingival epithelial cells. The outcome of this molecular dialog can contribute to either the maintenance of gingival health or the initiation of disease,” Yilmaz says. “I believe our studies will not only contribute to the conceptual framework of the pathogenesis of periodontal diseases, but may also allow novel approaches to the control of p. gingivalis infection and thus improve the quality of life for the at-risk populations.”
Her work was conducted in the laboratory of Dr. Richard Lamont, professor of oral biology.
“Everyone here is delighted that the importance of this work has been recognized by NIH through the clinician scientist award mechanism,” says Dr. Kenneth Izutsu, professor and chairman of oral biology.
The prestigious five-year KO8 award is given to clinical scientists to provide support for their transition into independent researchers. The K08 award will allow Dr. Yilmaz to pursue her studies of periodontal disease.
The university names six Magnuson Scholars each year, one from each of the six UW health sciences schools. The Magnuson Scholars are selected on the basis of their academic performance and their potential contributions to research in the health sciences.
The late Senator Warren G. Magnuson, in whose name the program was established, was committed to improving the nation’s health through biomedical research and was instrumental in establishing the National Institutes of Health, Medicare and Medicaid during his long career in the senate.
Yilmaz was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey. She obtained her D.D.S .degree from Istanbul University School of Dentistry in 1990. She practiced privately and worked at a regional hospital providing dental services in the main hospital clinic and rural community clinics. She was also active in public education and oral disease prevention programs for five years. When she married her husband, Carl Turk, an electrical engineer, she moved to the Seattle area and began Ph.D. studies in 1997.
Yilmaz has been actively participating in dental research conferences. She expects to complete her studies this spring and begin her transition into an independent researcher. Yilmaz says she is also interested in teaching and interacting with younger scientists and in encouraging more dentists to spend time on research.
She and her husband live in Seattle and enjoy long, wet Northwest hikes with their beagle, Charlie.
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