New Approaches for in vitro and in silico Modelling of the Oral Microbiome

The oral microbiome is an open, natural microbial system which consists of a huge variety of over 700 different species. Bacterial cells colonise different tissue surfaces within the oral environment, such as the tongue, gums and teeth. The composition of this system is in constant flux, with complex and dynamic interactions between bacterial species occurring. The oral microbiome and the interactions within play an important role in dental carries and periodontal disease, where untreated cases affect billions of people globally. The personal care industry (and its developed products), a global multibillion pound business that brings wellbeing to millions of customers across the globe, impinge directly on the human microbiome.

The aim of this project is to develop new in vitro and in silico modelling approaches that can be replicated and used in order to understand, quantify and predict functions underpinning the colonisation in the oral microbiome. This would allow for the determination of factors that lead to oral diseases. Specifically, how a selected bacterial pathogen invades a healthy oral microbiome and paves the way for oral dysbiosis and dental caries to develop.

The objectives of the research project are:
1. Simulate the invasion of the oral microbiome by a bacterial pathogen in vitro.

2. Analyse the invasion of this pathogen and the resulting alteration in a selected oral mock community.

3. Develop a mathematical model following a bottom-up approach, involving data collected from the laboratory, in order to characterise the factors underpinning the colonisation of the oral microbiome.

4. Validate the model using independent high-throughput data, present the importance of the work conducted and model produced.

This research project will allow for a greater understanding of the progression from a healthy, non-caries microbiome to a disease ridden one.