Who We Are
Director, UB Microbiome Center
As director of the UB Microbiome Center, Patricia Diaz develops partnerships and guides research projects focused on the effects of the microbiome on human health and disease.
Robert E. Schifferle, DDS, PhD, Associate Director for Clinical Affairs
Karen L. Falkner, PhD, Associate Director for Research
Robert E. Schifferle, DDS, PhD
Associate Director for Clinical Affairs
UB Microbiome Center
121 Foster Hall
Phone: (716) 645-8131
Karen L. Falkner, PhD
Associate Director for Research
UB Microbiome Center
121 Foster Hall
Phone: (716) 645-8131
Suzanne J. Andrusz
Registered Dental Hygienist
UB Microbiome Center
121 Foster Hall
Phone: (716) 645-8131
Shannon H. Cervi
Registered Dental Hygienist
UB Microbiome Center
121 Foster Hall
Phone: (716) 645-8131
Robert G. Dunford
Biostatistician and Data Manager
UB Microbiome Center
121 Foster Hall
Phone: (716) 645-8131
Chika Kobayashi
Dental Assistant
UB Microbiome Center
121 Foster Hall
Phone: (716) 645-8131
Susan M. Morey
Laboratory Technician and Phlebotomist
UB Microbiome Center
121 Foster Hall
Phone: (716) 645-8131
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Associate Dean for Innovation and Technology Transfer
School of Dental Medicine; Centennial Endowed Chair Department of Oral Biology
645 Biomedical Research Building (BRB)
Phone: (716) 829-6667; Fax: (716) 829-3942
Email: klkirk@buffalo.edu
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women & Children's Hospital of Buffalo
Research Assistant Professor
Epidemiology and Environmental Health, UB School of Public Health and Health Professions
Richard Browne, PhD
Professor
Department of Biotechnical and Clinical Sciences, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Associate Professor
Biochemistry; Biomedical Informatics Dept 3E-Medicine, NYS Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics & Life Sciences
Associate Professor
Medicine; Clinical Research Office, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Research Professor; Principal Investigator
Oral Biology, UB School of Dental Medicine
Associate Professor
Microbiology and Immunology; Biostatistics, NYS Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics & Life Sciences
Dean, UB School of Public Health and Health Professions; SUNY Distinguished Professor
Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health
SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor; Dean, School of Dental Medicine
School of Dental Medicine
Phone: (716) 829-3940
Email: jjzambon@buffalo.edu
Phone: (716) 829-2854
Email: fas1@buffalo.edu
Scott Doyle, PhD
Research Assistant Professor; Adjunct Assistant Professor
Pathology and Anatomical Sciences; Biomedical Engineering
Weiguo Liu
Assistant Professor – Academic Scholar
Pathology and Anatomical Sciences
Sai Yendamuri, MD, FACS
Chair, Department of Thoracic Surgery; Professor of Oncology; Associate Professor of Surgery
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Phone: (716) 845-8937
617 Biomedical Research Building (BRB)
Email: kmkauffm@buffalo.edu
Takanori Akase
Research Scholar
UB School of Dental Medicine
Yasumitsu Shimizu
Senior Researcher
Mouth & Body R&D, UB School of Dental Medicine
Yoshiko Okada
Researcher
R&D, Oral Care Business Unit
Yuriko Kuriyama
Research Scholar
UB School of Dental Medicine
311 Foster Hall
Phone: (716) 829-2853
History of the UBMC
Robert J. Genco, 2016
The UBMC was established in 2012 by Robert J. Genco, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Oral Biology, Periodontics and Microbiology, who passed away in March 2019. Lauded as the “father of oral science” Genco was widely considered the world’s leading periodontal disease researcher and a pioneer in advancing the understanding of oral health’s impact on overall health.
Currently, the UBMC has three separate research focuses: oral-systemic diseases, bacterial pathogenesis and microbial-associated cancer biology. Since its inception, the center has participated in a number of successful clinical trials, several of which have resulted in approval of products tested from the FDA.