An academic agreement has been established between Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) and the three schools of dentistry at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil — São Paulo, Bauru, and Ribeirão Preto. It aims to strengthen academic cooperation between the institutions and advance research in the fields of dental medicine and oral science.
“This agreement opens doors for USP doctoral students to engage in cutting-edge research at HSDM in areas like oral medicine, microbiology, immunology, bone biology, data science, tissue engineering, drug delivery, artificial intelligence, and bone and tissue regeneration. We hope this is just the first step toward many more transformative projects,” said Dr. Magda Feres, chair of HSDM’s Department of Oral Medicine, Infection and Immunity.
The formalization of the agreement was led by Feres in collaboration with Dr. Marina Gallottini, professor at the USP School of Dentistry and secretary-general of the University of São Paulo.
“One of the key pillars of the agreement will be to establish postgraduate student exchange programs, allowing Brazilian students to participate in ‘sandwich PhD’ programs in research laboratories at HSDM, broadening their academic experiences and contributing to scientific progress,” said Gallottini.
The agreement, which was signed February 3, 2025 by Dean William V. Giannobile along with the deans of the three USP Schools of Dentistry (Dr. Giulio Gavini, Dr. Marília Afonso Rabelo Buzalaf, and Dr. Ricardo Gariba Silva ), reinforces the institutions’ shared commitment to advancing research and academic training.
It furthers current work underway in the Feres Lab with dental students from USP. As part of a grant award from the Lemann Brazil Research Fund, the lab has been engaged in work with co-investigators from USP that explores the effects of a novel hybrid protein on oral proteome dynamics and microbiome composition, among other ongoing research projects.
