CGS Seminar: “Investigating the Genomics of Early Childhood Oral Health—ZOE: a Community-based Genetic Epidemiologic Study Conducted in NC Head Start Programs” Kimon Divaris, Pediatric Dentistry, UNC School of Dentistry

The talk will describe the rationale, design and early insights from an ongoing genetic epidemiologic study of early childhood oral health in NC. The project is based on five-year NIH award totaling $8.4 million aimed to investigate the genetic underpinning of ECC among a multi-ethnic community-based sample of approximately 9,000 preschool-age children enrolled in Head Start program across NC. The study includes substantial proportions of minority populations traditionally under-represented in research, including African Americans and Hispanic/Latinos and will entail a trans-ethnic genome-wide association study for ECC, examining the joint contribution of environmental, behavioral and genomic influences on early childhood oral health.