Four University of Louisville School of Dentistry researchers are among the top 2% most-cited researchers in the world, according to a new list compiled by Stanford University and Elsevier.

The list includes researchers whose work was the most cited — that is, referenced by another researcher — in either calendar year 2022 or over the course of their career. The list spans 22 disciplines, from business to engineering to medicine.

Researchers from ULSD on the list include: 

Gill Diamond, PhD – Professor, Department of Oral Immunology and Infectious Diseases

For more than 30 years, Dr. Diamond has been studying antimicrobial peptides – which are naturally occurring antibiotics found throughout the body – and how these peptides function in host defense against infections in the lung and oral cavity. His main areas of research now are finding out ways we can enhance the expression of these peptides to prevent infections, and developing novel antibiotics based on their structure to treat bacterial, fungal, and viral infections. Dr. Diamond currently has three NIH grants.

View Dr. Diamond’s faculty bio »
View publications from Dr. Diamond » 

Richard J. Lamont, PhD – Delta Dental Endowed Professor and Chair, Department of Oral Immunology and Infectious Diseases

Dr. Lamont’s research centers on the complex ecosystem of the oral cavity. “Periodontal disease isn’t caused by a single microorganism, but rather by a community of organisms working in concert,” says Dr. Lamont. “While that has been known for some time, we have discovered that bacteria within these communities can communicate with each other, just like when people get together in a group. Also, a bit like people, they can be bad actors — bacteria that instigate unruly behavior on the part of others. It’s this unruly behavior that leads to disease. We are working on ways to intercept this type of communication and keep the community well-behaved.”

He currently has five NIH-funded projects, including a robust training program designed to advance the careers of junior faculty. As chair of the predominant research-oriented department in the School of Dentistry, Dr. Lamont also works to foster collaborations at UofL and beyond.

Dr. Lamont’s position is funded by an endowment from Delta Dental. “This endowment was transformational for research in the school,” he says. “It allowed us to recruit around a common theme and establish an active research unit. From being near the bottom of dental school rankings in terms of NIH funding before the endowment, we are now 13th in the country — ahead of some much larger schools.” 

View Dr. Lamont’s faculty bio »
View publications from Dr. Lamont »

Jan S. Potempa, PhD, DSc – Professor, Department of Oral Immunology and Infectious Diseases and University Scholar

An active researcher for more than 40 years, Dr. Potempa joined the University of Louisville School of Dentistry as a Professor and Academic Scholar in 2009.  Simultaneously, Dr. Potempa has maintained his teaching and research position at the Jagiellonian University in Poland. 

Dr. Potempa’s current scientific interest revolves around proteolytic events in the pathogenicity of infectious diseases. His investigations are focused on proteolytic enzymes of bacterial pathogens that play important roles in the deregulation of a number of physiological pathways and evasion of host immunity. Specifically, studies in Dr. Potempa’s laboratories concentrate on proteolytic systems of bacteria, including predominantly staphylococci and periodontal pathogens.  He discovered new families of proteinase inhibitors and proteinases, referred to as staphostatins and gingipains, respectively.  Furthermore, he found out that Porphyromonas gingivalis-derived gingipains could not only activate coagulation, fibrinolysis, and kinin pathways and signal through protease activated receptors in an unrestricted manner, but also deregulate host proteinase inhibitors through specific cleavage within their reactive site loops, thereby allowing for the additional involvement of host proteinases in the disease process. Dr. Potempa’s current research has expanded to enzymes from Prevotella intermedia and Tannerella forsythia.

Dr. Potempa currently has two NIH-funded research projects.

 View Dr. Potempa’s faculty bio »
View publications from Dr. Potempa » 

William C. Scarfe, BDS, FRACDS, MS, FACD – Professor of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Department of Diagnosis and Oral Health

Dr. Scarfe has been a faculty member at ULSD since 1993. His primary research interests are clinical applications of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT imaging) and artificial intelligence in oral and maxillofacial radiographic diagnosis.

View Dr. Scarfe’s faculty bio »
View publications from Dr. Scarfe »

Find out more about the UofL researchers included on the Stanford University/Elsevier list at UofL News.

February 9, 2024