Kimon Divaris

Kimon Divaris is a Professor and James Bawden Distinguished Professor at the Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he serves as Chair of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health. His work bridges clinical practice, public health, and biological research, focusing on early childhood caries, oral microbiome, and genomics.

• Postdoctoral Fellowship: Oral and Genetic Epidemiology, UNC-Chapel Hill (2012)
• Certificate: Pediatric Dentistry, UNC-Chapel Hill (2011)
• PhD: Epidemiology, UNC-Chapel Hill (2011)
• DDS: National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (2005)

His research explores the intersection of clinical, public health, and biological determinants of oral health, with NIH-supported studies including genome-wide association analyses and microbiome investigations. He leads the ZOE 2.0 study (U01-DE025046) and contributes to the Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study (U01-HD052102). Recent publications emphasize machine learning applications, microbial biomarkers, and precision oral health frameworks.

Scientific awards include the Burton C. Borgelt Faculty Advisory Award (2022), IADR Distinguished Scientist Young Investigator Award (2020), and IADR Centennial Emerging Leader Award (2020). He has authored over 130 publications, including groundbreaking work on fibrin's role in oral inflammation in Science (2021). His mentorship philosophy emphasizes creating intellectually stimulating environments for training the next generation of oral health professionals.