Ozlem Yilmaz

Dr. Özlem Yilmaz (DDS, PhD) is a Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in the College of Dental Medicine and Department of Oral Health Sciences. With over two decades of academic experience across MUSC and University of Florida, she holds joint appointments in Pharmacology and Immunology. Her research focuses on Porphyromonas gingivalis and its role in microbe-host interactions, linking periodontal disease to Alzheimer’s disease and orodigestive cancers.

• PhD in Oral Biology, University of Washington (2002)
• D.D.S., Istanbul University (2002)

Her lab investigates molecular mechanisms enabling P. gingivalis to evade host defenses through autophagy subversion, ATP scavenging, and inflammasome modulation. Recent work connects this pathogen to mitophagy resistance in oral tumors and neurodegenerative disease.

Dr. Yilmaz has received prestigious accolades including Fellow of Pierre Fauchard Academy (2023), Overseas Fellow, Royal Society of Medicine (2017), and University of Florida Research Foundation Professor (2014). She serves on multiple editorial boards including PLOS ONE and Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology.

Her team has secured significant NIH F30/F31 grants for trainees like Jaden Lee and Bridgette Wellslager, with lab alumni now leading research at institutions like NIH, UCLA, and Kyungpook National University. The lab also explores Filifactor alocis and Fusobacterium nucleatum interactions through primary cell culture and transgenic models.