Jonathon Baker, PhD, joined the Department of Oral Rehabilitation & Biosciences at OHSU in 2023. The research in Dr. Baker’s laboratory leverages emerging technologies in bioinformatics and molecular biology to answer fundamental questions regarding the ecology, physiology, and pathogenesis of the human oral microbiome.  The oral microbiome is the collection of microorganisms that live in the human oral cavity, and includes bacteria, viruses, archaea, and microeukaryotes such as fungi. These microbes have a major impact on human health, with extremely prevalent and costly oral diseases such as dental caries, periodontal disease, and oral cancers being caused mainly by the bacteria and viruses present in the mouth. In addition to oral diseases, there are increasing lines of evidence linking the oral microbiota to a myriad of extra-oral and systemic diseases, such obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory bowel disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, rheumatoid arthritis, colorectal cancers, and Alzheimer’s Disease. 

Originally from Rochester, NY, Dr. Baker has a PhD in Microbiology & Immunology from the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry and a BS in biology from SUNY Geneseo. Prior to joining the faculty at OHSU, Baker conducted research in the Genomic Medicine Group at the J. Craig Venter Institute, the Department of Pediatrics at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, the Department of Oral Biology at the UCLA School of Dentistry and in the Vaccine Research and Early Development group at Pfizer, Inc.