Dr. Hajime Sasaki

Biography

Dr. Sasaki received his DDS in 1989 and PhD in 1998 from Iwate Medical University in Morioka, Japan. Before joining the University of Michigan School of Dentistry in March 2017, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow and Associate Member at the Forsyth Institute in Cambridge, MA, in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Sasaki is a dentist-researcher who is extensively working in the field of apical periodontitis and marginal periodontitis, aiming to integrate scientific approaches to the findings of 'dental inflammology' for the prevention and cure of dental inflammations. His research has contributed to understanding the functional network of immune cells and cytokines that induce cell signaling. Currently, he focuses on the role of damage-associated molecular patterns and hypothesizes that serum amyloid (SAA) links dental inflammations and systemic metabolic disorders bidirectionally. He also assesses the importance of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) in controlling inflammation, having established a novel mouse model that exhibits HIF-1-mediated spontaneous resolution of inflammation in periapical wound healing. Dr. Sasaki is actively working with health professionals and students to deepen their understanding of dental inflammology through research outcomes, publications, and presentations.

Research Interests