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Oral Medicine Research Laboratory

The Oral Medicine Research Laboratory at Carolinas Medical Center (CMC) at Atrium Health uses metagenomics and genome-wide functional genomic approaches to investigate gene biomarkers in the oral cavity for both oral diseases and systemic diseases involving pathophysiological mechanisms occurring in oral cavity.

Our efforts are geared towards the identification and characterization of oral microbiomic and genomic biomarkers associated with rheumatic diseases such as Sjögren’s syndrome, infective endocarditis, head and neck cancer, hematological cancers, and oral complications of cancer therapy. We are using in vitro cell-based assays, next generation sequencing and bioinformatics tools to investigate microbial community interactions, human gene interactions, and drug effects on disease processes occurring in oral cavity. We are also investigating genetic risk factors associated with COVID-19.

The laboratory serves both internal and external collaborators. The Oral Medicine Research Laboratory operates under BSL-2 containment and practices. The lab is equipped with state-of-the-art molecular and cellular biology equipment and bioinformatics/systems biology tools. The research team is composed of researchers, clinicians, research nurses and other staff with expertise in hospital-based dentistry, clinical trials, and translational research involving disciplines such as cellular and molecular biology, molecular microbiology, bioinformatics, biostatistics, and epidemiology.

Oral Medicine Research Team

  • Farah K. B. Mougeot, PhD
  • Jean-Luc C. Mougeot, PhD
  • Michael T. Brennan, DDS
  • Peter B. Lockhart, DDS
  • Don DeNucci, DDS
  • Braxton Noll, PhD candidate
  • Holden Langdon, MS-PhD student
  • Micaela Beckman, MS
  • Chika Igba, MS
  • Haley Wheeler, BS
  • Kathleen Sullivan, MA
  • Jenene Noll, RN
  • Catherine Petersen, RDH

Contact Information

Dr. Farah Mougeot
Director/Professor, Microbiome Research
Oral Medicine Research Laboratory
Carolinas Medical Center - Atrium Health
1000 Blythe Blvd
Charlotte, NC 28232
Adjunct Professor and Associate Graduate Faculty, UNC - Charlotte
Email: farah.mougeot@atriumhealth.org
Phone: 704-355-8132


Farah K. Bahrani Mougeot, PhD

Director, Microbiome Research
Oral Medicine Research Laboratory
Carolinas Medical Center - Atrium Health




Prior Positions and Experience

  • 2012 - present Research Director/Professor, Microbiome Research - Oral Medicine Research Laboratory, CMC, Atrium Health (Charlotte, NC)
  • 2007 - 2012 Molecular Microbiology Research Admin, Cannon Research Center, CMC (Charlotte, NC)
  • 2002 - 2007 Senior Scientist/ Director, Oral Medicine Research Laboratory, CMC (Charlotte, NC)
  • 2000 - 2002 Senior Scientist/ Project Director, Prokaria, Ltd. (Reykjavik, Iceland)
  • 1999 - 2000 NIAID/National Research Service Award (NRSA) Fellowship in Vaccinology (Bethesda, MD)
  • 1998 - Certificate in Epidemiology of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, WHO (Geneva, Switzerland)
  • 1997 - 2000 Research Fellow/ Bacterial Pathogenesis, Division of Infectious Diseases & Center for Vaccine Development, University of Maryland (Baltimore, MD)
  • 1995 - 1996 European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Fellowship in Cellular and Molecular Pathogenesis (Heidelberg, Germany)
  • 1995 - 1997 Postdoctoral Fellow, Pathogen-Host Interaction, Pasteur Institute (Paris, France)
  • 1989 - 1995 Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellow/ Bacterial Pathogenesis, School of Medicine, University of Maryland (Baltimore, Maryland)
  • 1987 - 1989 Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Charlotte, NC)

Research Interests

For over three decades, Dr. Farah Mougeot’s research has revolved around understanding of the mechanisms of pathogenesis of bacteria in infectious diseases and discovery of biomarkers of disease prevention, therapies, and response to drug targets. The results of some of her previous studies laid the groundwork for vaccine development against common uropathogens including Proteus mirabilis and uropathogenic E. coli, the design of anti-pathogenicity molecules against the enteric bacterial pathogens such as Shigella flexneri, the identification of diverse and novel bacterial pathogens involved in systemic infections such as pneumonia caused by the bacterial colonizers of the oral cavity, characterization of the bacteremia following dental procedures, identification of the oral pathogens of circulating bloodstream, determination of profiles of microbiome in various cancers and complications of cancer therapy.

Using molecular- and cell culture-based experimental strategies, and “omics’ science, Dr. F. Mougeot investigates bacteria involved in disease in their human niche including but not limited to oral cavity. Her current work in Oral Medicine Research Laboratory at CMC includes the characterization of the oral microbiome and the host factors and their impact in various diseases or conditions such as cancers, cardiovascular disease, rheumatic disorders, and oral complications of cancer therapy including mucositis, periodontal disease, GVHD, and dental caries. Our team is also leading research projects to determine genetic risk factors associated with COVID-19 severity.

Selected Publications

  • Beckman MF, Igba CK, Bahrani Mougeot F, Mougeot J-LC, Comorbidities and susceptibility to COVID-19: A generalized gene set meta-analysis approach. medRxiv 2020 DOI: 10.1101/2020.09.14.20192609.
  • Noll B, Grdzelishvili A, Brennan MT, Bahrani Mougeot F, Mougeot JLC. Immortalization of Salivary Gland Epithelial Cells of Xerostomic Patients: Establishment and Characterization of Novel Cell Lines. J Clinical Medicine 2020 (in press)
  • Beckman M, Morton DS, Mougeot FB*, Mougeot JL. Allogenic stem cell transplant-associated acute graft versus host disease: A computational drug discovery text mining approach using oral and gut microbiome signatures. Supportive Care in Cancer 2020 (in press)
  • Mougeot J-LC, Beckman MF, Almon KG, Morton DS, von Bültzingslöwen I, Brennan MT, Mougeot FB. Lasting Gammaproteobacteria profile changes characterize hematological cancer patients who developed oral mucositis following conditioning therapy. Journal of Oral Microbiology 2020; May 13;12(1):1761135.
  • Talevi V, Wen J, LalIa RV, Brennan MT, Bahrani Mougeot F, Mougeot JC. Identification of SNPs associated with periodontal disease in head and neck cancer irradiation patients by exome sequencing. Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, and Oral Radiology 2020; Jul;130(1):32-42.e4.
  • Mougeot JC, Stevens CB, Almon KG, Paster BJ, Lalla RV, Brennan MT, Mougeot FB. Caries-associated oral microbiome in head and neck cancer radiation patients: a longitudinal study. Journal of Oral Microbiology 2019; Mar 8;11(1):1586421
  • Mougeot JC, Stevens CB, Morton DS, Brennan MT, Mougeot FB. Oral Microbiome and Cancer Therapy-Induced Oral Mucositis. Journal of the National Cancer Institute Monographs 2019; Aug 1;2019(53).
  • Mougeot JC, Noll B, Bahrani-Mougeot FK. Sjögren's Syndrome X-chromosome dose effect: an epigenetic perspective. Oral Diseases 2019; Mar;25(2):372-384.
  • Noll B, Bahrani Mougeot F, Brennan MT, Mougeot JC. Telomere erosion in Sjögren's Syndrome: A multi-tissue comparative analysis. Journal of Oral Pathology & Medicine 2019; Jan;49(1):63-71.
  • Shah NR, Noll B, Padilla RJ, Brennan MT, Mougeot FKB, Mougeot JL. Expression of ETS1 and LEF1 in salivary glands of Sjögren’s Syndrome patients. Oral Diseases 2019; Jan;25(1):164-173.
  • Kirk J, Shah N, Noll B, Stevens CB, Lawler M, Mougeot FB, Mougeot JC. Text mining-based in silico drug discovery in oral mucositis caused by high-dose cancer therapy. Supportive Care in Cancer 2018; Aug;26(8):2695-2705.
  • Mougeot JL, Stevens CB, Paster BJ, Brennan MT, Lockhart, PB, Mougeot FB. Porphyromonas gingivalis is the most abundant species detected in coronary and femoral arteries. Journal of Oral Microbiology 2017; 9(1):1281562.
  • Shah NR, Noll BD, Stevens CB, Brennan MT, Mougeot FB, Mougeot JL. Biosemantics guided gene expression profiling of Sjögren’s Syndrome: A comparative analysis with systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Research and Therapy 2017; 19(1):192.
  • Mougeot JL, Hirsch MA, Stevens CB, Mougeot FB. Oral biomarkers in exercise-induced neuroplasticity in Parkinson’s disease. Oral Diseases 2016; Nov;22(8):745-753.
  • Mougeot FK, Saunders SE, Brennan MT, Lockhart PB. Associations between bacteremia from oral sources and distant-site infections: tooth brushing versus single tooth extraction. Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, and Oral Radiology 2015; Apr;119(4):430-5.
  • Mougeot JL, Mougeot FK, Peterson DE, Padilla RJ, Brennan MT, Lockhart PB. Use of archived biopsy specimens to study gene expression in oral mucosa from chemotherapy-treated cancer patients. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2013 May;115(5):630-7. doi: 10.1016/j.oooo.2013.01.003. Epub 2013 Mar 28. PMID: 23541936
  • Mougeot JL, Bahrani-Mougeot FK, Lockhart PB, Brennan MT. Microarray analyses of oral punch biopsies from acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients treated with chemotherapy. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 2011 Oct;112(4):446-52. doi: 10.1016/j.tripleo.2011.05.009. Epub 2011 Sep 8. PMID: 21862359
  • Napeñas JJ, Brennan MT, Coleman S, Kent, ML, Noll, J, Frenette G, Fox PC, Mougeot, J-L, Paster BJ, Lockhart PB, Bahrani-Mougeot FK. Molecular methodology to assess the impact of cancer chemotherapy on the oral bacterial flora: A pilot study. Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, and Oral Radiology and Endodontology 2010; 109: 554-560.
  • Bahrani-Mougeot FK, Scobey, MW, Sansonetti, PJ. Enteropathogenic infections. In Encyclopedia of Microbiology (Schaechter M ed). Academic Press. Oxford 2009.
  • Bahrani-Mougeot FK, Thornhill M, Sasser H, Marriott I, Brennan MT, Papagerakis S, Coleman S, Fox PC, Lockhart PB. Systemic host immuno-inflammatory response to dental extractions and periodontitis. Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, and Oral Radiology and Endodontology 2008; 106(4):534-41.
  • Bahrani-Mougeot FK, Paster BJ, Coleman S, Barbuto S, Brennan MT, Noll J, Kennedy T, Fox PC, Lockhart PB. Molecular analysis of oral and respiratory bacterial species associated with ventilator-associated pneumonia. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 2007; 45(5): 1588-1593.
  • Bahrani-Mougeot FK, Gunther IV NW, Donnenberg MS, Mobley HLT. Uropathogenic E. coli. In Escherichia coli: virulence mechanisms of a versatile pathogen. (Donnenberg MS, ed.) Academic press. USA 2002.
  • Bahrani-Mougeot FK, Buckles EL, Lockatell CV, Hebel JR, Johnson DE, Tang CM, Donnenberg MS. Type 1 fimbriae and extracellular polysaccharides are preeminent uropathogenic Escherichia coli virulence determinants in the murine urinary tract. Molecular Microbiology 2002; 45(4), 1079-1093.
  • Bahrani-Mougeot FK, Donnenberg MS. Enteropathogenic bacteria. In Encyclopedia of Microbiology (Lederberg J, ed.) Academic Press. San Diego 2002.
  • Bahrani-Mougeot FK, Pancholi S, Daoust M, Donnenberg MS. Identification of putative urovirulence genes by subtractive cloning. Journal of Infectious Diseases 2001; Mar 1;183 Suppl 1:S21-3.
  • Bahrani FK, Sansonetti PJ, Parsot C. Secretion of Ipa proteins by Shigella flexneri: inducer molecules and kinetics of activation. Infection and Immunity 1997; Oct;65(10):4005-10. PMCID: PMC175575
  • Bahrani FK, Massad G, Lockatell CV, Johnson DE, Russell RG, Warren JW, Mobley HL. Construction of an MR/P fimbrial mutant of Proteus mirabilis: role in virulence in a mouse model of ascending urinary tract infection. Infection and Immunity 1994; Aug;62(8):3363-71. PMCID: PMC302967
  • Bahrani FK, Mobley HL. Proteus mirabilis MR/P fimbriae: molecular cloning, expression, and nucleotide sequence of the major fimbrial subunit gene. Journal of Bacteriology 1993; Jan;175(2):457-64. PMCID: PMC196160
  • Bahrani FK, Johnson DE, Robbins D, Mobley HL. Proteus mirabilis flagella and MR/P fimbriae: isolation, purification, N-terminal analysis, and serum antibody response following experimental urinary tract infection. Infection and Immunity 1991; Oct;59(10):3574-80. PMCID: PMC258923
  • Bahrani K, Oliver JD. Studies on the lipopolysaccharide of a virulent and an avirulent strain of Vibrio vulnificus. Biochemistry and Cell Biology 1990; Feb;68(2):547-51.

Jean-Luc Mougeot, PhD

Research Group Director/Professor
Translational Genomics/Computational Biology Research
Department of Oral Medicine
Carolinas Medical Center-Atrium Health
Adjunct Professor and Associate Graduate Faculty, UNC-Charlotte


Prior Positions and Experience

  • 2014 - Research Director, Translational Genomics/ Computational Biology, Department of Oral Medicine, CMC, and Adjunct Professor, UNC-Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
  • 2012 - 2014 Director, Scientific Development, Department of Therapeutic Research and Development, CMC, and Adjunct Professor, UNC-Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
  • 2002 - 2012 Senior Scientist, Molecular Biologist, Cannon Research Center (CRC), CMC, and Adjunct Professor, UNC-Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
  • 2002 - Consultant, Computational Biology/ Bioinformatics, CMC, Charlotte, NC
  • 2000 - 2002 Senior Research Scientist/ Director, Protein Expression Core Laboratory, deCODE Genetics, Inc., Reykjavik, Iceland
  • 1998 - 2000 Senior Research Fellow, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Medical Research Council (MRC), Cambridge, United Kingdom
  • 1997 - 1998 Consultant, Biotech Marketing, European Center for Management, Colmar, France, Novartis International AG, Basle, Switzerland, and University of Freiburg, Germany
  • 1995 - 1997 Post-doctoral Fellow Friedrich Miescher Institute, Basel, Switzerland
  • 1991 - 1995 Doctoral Fellow, Molecular and Cellular Biology/Virology, Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France
  • 1989 - 1991 Master Student, Molecular Biology/Virology, Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France

Research Interests

Dr. Jean-Luc Mougeot has a broad research background in gene regulation and molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis in various diseases such as retroviral infections, gynecological cancers, cancer therapy-associated oral complications in head and neck cancer and hematological cancer patients, rheumatological diseases (Sjögren’s syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus), and neurological disorders (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and traumatic brain injury).

In addition, Dr. JL Mougeot has conducted several genome-wide expression profiling studies and used a diverse array of bioinformatics and computational systems biology tools for data analysis. His expertise in computational biology has led to the design of new research strategies or approaches in functional genomics/ proteomics towards improvement or development of diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy.

Dr. JL Mougeot is currently dedicating his efforts into the determination and characterization of human genetic and/or microbiomic risk factors associated with diseases or oral complications such as Sjögren’s syndrome, xerostomia, cancer therapy-induced oral mucositis, and COVID-19.

Selected Publications

Cancer/Oral complications

  • Talevi V, Wen J, LalIa RV, Brennan MT, Bahrani Mougeot F, Mougeot JC. Identification of SNPs associated with periodontal disease in head and neck cancer irradiation patients by exome sequencing. Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, and Oral Radiology 2020; Jul;130(1):32-42e4.
  • Kirk J, Shah N, Noll B, Stevens CB, Lawler M, Mougeot FB, Mougeot JC. Text mining-based in silico drug discovery in oral mucositis caused by high-dose cancer therapy. Supportive Care in Cancer 2018; Aug;26(8):2695-2705.
  • Mougeot JL, Mougeot FK Padilla RJ, Brennan MT and Lockhart PB. Use of archived biopsy specimens to study gene expression in oral mucosa from chemotherapy-treated cancer patients. Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, and Oral Radiology 2013; May, 115(5): pp630-7.
  • Mougeot JL, Bahrani-Mougeot F, Lockhart PB and Brennan MT. Microarray analyses of oral punch-biopsies from AML patients suggest immune deregulation and DNA damage as a likely prerequisite for chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis. Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, and Oral Radiology 2011; 112(4): pp446-52.
  • Mougeot JL, Bahrani-Mostafavi Z, Vachris JC, McKinney KQ, Gurlov S, Naumann RW, Higgins RV and Hall, BJ. Gene expression profiling of ovarian tissues for determination of molecular pathways reflective of tumorigenesis Journal of Molecular Biology 2006; 258(1): pp310-329.
  • Marshburn PB, Zhang J, Bahrani-Mostafavi Z, Mostafavi B Z, Mougeot JL and Roshon, M. Estrogen receptor-alpha mRNA variants lacking exon 5 or exon 7 are co-expressed with wild type form during all stages of human endometrial development. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2003; 191: pp626-634.

Infectious diseases

  • Beckman MF, Igba CK, Bahrani Mougeot F, Mougeot JC. Comorbidities and susceptibility to COVID-19: A generalized gene set meta-analysis approach. medRxiv 2020 DOI: 10.1101/2020.09.14.20192609.

Neurological disorders

  • Niemeier JP, Perrin PB, Hurst BS, Foureau DM, Huynh TT, Evans SL, Silverman JE, Elise McClannahan M, Brusch BD, Newman M, Mougeot JL, Wagner AK. A Repeated Measures Pilot Comparison of Trajectories of Fluctuating Endogenous Hormones in Young Women with Traumatic Brain Injury, Healthy Controls. Behavioral Neurology 2019; Feb 12;2019:7694503.
  • Mougeot JL, Hirsch MA, Stevens CB, Mougeot FB. Oral biomarkers in exercise-induced neuroplasticity in Parkinson’s disease. Oral Diseases 2016; Nov;22(8):745-753.
  • Perrin PB, Niemeier JP, Mougeot JL, Vannoy CH, Hirsch MA, Watts JA, Rossman W, Grafton LM, Guerrier TD, Pershad R, Kingsbury CA, Bartel SW, Whitney MP. Measures of injury severity and prediction of acute traumatic brain injury outcomes. Journal of Head Trauma and Rehabilitation 2015; Mar-Apr;30(2):136-42.
  • Baciu C, Thompson KJ, Mougeot JL, Brooks BR and Weller JW. The LO-BaFL method and ALS microarray expression analysis. BMC Bioinformatics 2012; 13:244.
  • Mougeot JL, Li Z, Price EA, Wright FA and Brooks BR. Microarray analysis of peripheral blood lymphocytes from ALS patients and the SAFE detection of the KEGG ALS pathway. BMC Medical Genomics 2011; Epub 4:74.

Oral microbiome in oral complications

  • Beckman M, Morton DS, Mougeot FB*, Mougeot JL. Allogenic stem cell transplant-associated acute graft versus host disease: A computational drug discovery text mining approach using oral and gut microbiome signatures. Supportive Care in Cancer 2020 (in press)
  • Mougeot J-LC, Beckman MF, Almon KG, Morton DS, von Bültzingslöwen I, Brennan MT, Mougeot FB Lasting Gammaproteobacteria profile changes characterize hematological cancer patients who developed oral mucositis following conditioning therapy Journal of Oral Microbiology 2020; May 13;12(1):1761135
  • Mougeot JC, Stevens CB, Almon KG, Paster BJ, Lalla RV, Brennan MT, Mougeot FB Caries-associated oral microbiome in head and neck cancer radiation patients: a longitudinal study Journal of Oral Microbiology 2019; Mar 8;11(1):1586421.
  • Mougeot JC, Stevens CB, Morton DS, Brennan MT, Mougeot FB. Oral Microbiome and Cancer Therapy-Induced Oral Mucositis. Journal of the National Cancer Institute Monographs 2019; Aug 1;2019(53).
  • Mougeot JL, Stevens CB, Paster BJ, Brennan MT, Lockhart, PB, Mougeot FB. Porphyromonas gingivalis is the most abundant species detected in coronary and femoral arteries Journal of Oral Microbiology 2017; 9(1):1281562.
  • Mougeot JL, Stevens CB, Cotton SL, Morton DS, Krishnan K, Brennan MT, Lockhart PB, Paster BJ, Mougeot FB. Concordance of HOMIM and HOMINGS technologies in the microbiome analysis of clinical samples. Journal of Oral Microbiology 2016; Apr 8;8:30379.
  • Napeñas JJ, Brennan MT, Coleman S, Kent ML, Noll J, Frenette G, Nussbaum ML, Mougeot JL, Paster BJ, Lockhart PB, Bahrani-Mougeot FK. Molecular methodology to assess the impact of cancer chemotherapy on the oral bacterial flora: a pilot study Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, and Oral Radiology 2010; 10 (4): 554-60.

Retrovirology

  • Brennan MT, Mougeot JL. Alu retroelement-associated autoimmunity in Sjögren's syndrome. Oral Diseases 2016; Jul;22(5):345-7.
  • Mougeot JL, Milazi-Richardson S and Brooks BR. Whole-genome association studies of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: are retroelements involved? Trends in Molecular Medicine 2009; 15(4): pp148-58. (Bioinformatics meta-analysis)
  • Mougeot JL, Guidasci T, Wurch T, Lebeurier G and Mesnard JM. Identification of C-terminal amino acid residues of cauliflower mosaic virus open reading frame III protein responsible for its DNA binding activity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U S A 1993; 90(4):1470-3.
  • Leclerc D, Burri L, Kajava AV, Mougeot JL, Hess D, Lustig A, Kleemann G and Hohn T. The open reading frame III product of cauliflower mosaic virus forms a tetramer through a N-terminal coiled-coil. Journal of Biological Chemistry 1998; 273(44):29015-21.

Rheumatological diseases

  • Noll B, Grdzelishvili A, Brennan MT, Bahrani Mougeot F, Mougeot JLC. Immortalization of Salivary Gland Epithelial Cells of Xerostomic Patients: Establishment and Characterization of Novel Cell Lines. J Clinical Medicine 2020 (in press)
  • Noll B, Bahrani Mougeot F, Brennan MT, Mougeot JC Telomere erosion in Sjögren's Syndrome: A multi-tissue comparative analysis. Journal of Oral Pathology & Medicine 2019; Jan;49(1):63-71.
  • Shah NR, Noll B, Padilla RJ, Brennan MT, Mougeot FKB, Mougeot JL. Expression of ETS1 and LEF1 in salivary glands of Sjögren’s Syndrome patients. Oral Diseases 2019; Jan;25(1):164-173.
  • Mougeot JC, Noll B, Bahrani-Mougeot FK Sjögren's Syndrome X-chromosome dose effect: an epigenetic perspective. Oral Diseases 2019; Mar;25(2):372-384.
  • Shah NR, Noll BD, Stevens CB, Brennan MT, Mougeot FB, Mougeot JL Biosemantics guided gene expression profiling of Sjögren’s Syndrome: A comparative analysis with systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Research and Therapy 2017; 19(1):192.
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