Dr. Ann Decker is a clinician-scientist and assistant professor in the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine. Dr. Decker is actively engaged in both basic science and clinical/translational research, as well as the clinical practice of periodontics. Dr. Decker received her DMD degree at the University of Florida. She went on to complete a residency in periodontology and a PhD in oral health sciences at the University of Michigan. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology. Dr. Decker's laboratory focuses on the intercellular signaling mechanisms that regulate inflammation in bone. Specifically, we are keen to understand how periodontal disease trains innate immunity and subsequent effects on bone regeneration and skeletal cancer metastasis that reside in the bone marrow niche spaces. The laboratory utilizes in vivo and in vitro models of bone regeneration, periodontal disease, and cancer metastasis and characterization techniques including but not limited to RNAseq, flow cytometry, histology, immunofluorescence, and transcription factor arrays. Our research program has received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the American Association of Periodontology Foundation. Dr. Decker has also received a myriad of awards for her work and contributions to the field, including the Leadership, Engagement, and Development (LEAD) program award, Academy for Advancing Leadership Certificate, American Association of Periodontics Foundation Educator Scholarship, Henry M. Thornton/SCADA fellowship, and The American Association of Oral Biologists Oral Biology Award.