Rate My Professor Harim Tavares dos Santos

Harim Tavares dos Santos, DDS, MS, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Oral Biology at the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine. He earned his PhD in Stomatopathology from Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) and previously served as a Senior Research Scientist and Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. His research investigates head and neck diseases, with a particular emphasis on salivary gland disorders and the mechanisms underlying persistent gland dysfunction. A key focus of his work is the role of tuft cells in salivary gland homeostasis, where these cells coordinate innate and adaptive immune responses. The Tavares Lab employs mechanistic mouse models, human salivary gland specimens, and multi-omic approaches, including spatial transcriptomics, quantitative histology, and saliva proteomics, to map epithelial-immune circuits in gland homeostasis and chronic inflammation, such as in Sjögren’s disease and radiation therapy-induced hyposalivation.

Dr. dos Santos has made significant contributions to the field through key publications, including "Activation of Human FPR2 with AT-RvD1 Resolves Acute Sialadenitis in Vivo" (Inflammation, 2025), "Current basic and preclinical research for treatment of radiation therapy–induced hyposalivation" (JADA Foundational Science, 2025), "Copper chelation reduces early collagen deposition and preserves saliva secretion in irradiated salivary glands" (Heliyon, 2024), and "A combination treatment of low-dose dexamethasone and aspirin-triggered resolvin D1 reduces Sjögren syndrome–like features in a mouse model" (JADA Foundational Science, 2023). His research is supported by the Sjögren’s Foundation High Impact Grant and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research/National Institutes of Health K99/R00 award. In professional service, he has held leadership positions such as Co-Chair of the Gordon Research Seminar on Salivary Gland and Exocrine Biology (2023), member of the International Association for Dental Research Constitution Committee (2022–2025), Group Program Chair of the IADR Salivary Research Group (2023–2025), and Vice President of the IADR Salivary Research Group (2026). He is also a mentee in the AADOCR Mind the Future Program (2025–2026).