Rate My Professor Jill Kramer

Jill M. Kramer, DDS, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Oral Biology at the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine, where she earned both her Doctor of Dental Surgery and PhD degrees. Promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2020, she directs the Kramer Lab, leading an NIH-funded research program focused on autoimmune diseases with oral manifestations, particularly the mechanisms of chronic inflammation in Sjögren’s disease. Her investigations center on MyD88-mediated signaling pathways, the contributions of toll-like receptors including TLR7 and TLR9, and IL-1-related cytokines such as the IL-36 family. Recent projects examine sex-biased and tissue-specific roles of endosomal TLRs, molecular variations among patients, and crosstalk between IL-1 family members and TLRs, utilizing mouse models and human salivary gland tissues to identify potential therapeutic targets.

Kramer has secured substantial funding, including a $2.1 million five-year renewal grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research to advance understanding and treatments for Sjögren’s disease, building on research initiated in 2017. She has served as president of the International Association for Dental Research Salivary Research Group, is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. An alumna of the American Dental Education Association Leadership Institute, she co-directs the Oral Biology PhD program and contributes to the MD-PhD program in Immunology and Inflammation. Her scholarship includes over 50 publications, with highly cited works such as "Interleukin-17: a new paradigm in inflammation, autoimmunity, and therapy" (Journal of Periodontology, 2007), "The IL-17 cytokine family" (Vitamins & Hormones, 2006), "CXCL13 is elevated in Sjögren's syndrome in mice and humans and is implicated in disease pathogenesis" (Journal of Leukocyte Biology, 2013), and recent articles like "IL-36 mediates immune activation in Sjögren's disease and may represent a novel biomarker of disease" (Journal of Leukocyte Biology, 2026) and "Tlr9 expression protects against Tlr7-dependent exocrine gland and systemic disease manifestations in primary Sjögren's disease in a sex-biased manner" (Journal of Autoimmunity, 2025). Kramer's contributions have advanced knowledge of innate immunity in oral pathology and autoimmune disorders.