Research/Areas of Interest:
Dr. Alqaderi's research has focused on understanding the role of oral biofluids in diagnosing systemic diseases, with a particular emphasis on saliva research. She has been closely associated with national and international institutes, collaborating on multiple research projects, including the Kuwait Healthy Life Study and a COVID-19 study. During her involvement in the Kuwait Healthy Life Study as a Co-Principal Investigator, she identified salivary biomarkers that can predict the risk of diabetes in children. She led several published papers from this study, one of which demonstrated that salivary C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and insulin correlated with blood CRP and insulin levels and predicted hyperglycemia in adolescents. She was the Principal Investigator in a COVID-19 study, where she collaborated with institutions in Kuwait and the U.S. such as J Craig Venter Institute to investigate the predictive value of the salivary microbiome for COVID-19 status. She demonstrated in her research that the severity salivary microbiome was predictive of COVID-19 status and severity. Her findings also indicated that the oral immune response plays unique roles during the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection when compared to systemic responses.
Education
- Doctor of Medical Sciences, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, USA, 2016
- Ceritificate in Dental Public Health, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, United States, 2015
- Certificate in Health Economics, University of Washington, USA, 2020
- Certificate in Data Scince and AI, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United States, 2023
Biography
Dr. Hend Alqaderi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health and Community Service at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, where she is jointly affiliated with the Data Intensive Studies Center (DISC). She holds a Doctor of Medical Sciences degree in Oral Biology from Harvard School of Dental Medicine, a Certificate in Health Economics from the University of Washington, and Certificate in Data Science from MIT. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Public Health, and a Visiting Scientist at the J. Craig Venter Institute in San Diego and at the Dasman Diabetes Institute in Kuwait. She was honored with the prestigious L'Oréal UNESCO Award for Talented Women in Science. Her accomplishments were further acknowledged through the Lois Cohen Prize from Harvard University, celebrating her exceptional work in Global Health Research. The American Association of Public Health Dentistry granted her the esteemed Leverett Graduate Merit Award, a reflection of her remarkable achievements in Dental Public Health. Dr. Alqaderi delivered a TED Talk in Doha, Qatar, in March 2023, sharing insights from her research in saliva.