**Research Group Overview**

Professor  PanYihua's research group is dedicated to studying the role of cellular organelles in the mechanism of dental pulp tissue injury and to screening and developing natural active drugs and functional materials to promote dental pulp repair. At the same time, the research group investigates the microbial ecology of dental caries from the perspective of biological membranes, explores the mechanisms of bacterial interactions, and identifies potential targets for caries pathogenicity, with the aim of innovating drugs and materials to optimize clinical prevention and treatment strategies for dental caries.

**Research Areas**

1.Focusing on dental pulp tissue damage caused by stimuli such as dental filling materials, high sugar levels, and aging, the research aims to elucidate the novel roles and mechanisms of key molecules that regulate cell fate from the perspective of different cellular organelles (such as mitochondria and nuclei) in the formation of corresponding pathological changes. Additionally, the research involves screening natural active drugs and designing functional materials to promote their repair and regeneration.

2.Engaging in research related to the microbial ecology of dental caries from the perspective of biological membranes, including exploring the mechanisms of bacterial interactions within biofilms and identifying potential targets that regulate the caries-inducing properties of biofilms through functional genomic studies of bacteria. The research also explores new methods and mechanisms for controlling biofilms using new drugs and materials, with the goal of advancing clinical prevention and treatment of dental caries.

**Head of the Group**

Professor Pan Yihua (Ph.D. Supervisor), Chief Physician, and Head of the Research Group

**Personal Profile**

Personal Profile: Pan Yihua, Chief Physician/Professor, PhD Supervisor, Party Committee Secretary of the School of Stomatology and Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, and a member of the 12th Wenzhou Municipal Political Consultative Conference. She is recognized as an Innovative Talent in Zhejiang Province's Health System and a "Wenzhou Famous Doctor" under the High-Level Talent Special Support Plan of Wenzhou City. She has been a visiting scholar at the Medical University of Graz in Austria, the School of Dentistry at the University of Washington in the United States, and the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Hong Kong. She serves as a director of the Chinese Branch of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR), a standing committee member of the Endodontics Committee of the Chinese Stomatological Association, a standing committee member of the Oral Biomedicine Committee of the Chinese Stomatological Association, and the vice-chairperson of the Endodontics Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial Stomatological Association, among other positions.

Her main research interests include the mechanisms of dental pulp tissue injury and the microbial ecology of dental caries. She specializes in the comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of complex teeth and dental arch defects, as well as the design of treatment plans and difficult root canal treatments and retreatments. To date, she has published 25 papers indexed by SCI, holds one invention patent, and has authored or co-authored 4 monographs/textbooks, and participated in the compilation of the "Endodontics" textbook for the national "13th Five-Year Plan" and "14th Five-Year Plan" undergraduate curriculum in stomatology. In the past five years, she has presided over two general projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and one major project co-built by the province and the ministry.

School and Hospital of Stomatology of Wenzhou Medical University

Address: No. 1288, Longyao Avenue, Longwan District, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province

Telephone: 0577-88061303

Email: yihuaipan@wmu.edu.cn

**Members**

The group includes several researchers including Wang Min (Attending Physician, PhD), Zeng Youyun (Attending Physician, PhD), SunYan (Attending Physician), Wang Xiping (Attending Physician, PhD Candidate), Hu Xiangyu  (Attending Physician, PhD Candidate), Wang Konghuai (Postdoctoral fellow) and Yu Qihao  ( PhD Candidate).

**Representative Publications in Recent Years**

1.     Youyun Zeng, Xiangyu Hu, Zhibin Cai, Dongchao Qiu, Ying Ran, Yiqin Ding, Jiayi Shi, Xiaojun Cai, Yihuai Pan*. Photodynamic and nitric oxide therapy-based synergistic antimicrobial nanoplatform: an advanced root canal irrigation system for endodontic bacterial infections [J]. Journal of Nanobiotechnology, 2024, 22(1): 213.

2.     Qihao Yu, Ruize Hua, Bingyang Zhao, Dongchao Qiu, Chengfei Zhang, Shengbin Huang*, Yihuai Pan*. Melatonin protects TEGDMA-induced preodontoblast mitochondrial apoptosis via the JNK/ MAPK signaling pathway [J]. Biochim Biophys Sin. 2024, 56(3): 393–404.

3.     Dongchao Qiu, Chuchu Zheng, Youyun Zeng, Lixia Wu, Chen Huang, Ying Ran, Yiqin Ding, Jiayi Shi, Xiaojun Cai, Yihuai  Pan* . Enzymolysis and photothermal-mediated synergistic antimicrobial nanoplatform with programmed EPS degradation and biofilm penetration capabilities for eradication of wound biofilm infections [J]. Chemical Engineering Journal. 2023 Nov 7; 477.

4.     Yimeng Zhang, Xunben Weng, Yu Fu, Xuekai Qi, Yihuai Pan*, Yu Zhao*. CBCT and  Micro-CT analysis of the mandibular first premolars with C-shaped canal system in a Chinese population [J].BMC Oral Health. 2023 Jul 31.

5.     Yangyang Pan, Jing Zou, Keke Zhang, Xiping Wang, Qizhao Ma, Liqin Mei, Yuqing Li, Yihuai Pan*. ZccE, a P-type ATPase contributing to biofilm formation and competitiveness in Streptococcus mutans [J]. Mol Oral Microbiol. 2023 Jan 9.

6.     Wang Min, Yan Liya, Qiao Caiyun, Zheng Chuchu, Niu Chenguang, Huang Zhengwei, Pan Yihuai*. Ecological shifts of salivary microbiota associated with metabolic-associated fatty liver disease [J]. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology. 2023;13.

7.      Yan Shen, Fangzheng Yu, Lili Qiu, Mengjia Gao, Puxin Xu, Lingjun Zhang, Xiangyan Liao, Min Wang, Xiangyu Hu, Yan    Sun*, Yihuai Pan*. Ecological influence by colonization of fluoride-resistant Streptococcus mutans in oral biofilm [J].    Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology. 2023;12:1106392.

8.     Zhang Lingjun, Shen Yan, Qiu Lili, Yu Fangzheng, Hu Xiangyu, Wang Min, Sun Yan, Pan Yihuai*, Zhang Keke*. The suppression effect of SCH-79797 on Streptococcus mutans biofilm formation [J]. Journal of Oral Microbiology, 2022, 14(1), 2061113.

9.     Hu Xiangyu, Wang Min, Shen Yan, Zhang Lingjun, Pan Yihuai*, Sun Yan*, Zhang Keke*. Regulatory Effect of Irresistin-16 on Competitive Dual-Species Biofilms Composed of Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sanguinis [J]. Pathogens, 2022, 11(1).

**Monographs/Textbooks in Chinese**

1.  "Digital Course of Endodontics," Higher Education Press, 2022, Editor-in-Chief;

2.  "Cariology and Endodontics" (5th Edition), People's Medical Publishing House, 2020, Editorial Board Member;

3.   "Reference Guidelines for Four-handed Dental Nursing Operations," Science Press, 2013, Co-Editor;

4.  "Oral Care Studies," Taiwan He Ji Yuan Hai Publishing House, 2018, Co-Editor;5. "PDQ Endodontics: A Rapid Review," People's Medical Publishing House, 2008, Co-Translator.

**Patents Applied For**

1.     An Augmented Reality (AR)-Based Root Canal Monitoring Method and System (Patent Number: CN110269715B, Grant Date: 2020-10-30).

**Projects hosted by the research group in the past three years:**

1. Pan Yihua , National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant No. 82170950;

2. Pan Yihua, National Health Commission Scientific Research Fund - Zhejiang Province Health Major Science and Technology Plan Project, Grant No. WKJ-ZJ-2214;

3. Pan Yihua, Wenzhou Major Science and Technology Project, Grant No. ZY2022019.