Drake Williams | Laboratory of Oral Mucosal Immunity

Laboratory of Oral Mucosal Immunity at U of MN

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Drake Williams Principal Investigator

I am a dentist scientist with an interest in host-microbe interactions and oral barrier immunity. I received DDS (2017) and PhD (2019) degrees, both from the UCLA School of Dentistry, for studying the role of host inflammation and the commensal microbiota in the pathogenesis of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw. I then joined as a Clinical Research Fellow at NIDCR/NIH in the laboratory of Dr. Niki Moutsopoulos. My main focus in the Moutsopoulos lab was to use systems immunology, applying single cell sequencing, spatial transcriptomics and high-dimensional cytometry to study mucosal immunology at the oral barrier, with a specific focus on understanding how the immune system contributes to the pathogenesis of common and mendelian forms of periodontal disease. I joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry in September 2024.

See our research to learn what we’re up to at the U.

Drake's Publications

Early cellular events of osteomucosal healing in the tooth extraction socket

Early cellular events of osteomucosal healing in the tooth extraction socket

Sol Kim, Minju Song, Drake Williams, Wen Du, Inwoo Cho, Eunbin Bae, Joey Kim, Ahana Goswami, Ki-Hyuk Shin, No-Hee Park, Reuben H. Kim

PLOS One · 14 Aug 2025 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0328459
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CD69 Regulates Gingival Inflammation and Microbiome in Periodontitis

CD69 Regulates Gingival Inflammation and Microbiome in Periodontitis

F.M. Saavedra, L. Fischer, P.D. Bittner-Eddy, K.F. Johnstone, J.M. Stolley, D.W. Williams, M.C. Herzberg, M. Costalonga

Journal of Dental Research · 26 Nov 2025 · doi:10.1177/00220345251383827
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Epithelial-derived interleukin-23 promotes oral mucosal immunopathology

Epithelial-derived interleukin-23 promotes oral mucosal immunopathology

Tae Sung Kim, Tomoko Ikeuchi, Vasileios Ionas Theofilou, Drake Winslow Williams, Teresa Greenwell-Wild, Armond June, Emmanuel E. Adade, Lu Li, Loreto Abusleme, Nicolas Dutzan, Yao Yuan, Laurie Brenchley, Nicolas Bouladoux, Yosuke Sakamachi, Robert J. Palmer, Ramiro Iglesias-Bartolome, Giorgio Trinchieri, Stavros Garantziotis, Yasmine Belkaid, Alex M. Valm, Patricia I. Diaz, Steven M. Holland, Niki M. Moutsopoulos

Immunity · 01 Apr 2024 · doi:10.1016/j.immuni.2024.02.020
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Immunity Preview

Dissociation of murine oral mucosal tissues for single cell applications

Dissociation of murine oral mucosal tissues for single cell applications

Tomoko Ikeuchi, Ramin Akhi, Belmaliz Cardona Rodriguez, David Fraser, Drake Williams, Tae Sung Kim, Teresa Greenwell-Wild, Andrew Overmiller, Maria Morasso, Niki Moutsopoulos

Journal of Immunological Methods · 01 Feb 2024 · doi:10.1016/j.jim.2023.113605
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The maternal microbiome promotes placental development in mice

The maternal microbiome promotes placental development in mice

Geoffrey N. Pronovost, Kristie B. Yu, Elena J. L. Coley-O’Rourke, Sahil S. Telang, Angela S. Chen, Helen E. Vuong, Drake W. Williams, Anisha Chandra, Tomiko K. Rendon, Jorge Paramo, Reuben H. Kim, Elaine Y. Hsiao

Science Advances · 06 Oct 2023 · doi:10.1126/sciadv.adk1887
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Preprint - bioRxiv

Nature Research

Neutrophil extracellular traps and extracellular histones potentiate IL-17 inflammation in periodontitis

Neutrophil extracellular traps and extracellular histones potentiate IL-17 inflammation in periodontitis

Tae Sung Kim, Lakmali M. Silva, Vasileios Ionas Theofilou, Teresa Greenwell-Wild, Lu Li, Drake Winslow Williams, Tomoko Ikeuchi, Laurie Brenchley, Thomas H. Bugge, Patricia I. Diaz, Mariana J. Kaplan, Carmelo Carmona-Rivera, Niki M. Moutsopoulos

Journal of Experimental Medicine · 01 Jun 2023 · doi:10.1084/jem.20221751
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Nature Reviews Rheumatology

A Roadmap for the Human Oral and Craniofacial Cell Atlas

A Roadmap for the Human Oral and Craniofacial Cell Atlas

A.J. Caetano, I. Sequeira, K.M. Byrd, A. Caetano, P. Sharpe, A.A. Volponi, V. Yianni, M. Bush, L.K. McKay, S. Wallet, M.A. Shazib, A. Kimple, K.M. Byrd, Q. Easter, T. Weaver, I. Sequeira, R. Kumar, D. Pereira, J. Macken, F. Fortune, M. Efremova, S. Teichmann, K. Kretzschmar, E. Todres, D. Boffelli, James S. Hagood, O. Klein, R. Boucher, S. Lwin, T. Pranzatelli, P. Beachy, W.J. Lu, I. Miller Zmora, N. Moutsopoulos, D.W. Williams, S. Pringle, J. Krivanek, B.M. Warner, P. Perez, A. Opasawatchai, B. Matuck, M. Freire, P.R. Tata, C.D. Conde, M. Haniffa, A.O. Pisco, F. Momen-Heravi, Y. Kapila, A. Gulati

Journal of Dental Research · 26 Sep 2022 · doi:10.1177/00220345221110768
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Regional specification of oral mucosal immunity

Regional specification of oral mucosal immunity

Drake W. Williams, George Hajishengallis, Niki M. Moutsopoulos

Science Immunology · 24 Jun 2022 · doi:10.1126/sciimmunol.abp8632
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Long-Term Ligature-Induced Periodontitis Exacerbates Development of Bisphosphonate-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw in Mice

Long-Term Ligature-Induced Periodontitis Exacerbates Development of Bisphosphonate-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw in Mice

Drake Winslow Williams, Katie Ho, Allison Lenon, Sol Kim, Terresa Kim, Yousang Gwack, Reuben H. Kim

Journal of Bone and Mineral Research · 01 Dec 2020 · doi:10.1002/jbmr.4614
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Epithelial cells release IL-36α in extracellular vesicles following mechanical damage

Epithelial cells release IL-36α in extracellular vesicles following mechanical damage

Drake Winslow Williams, Reuben H. Kim

Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications · 01 May 2022 · doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2022.02.088
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Indigenous microbiota protects development of medication-related osteonecrosis induced by periapical disease in mice

Indigenous microbiota protects development of medication-related osteonecrosis induced by periapical disease in mice

Wen Du, Mengyu Yang, Terresa Kim, Sol Kim, Drake W. Williams, Maryam Esmaeili, Christine Hong, Ki-Hyuk Shin, Mo K. Kang, No-Hee Park, Reuben H. Kim

International Journal of Oral Science · 21 Mar 2022 · doi:10.1038/s41368-022-00166-4
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Dissociation of human oral mucosal tissue for single-cell applications

Dissociation of human oral mucosal tissue for single-cell applications

Teresa Greenwell-Wild, Drake Winslow Williams, Niki Maria Moutsopoulos

STAR Protocols · 01 Dec 2021 · doi:10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100908
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Response to Comments on “Aberrant type 1 immunity drives susceptibility to mucosal fungal infections”

Response to Comments on “Aberrant type 1 immunity drives susceptibility to mucosal fungal infections”

Timothy J. Break, Vasileios Oikonomou, Nicolas Dutzan, Jigar V. Desai, Marc Swidergall, Tilo Freiwald, Daniel Chauss, Oliver J. Harrison, Julie Alejo, Drake W. Williams, Stefania Pittaluga, Chyi-Chia R. Lee, Nicolas Bouladoux, Muthulekha Swamydas, Kevin W. Hoffman, Teresa Greenwell-Wild, Vincent M. Bruno, Lindsey B. Rosen, Wint Lwin, Andy Renteria, Sergio M. Pontejo, John P. Shannon, Ian A. Myles, Peter Olbrich, Elise M. N. Ferré, Monica Schmitt, Daniel Martin, Daniel L. Barber, Norma V. Solis, Luigi D. Notarangelo, David V. Serreze, Mitsuru Matsumoto, Heather D. Hickman, Philip M. Murphy, Mark S. Anderson, Jean K. Lim, Steven M. Holland, Scott G. Filler, Behdad Afzali, Yasmine Belkaid, Niki M. Moutsopoulos, Michail S. Lionakis

Science · 17 Sep 2021 · doi:10.1126/science.abi8835
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Human oral mucosa cell atlas reveals a stromal-neutrophil axis regulating tissue immunity

Human oral mucosa cell atlas reveals a stromal-neutrophil axis regulating tissue immunity

Drake Winslow Williams, Teresa Greenwell-Wild, Laurie Brenchley, Nicolas Dutzan, Andrew Overmiller, Andrew Phillip Sawaya, Simone Webb, Daniel Martin, George Hajishengallis, Kimon Divaris, Maria Morasso, Muzlifah Haniffa, Niki Maria Moutsopoulos

Cell · 01 Jul 2021 · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2021.05.013
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Interactive data viewer

Faculty Opinions (Excellent)

Nature Reviews Immunology

Allergy (News and Views)

Dentistry Today

Aberrant type 1 immunity drives susceptibility to mucosal fungal infections

Aberrant type 1 immunity drives susceptibility to mucosal fungal infections

Timothy J. Break, Vasileios Oikonomou, Nicolas Dutzan, Jigar V. Desai, Marc Swidergall, Tilo Freiwald, Daniel Chauss, Oliver J. Harrison, Julie Alejo, Drake W. Williams, Stefania Pittaluga, Chyi-Chia R. Lee, Nicolas Bouladoux, Muthulekha Swamydas, Kevin W. Hoffman, Teresa Greenwell-Wild, Vincent M. Bruno, Lindsey B. Rosen, Wint Lwin, Andy Renteria, Sergio M. Pontejo, John P. Shannon, Ian A. Myles, Peter Olbrich, Elise M. N. Ferré, Monica Schmitt, Daniel Martin, Daniel L. Barber, Norma V. Solis, Luigi D. Notarangelo, David V. Serreze, Mitsuru Matsumoto, Heather D. Hickman, Philip M. Murphy, Mark S. Anderson, Jean K. Lim, Steven M. Holland, Scott G. Filler, Behdad Afzali, Yasmine Belkaid, Niki M. Moutsopoulos, Michail S. Lionakis

Science · 15 Jan 2021 · doi:10.1126/science.aay5731
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Faculty Opinions (Excellent)

Faculty Opinions (Excellent)

Faculty Opinions (Excellent)

Dentistry Today

The maternal microbiome modulates fetal neurodevelopment in mice

The maternal microbiome modulates fetal neurodevelopment in mice

Helen E. Vuong, Geoffrey N. Pronovost, Drake W. Williams, Elena J. L. Coley, Emily L. Siegler, Austin Qiu, Maria Kazantsev, Chantel J. Wilson, Tomiko Rendon, Elaine Y. Hsiao

Nature · 23 Sep 2020 · doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2745-3
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This Week in Neuroscience, Episode 15

The Sheekey Science Show

Nature News and Views

Bioengineer.org

The Conversation

Indigenous Microbiota Protects against Inflammation-Induced Osteonecrosis

Indigenous Microbiota Protects against Inflammation-Induced Osteonecrosis

D.W. Williams, H.E. Vuong, S. Kim, A. Lenon, K. Ho, E.Y. Hsiao, E.C. Sung, R.H. Kim

Journal of Dental Research · 28 Feb 2020 · doi:10.1177/0022034520908594
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Special Edition on Oral Microbiome

Genome Sequences of Cluster K Mycobacteriophages Deby, LaterM, LilPharaoh, Paola, SgtBeansprout, and Sulley

Genome Sequences of Cluster K Mycobacteriophages Deby, LaterM, LilPharaoh, Paola, SgtBeansprout, and Sulley

Joseph M. Gaballa, Keeyon Dabrian, Rachel Desai, Ryan Ngo, Diane Park, Erin Sakaji, Yiwei Sun, Boon Tan, Marcia Brinck, Olivia Brobst, Rebecca Fernando, Hannah Kim, Siobhan McCarthy, Michael Murphy, Alexandra Sarkis, Parker Sevier, Amitoj Singh, Darwin Wu, Min-Ying Wu, Hayley A. Ennis, Rohan Luhar, Justin E. Miller, Stephanie B. Orchanian, Alysha N. Salbato, Sai Alam, Lauren Brenner, Zilla Kailani, Joel Laskow, Xinyu Ma, Aika Miikeda, Paola Nol-Bernardino, Alisa Sukhina, Nikolina Walas, Wenyuan Wei, Nam Phuong Do, Christina T. Fournier, Christy J. Kim, Samantha F. Mosier, Carly Pierson, Ivonne G. Romero, Mikael Sanchez, Oyinlola Sawyerr, Joyce Wang, Rina Watanabe, Samuel Wu, Annie Chen, Katelynn Kazane, Yousif Kettoola, Emma C. Goodwin, Andrew J. Lund, William Villella, Drake Williams, Amanda Freise, Jordan Moberg Parker

Microbiology Resource Announcements · 10 Jan 2019 · doi:10.1128/MRA.01481-18
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Removal of Pre-Existing Periodontal Inflammatory Condition before Tooth Extraction Ameliorates Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw–Like Lesion in Mice

Removal of Pre-Existing Periodontal Inflammatory Condition before Tooth Extraction Ameliorates Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw–Like Lesion in Mice

Terresa Kim, Sol Kim, Minju Song, Cindy Lee, Hideo Yagita, Drake W. Williams, Eric C. Sung, Christine Hong, Ki-Hyuk Shin, Mo K. Kang, No-Hee Park, Reuben H. Kim

The American Journal of Pathology · 01 Oct 2018 · doi:10.1016/j.ajpath.2018.06.019
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This Month in AJP

IL-36 Induces Bisphosphonate-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw-Like Lesions in Mice by Inhibiting TGF-β-Mediated Collagen Expression

IL-36 Induces Bisphosphonate-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw-Like Lesions in Mice by Inhibiting TGF-β-Mediated Collagen Expression

Sol Kim, Drake W Williams, Cindy Lee, Terresa Kim, Atsushi Arai, Songtao Shi, Xinmin Li, Ki-Hyuk Shin, Mo K Kang, No-Hee Park, Reuben H Kim

Journal of Bone and Mineral Research · 27 Aug 2016 · doi:10.1002/jbmr.2985
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Regulation of p53 during senescence in normal human keratinocytes

Regulation of p53 during senescence in normal human keratinocytes

Reuben H. Kim, Mo K. Kang, Terresa Kim, Paul Yang, Susan Bae, Drake W. Williams, Samantha Phung, Ki‐Hyuk Shin, Christine Hong, No‐Hee Park

Aging Cell · 01 Jul 2015 · doi:10.1111/acel.12364
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Impaired Bone Resorption and Woven Bone Formation Are Associated with Development of Osteonecrosis of the Jaw-Like Lesions by Bisphosphonate and Anti–Receptor Activator of NF-κB Ligand Antibody in Mice

Impaired Bone Resorption and Woven Bone Formation Are Associated with Development of Osteonecrosis of the Jaw-Like Lesions by Bisphosphonate and Anti–Receptor Activator of NF-κB Ligand Antibody in Mice

Drake W. Williams, Cindy Lee, Terresa Kim, Hideo Yagita, Hongkun Wu, Sil Park, Paul Yang, Honghu Liu, Songtao Shi, Ki-Hyuk Shin, Mo K. Kang, No-Hee Park, Reuben H. Kim

The American Journal of Pathology · 01 Nov 2014 · doi:10.1016/j.ajpath.2014.07.010
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UCLA School of Dentistry

This Month in AJP

ASIP CME Manuscript

2-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate Inhibits Migration of Dental Pulp Stem Cells

2-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate Inhibits Migration of Dental Pulp Stem Cells

Drake W. Williams, Hongkun Wu, Ju-Eun Oh, Camron Fakhar, Mo K. Kang, Ki-Hyuk Shin, No-Hee Park, Reuben H. Kim

Journal of Endodontics · 01 Sep 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.joen.2013.06.004
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Camphorquinone Inhibits Odontogenic Differentiation of Dental Pulp Cells and Triggers Release of Inflammatory Cytokines

Camphorquinone Inhibits Odontogenic Differentiation of Dental Pulp Cells and Triggers Release of Inflammatory Cytokines

Reuben H. Kim, Drake W. Williams, Susan Bae, Rachel S. Lee, Ju-Eun Oh, Shebli Mehrazarin, Tony Kim, Ki-Hyuk Shin, No-Hee Park, Mo K. Kang

Journal of Endodontics · 01 Jan 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.joen.2012.09.006
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Bisphosphonates Induce Senescence in Normal Human Oral Keratinocytes

Bisphosphonates Induce Senescence in Normal Human Oral Keratinocytes

R.H. Kim, R.S. Lee, D. Williams, S. Bae, J. Woo, M. Lieberman, J.-E. Oh, Q. Dong, K.-H. Shin, M.K. Kang, N.-H. Park

Journal of Dental Research · 22 Mar 2011 · doi:10.1177/0022034511402995
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