Jennifer Webster-Cyriaque, D.D.S., Ph.D.

Dr. Jennifer Webster-Cyriaque is the acting director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health. An accomplished clinician, researcher, and leader, Dr. Webster-Cyriaque had previously served as a faculty member at the University of North Carolina (UNC) schools of dentistry and medicine for more than two decades.

As a tenured full professor at UNC, Dr. Webster-Cyriaque also served as the attending on clinical service at the UNC Hospital’s dental clinic. While there, she led research into a potential etiologic agent for salivary gland disease in patients living with HIV, assessed the oral microbiome and its implications for cancer-causing viruses, and studied the impact of the oral microbiome and oral health on HIV outcomes.

In addition to her research, Dr. Webster-Cyriaque has held leadership roles as the chair/vice chair of the Oral HIV/AIDS Research Alliance, as research director at the National Dental Association Foundation, as director of postdoctoral CTSA training, along with multiple roles within the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research and the International Association for Dental Research. Since 2004, she has led the UNC Malawi project and provided assistance in founding Malawi’s first dental school in 2019.

Dr. Webster-Cyriaque earned her Ph.D. in microbiology/immunology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1998, her D.D.S. from SUNY Buffalo in 1992, and her B.A. in biology and interdisciplinary social science from SUNY Buffalo in 1988.