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Reed embodies dedication to community The following article is the last in a series dedicated to Women’s History month and the national theme, “Women: Builders of Communities and Dreams” featured in The Catalyst throughout March.    by Heather Woolwine Public Relations Sometimes building a community or fulfilling the dream of healthy living means engaging in less overt displays of outreach, patient care, or community service.   Many people play a role in establishing programs, gathering clinical and patient data, and coordinating vast amounts of information to boost programs or organizations that would benefit those in the community. Susan Reed, DDS, Dr.PH, is one such woman behind the curtain.   “I don’t see the usual boundaries that many other people see in life,” Reed said. “When it comes to my work in health care, people are people, and my desire to pursue a sort of public health focus is out of respect for that concept. I take issues in relation to dental medicine and try to create a picture of reality that we can structure and measure so that we can learn from that and better the lives of those living in our community.”   Dr. Susan Reed Reed completed her dental degree at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Dentistry in Cleveland, Ohio,  and her doctorate in public health/epidemiology-oral diseases at the University of Michigan. She now serves as the director of the Dental Public Health and Oral Epidemiology section in the division of Oral and Community Health Sciences within the College of Dental Medicine, as well as a faculty appointment within the College of Graduate Studies.   By nature of her appointment and collaboration with colleagues throughout campus, Reed became immersed in work with the MUSC Center for Biomedical Research Excellence in Oral Health (COBRE for Oral Health). Her work there has two avenues. She serves as an expert advisor for measures of diseases of the mouth by assisting investigators to select indices best suited to their particular research study outcomes. Second, she and an entire multidisciplinary team are working research involving oral cancer. “With my mentor Dr. Tom Walle (Department of Pharmacology), we conducted pilot studies supported by COBRE to investigate the determinants of rates of salivary hydrolyses of dietary flavonoids in mouth cancer and caner-free adults,” she said. “We were interested in whether or not human saliva could hydrolyze a dietary flavonoid called genistin, which is available in soy products, almonds and apples. Tom and other researchers demonstrated that the hydrolysed flavonoid could suppress proliferation of oral squamous cancer tumor cells, meaning that the tumor cells stopped growing.   “We then conducted a pilot study to simultaneously test human saliva for the genistin hydrolyses and the activity of an enzyme which is necessary for hydrolysis. The results supported the use of the enzyme activity as a surrogate measure of flavonoid hydrolysis, which was very useful for the future planned study of mouth cancer patients that we’re now ready to start.” What Reed and her colleagues also enacted during the pilot study was to have patients generate their saliva and once that saliva was collected, samples were frozen, refrigerated, or tested immediately to determine if storage conditions would affect the enzyme testing results. They did not. “These study findings were crucial because the mouth cancer study patients are anticipated at one or two a week so to freeze the saliva and do enzyme testing in batches was much better.”   So how does this all relate to building a healthier, happier community? Well, these were but the first steps in a process to get the real work under way-the mouth cancer case and control study. Sharing lead investigator credentials with Andrew Kraft, M.D., Hollings Cancer Center director, Terry Day, M.D., Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and James Herbert, Dr.PH., USC School of Public Health, Reed will collect data about the enzyme activity in mouth cancer patients and healthy patients, while also identifying their salivary microbial profiles and denoting any difference between the two groups. The study, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, marks a turning point in the lack of mouth cancer research and with the help of additional funding from COBRE, will propel cancer research further into making changes within the community reality of dealing with the debilitating disease.   While most of the work in finding new cancer treatments and testing for the reasons fueling the spread of oral cancer takes place behind the scenes, it still must be done with a team mentality.   “I’m so excited to get this study going because the team that’s been assembled is committed to true collaboration; there’s no competition and everyone is so generous. When you have a team built on the highest integrity, it allows for so much freedom within your work. You just give and give as much as you can and hope for the best.”   The work involved in exploring the nature of oral cancer and the best way to treat it may not be easy, but according to Reed, it can be fun when working with such a diverse team.   “My dream is for all the research to be done, and prevention of cancer and a cure discovered. To be able to provide tailored interventions for people with the disease will help the entire community of South Carolina.”   Reed, and other researcher-clinicians like her, stay dedicated to the small steps needed to make gigantic leaps forward for the health of us all; thus indirectly impacting the wellness and dreams of infinite mothers, fathers, friends, coworkers, children, sisters, and brothers.     Friday, March 31, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island papers at 849-1778, ext. 201.