Dr. Oelisoa graduated from the School of Dental Medicine, University of Mahajanga, Institut d’Odonto-stomatologie Tropicale de Madagascar (IOSTM) in 1994. She was a supervisor of Dental Public Health program at the elementary school in the capital city of her home country and a team member of World Health Organization, Branch, Madagascar for a national oral health survey. The work experience she received from her home country allowed her to first develop an understanding of community and/or population health issues and needs, which then motivated her to continue to pursue a public health study in the US. She received her Master’s and PhD degrees in Epidemiology and Community Health in 1999-2004, and did her postdoctoral trainings at the UNC Chapel Hill and University of Pennsylvania. She is Professor at the Center for Clinical Research and Health Promotion, School of Dental Medicine, University of Puerto Rico, and President of ADEA, Section Puerto Rico, now. Dr. Andriankaja has contributed to many different projects, such as the MI-Perio Study, the Buffalo Osteo-Perio Study, the San Juan Overweight Adult Longitudinal Study (SOALS), and she has worked with different national databases, such as the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES III) or the Dental Atherosclerosis Risk Community Study (Dental ARIC Study), and even with large biological databases to strengthen her background and skills in basic sciences in order to better understand the link between oral and systemic diseases. Dr. Andriankaja received her K23 NIH award in 2016, from which she developed an ongoing project entitled “Study of Pathways in the link between Type 2 diabetes and Periodontitis/Lipid Lowering agents use in Periodontitis and Type Diabetes Study (LLIPDS).”
Research Interests: Dr. Andriankaja’ s interest stays in epidemiological research, especially disease risk assessment, including the potential role of obesity or type 2 diabetes in the development of oral disease, such as chronic periodontitis, or the role of chronic periodontitis in the development of cardiovascular diseases.
Contact: oelisoa.andriankaja@upr.edu