Nini Chaichanasakul Tran, DDS, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Section of Pediatric Dentistry, Division of Preventive and Restorative Sciences at the UCLA School of Dentistry. She received her DDS degree and went on to obtain a Ph.D. degree in Oral Biology from UCLA School of Dentistry in 2009 and 2012, respectively. She subsequently completed her residency in Pediatric Dentistry at UCLA School of Dentistry in 2014. Dr. Tran has been a board-certified pediatric dentist since 2015. Her dual-degree DDS/PhD training was supported by the Ruth L. Kirschstein Institutional National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Research Training Grant (T32). She also received funding support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Pediatric Research Loan Repayment Program. Her research focuses on understanding the role of Streptococcus mutans and the associated oral microbiome and host factors related to caries disease and disparity in pediatric populations. Dr. Tran’s research is currently funded by NIH/National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (K08) and Small Grant Program for New Investigators (R03). She was a recipient of the 2022 American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) Anne D. Haffajee Fellowship Award.