Douglas A. Granger, PhD, is the director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience
Research and a professor of psychology and social behavior, public health, and pediatrics. Over the course
of his 25 year career, Granger developed methods of collecting and analyzing saliva that have been
foundational in the development of salivary bioscience. He also has advanced the integration of salivary
measures into developmental research. The institute he directs assists researchers worldwide in using the
chemical markers in saliva to detect and measure a diverse array of biological changes — from the stress
hormones of soldiers in combat to the synchronized hormones of newlyweds in love.

Date: November 19, 2019
Time: 12:30PM - 2PM
Room: Whitsett Room

Title: Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research: Foundations, Current State of Knowledge, Promises and Prospects

Abstract: In recent decades advances in technology have enabled the emergence of a new field of inquiry
— Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience. The advances enable the measurement of a wide range of variables
in oral fluids related to biological reactivity and regulation with direct relevance to human health and
development. The minimally invasive nature of collecting oral fluids reduces participant burden, enables
self collection of samples, facilitates repeated sampling to examine intra-individual change, and has allowed
investigators to study the relationships between biology and behavior in social ecologically valid settings.
Integration of these methods into behaviorally oriented sciences has opened windows of opportunity to test
new theoretical models, enabled investigators to be more competitive for external funding, and is being
translated into applications that can make a differences in people’s lives. The presentation will describe the
current state of knowledge in this emerging field and highlight findings from ongoing multi-instutitional
research programs.