Carolina Beraldo Meloto
Dr. Carolina Beraldo Meloto is a General Dentist and Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences. Dr. Meloto obtained her dental degree from the State University of Campinas (Unicamp – Brazil) in 2005 and has since dedicated her studies to the understanding of the role of genetics in painful conditions, with emphasis on chronic orofacial pain conditions. After a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Meloto completed her post-doctoral studies at McGill University, where she combined her clinical and genetic training to develop clinical studies aimed at translating genetic findings into clinical applications to benefit chronic pain patients.
Dr. Meloto’s research program is focused on filling in the major gap that exists in the scientific evidence needed to support clinical practice that recognizes distinct clinical clusters of patients based on targeting their molecular pathways of vulnerability. Such recognition needs to be taken into account both for treatment and prevention of pain chronification. Currently, Dr. Meloto is working on projects testing treatment options targeting specific neurobiological mechanisms with the goal of determining the subgroups of patients that will benefit from these treatments; developing a platform for the continuous enrolment of patients with acute low back pain (LBP), temporomandibular disorder (TMD), and post-operative pain, with the goal of finding treatment options that prevent pain from becoming chronic; and also investigating how genetic and biopsychological factors that predispose to TMD apply to the use of temporomandibular joint implants, with the goal of optimizing the selection criteria for TMJ implant patients.
- Orofacial pain
- Pain genetics
- Translational research
- Randomized clinical trials
Peer-reviewed
1. Meloto CB, Benavides R, Lichtenwalter RN, Wen X, Tugarinov N, Zorina-Lichtenwalter K, Chabot-Doré AJ, Piltonen MH, Cattaneo S, Verma V, Klares III R, Khoury S, Parisien M, Diatchenko L. The Human Pain Genetics Database (HPGDB): a resource dedicated to human pain genetics research. Pain. 2018 Apr;159(4):749-763. PMID 29300278.
2. Martin L, Smith S, Khoutorsky A, Magnussen C, Sorge R, Mir E, Gibson D, Otis V, Wieskopf J, Sotocinal S, Meloto CB, Austin JS, Salter M, Sonenberg N, Gendron L, Greenspan J, Fillingim R, Ohrbach R, Slade G, Knott C, Dubner R, Ribeiro-da-Silva A, Maixner W, Zaykin D, Mogil JS, Diatchenko L. Epiregulin and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Involvement in Pain Revealed by a Reverse Translational Approach. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2017 Sept 1; 127(9):3353-3366. PMID 28783046.
3. Sanders AE, Jain D, Sofer T, Kerr KF, Laurie CC, Shaffer JR, Marazita ML, Kaste LM, Slade GD, Fillingim RB, Ohrbach R, Maixner W, Kocher T, Bernhardt O, Teumer A, Schwahn C, Sipilä K, Lähdesmäki R, Männikkö M, Pesonen P, Järvelin M, Rizzatti-Barbosa CM, Meloto CB, Ribeiro-Dasilva M, Diatchenko L, Serrano P, Smith SB. GWAS Identifies New Loci for Painful Temporomandibular Disorder: Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. Journal of Dental Research. 2017 Mar; 96(3):277-284. PMID 28081371.
4. Zorina-Lichtenwalter K, Meloto CB, Khoury S, Diatchenko L. Genetic predictors of human chronic pain conditions. Neuroscience. 2016 Dec 3; 338:36-62. Review. PMID 27143481.
5. Lora VR, Canales Gde L, Gonçalves LM, Meloto CB, Barbosa CM. Prevalence of temporomandibular disorders in postmenopausal women and relationship with pain and HRT. Brazilian Oral Research. 2016 Aug 22; 30(1):e100. PMID 27556676.
6. Slade GD, Ohrbach R, Greenspan JD, Fillingim RB, Bair E, Sanders AE, Dubner R, Diatchenko L, Meloto CB, Smith S, Maixner W. Painful Temporomandibular Disorder: Decade of Discovery from OPPERA Studies. Journal of Dental Research. 2016 Sep;95(10):1084-92. Review. PMID 27339423.
7. Meloto CB, Bortsov A, Bair E, Helgeson E, Ostrom C, Smith S, Dubner R, Slade GD, Fillingim RB, Greenspan JD, Ohrbach R, Maixner W, McLean S, Diatchenko L. Modification of COMT-dependent pain sensitivity by psychological stress and gender. Pain. 2015 Dec 15. PMID 26675825.
8. Meloto CB, Segall SK, Smith S, Parisien M, Shabalina SA, Rizzatti-Barbosa CM, Gauthier J, Tsao D, Convertino M, Piltonen MH, Slade GD, Fillingim RB, Greenspan JD, Ohrbach R, Knott C, Maixner W, Zaykin D, Dokholyan NV, Reenilä I, Männistö PT, Diatchenko L. COMT gene locus: new functional variants. Pain. 2015; 156(10): 2072-83. PMID 26207649.
9. Segall SK, Shabalina SA, Meloto CB, Wen X, Cunningham D, Tarantino LM, Wiltshire T, Gauthier J, Tohyama S, Martin LJ, Mogil JS, Diatchenko L. Molecular genetic mechanisms of allelic specific regulation of murine Comt expression. Pain. 2015; 156(10): 1965-77. PMID 26067582.
10. Huijnen IPJ, Rusu A, Scholich S, Meloto CB, Diatchenko L. Subgrouping of low back pain patients for targeting treatments: evidence from genetic, psychological, and activity-related behavioral approaches. Clin J Pain. 2015; 31(2): 123-32. PMID 24681821.
11. Meloto CB, Silva-Concílio LR, Rodrigues-Garcia RCM, Canales GD, Rizzatti-Barbosa CM. Efffect of surface treatments on the bond strength of different resin teeth to complete denture base material. Acta Odontol Latinoam. 2013; 26 (1): 37-42. PMID 24294822.
12. Silva-Concílio LR, Meloto CB, Neves AC, Cunha LG, Rizzatti-Barbosa CM. Influence of different flasking and polymerizing methods on the occlusal vertical dimension of complete dentures. Acta Odontol Latinoam. 2012;25(3):312-7. PMID 23798079.
13. Sotto-Maior BS, Jóia FA, Meloto CB, Cury AA, Rizzatti-Barbosa CM. Effect of double flasking and investing methods on artificial teeth movement in complete dentures processing. Gerodontology. 2012 Jun;29(2):e435-9. PMID 21615784.
14. Meloto CB, Serrano PO, Ribeiro-DaSilva MC, Rizzatti-Barbosa CM. Genomics and the new perspectives for temporomandibular disorders. Arch Oral Biol. 2011 Nov;56(11):1181-91. Review. PMID 21536254.
15. Planello AC, Campos MI, Meloto CB, Secolin R, Rizatti-Barbosa CM, Line SR, de Souza AP. Association of matrix metalloproteinase gene polymorphism with temporomandibular joint degeneration. Eur J Oral Sci. 2011 Feb;119(1):1-6. PMID 21244504.
16. Meloto CB, Silva-Concílio LR, Machado C, Ribeiro MC, Joia FA, Rizzatti-Barbosa CM. Water sorption of heat-polymerized acrylic resins processed in mono and bimaxillary flasks. Braz Dent J. 2006;17(2):122-5. PMID 16924338.
Books and Book Chapters
1. Carolina Beraldo Meloto, Shad Smith, William Maixner, Ze’ev Seltzer, Luda Diatchenko. Genetic Risk Factors for Orofacial Pain: Insights from Human Experimental Studies. In Barry J. Sessle, Orofacial Pain: Recent Advances in Assessment, Management, and Understanding of Mechanisms (pp. 373-392). Washington, D.C.: IASP PRESS.
Peer Peer-reviewed oral presentations
1. “Clinical Predictors of TMD persistence” – Oral presentation at the 95th General Session and Exhibition of the IADR/AADR/CADR, San Francisco, USA – March 2017.
2. “Clinical characteristics of TMD at onset and predictors of persistence: preliminary results” – Oral presentation at the 8th TMJ Association Meeting, Bethesda, Maryland, USA – September 2016.
3. “Grape juice and anti-asthmatic agents to treat chronic pain” – Symposium presentation at the 7th Study in Multidisciplinary Pain Research, Rome, Italy – March 2015.
4. “Characterization of a new COMT isoform associated with TMD” – Invited lecture at Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, Miami, Florida, USA – August 2013.
5. “Characterization of a new COMT isoform associated with TMD” – Oral presentation for the Clinical and Science Data Blitz of the 32ndAnnual Meeting of the American Pain Society, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA – May 8th 2013.
6. “Estrogen receptor alpha polymorphism may increase risk for temporomandibular joint internal disarrangement in menopause Brazilian women – Oral presentation at the 26thAnnual Meeting of the SBPqO, Brazilian Division of the IADR, Águas de Lindóia, São Paulo, Brazil, 2009.
7. “Cytokines: beyond inflammation – Oral presentation at the 6th International Dental Congress, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil – October 2008
8. “Influence of estrogen receptor alpha polymorphism in Brazilian women carrying TMD” – Oral presentation at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the SBPqO, Brazilian Division of the IADR, Águas de Lindóia, São Paulo, Brazil – September 2006.
Peer-reviewed poster presentations
1. “Recent expansions in the COMT and pain relationship” – 16th World Congress on Pain (IASP), Yokohama, Japan - September 2016.
2. “Stabilizing mast cells to treat pain: evidences from animal and humans studies” – 20th Annual Pain McGill Pain Day, Montreal, Quebec, Canada – January 2016.
3. “Stress affects COMT haplotype dependent pain in a gender specific manner: a gene-sex-environment interaction” – 6th Study in Multidisciplinary Pain Research, Rome, Italy – March 2014.
4. “Characterizing a novel COMT isoform: expression level, enzymatic activity, and affinity towards different substrates” – 18th annual Pain McGill Pain Day, Montreal, Quebec, Canada – January 2014.
5. “Characterizing a novel COMT isoform: expression levels and enzymatic activity – Genetics and Pain Special Interest Group Meeting of the American Pain Society, Miami, Florida, USA – February 11th 2012
6. “Characterizing a novel COMT isoform: expression levels and enzymatic activity – Dental Research in Review Day of the School of Dentistry of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA – February 29th 2012.
7. “TNF-α and IL1polymorphisms and predisposition to TMJ disorders” – 89thGeneral Session and Exhibition of the IADR/AADR/CADR, San Diego, California, USA – March 2011.
8. “Effect of coaching and use of occlusal appliance on the treatment of symptomatic TMD: a preliminary study – 27thAnnual Meeting of the SBPqO, Brazilian Division of the IADR, Águas de Lindóia, São Paulo, Brazil – September 2010.