Ms Michelle Bockmann

Grant-Funded Researcher B

Adelaide Medical School

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

My research focuses on understanding health and disease states, and how humans grow and develop.

I am interested in understanding how the interplay between genes, epigenome, environment, behaviour and the commensal bacteria (the microbiome) can influence the health and well-being outcomes of children and young adolescents.

Key current research areas include:
1. The role of the oral microbiome in health and disease
2. Pre-natal influences on oral health in mid-childhood
3. The role of diet in early development
4. Dental anthropology and forensics

Our group has a broad range of projects available that enable students to tailor their experience to attain specific skills. We operate both wet and dry laboratories, have a strong track record in bioinformatics and big data analysis, and have some very active collaborations with other groups (and potential co-supervisors) in Sydney and the USA.

I am highly skilled in operational management and coordination of human studies in multi-centre clinical settings with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. I actively pursue and nurture supportive, collaborative and productive teams. I have a proven track record in project management, research design, analytical skills, people management, budgeting and stakeholder management.

Career
Publications
Grants and Funding
Teaching
Supervision
Contact

Appointments

Date	Position	Institution name
2022 - ongoing	Research Associate	University of Adelaide
2022 - ongoing	Research Associate	University of Adelaide
2018 - ongoing	Research Associate	University of Adelaide
2016 - 2018	Visiting Research Fellow	University of Adelaide
2008 - 2016	Laboratory Research Manager	University of Adelaide
2005 - 2008	Research Officer	University of Adelaide
2005 - 2005	Data Assistant	University of Adelaide
2001 - 2005	Grant Funded Scientist	Women's and Children's Hospital
2000 - 2000	Teaching Lecturer	University of Adelaide
1995 - 1995	Research Assistant	Flinders University

Education

Date	Institution name	Country	Title
2009 - 2009	Lee Hecht Harrison for the University of Adelaide	Australia	Certificate IV in Business (Frontline Management)
2005 - 2007	University of Adelaide	Australia	Graduate Certificate in Public Health
2000 - 2001	University of Adelaide	Australia	Bachelor of Science Honours
1997 - 1999	University of Adelaide	Australia	Bachelor of Science

Research Interests

Child and Adolescent Health Early Origins of Health Nutrition and Metabolic Health Oral Health Pregnancy and Birth Translational Health Outcomes Dentistry Epigenetics Genetics & Heredity Medical Genetics Microbial Genetics Nutrition and Dietetics Quantitative Genetics

Journals

Year	Citation
2024	Bockmann, M., Hajishhafiee, M., Moores, C., Davis, K., Adler, C., & Hughes, T. (2024). Healthier eating in childhood: association with alpha-diversity of the plaque microbiota and development of dental caries. Caries Research.
2024	Giri, J., Bockmann, M., Brook, A., Gurr, A., & Hughes, T. (2024). Genetic and environmental contributions to the development of soft tissue facial profile: a twin study. European Journal of Orthodontics, 46(5), cjae045-1-cjae045-10. DOI
2023	Sukumar, S., Wang, F., Simpson, C. A., Willet, C. E., Chew, T., Hughes, T. E., . . . Adler, C. J. (2023). Development of the oral resistome during the first decade of life. Nature Communications, 14(1), 1291-1-1291-14. DOI Scopus13 WoS2 Europe PMC11
2023	Giri, J., Bockmann, M., Brook, A., Farook, T. H., Meade, M., & Hughes, T. (2023). Heritability of dental arches and occlusal characteristics: a systematic review and meta-analysis. European Journal of Orthodontics, 45(6), 854-867. DOI Scopus2 Europe PMC2
2023	Giri, J., Hughes, T., Bockmann, M., & Brook, A. (2023). On dental arches of twins. American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, 164(4), 459. DOI
2022	Espinoza, J., Torralba, M., Leong, P., Saffery, R., Bockmann, M., Kuelbs, C., . . . Dupont, C. (2022). Differential network analysis of oral microbiome metatranscriptomes identifies community scale metabolic restructuring in dental caries. PNAS Nexus, 1(5), pgac239-1-pgac239-16. DOI Scopus4 WoS1 Europe PMC6
2022	Sukumar, S., Wang, F., Simpson, C., Willet, C., Chew, T., Hughes, T., . . . Adler, C. (2022). The development of the oral resistome during the first decade of life. DOI
2020	Freire, M., Moustafa, A., Harkins, D., Torralba, M., Zhang, Y., Leong, P., . . . Nelson, K. (2020). Longitudinal study of oral microbiome variation in twins. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 7954-1-7954-10. DOI Scopus37 WoS27 Europe PMC26
2019	Fechney, J. M., Browne, G. V., Prabhu, N., Laszlo, I., Meyer, W., Hughes, T. E., . . . Adler, C. J. (2019). Preliminary study of the oral mycobiome of children with and without dental caries. Journal of Oral Microbiology, 11(1), 1-10. DOI Scopus38 WoS29 Europe PMC23
2018	Espinoza, J., Harkins, D., Torralba, M., Gomez, A., Highlander, S., Jones, M., . . . Dupont, C. (2018). Supragingival plaque microbiome ecology and functional potential in the context of health and disease. mBio, 9(6), 1-21. DOI Scopus54 WoS44 Europe PMC41
2018	Adler, C. J., White, A., Bockmann, M. R., Browne, G. V., Townsend, G. C., & Hughes, T. E. (2018). VMG II transport medium stabilises oral microbiome samples for Next-Generation Sequencing. Journal of Microbiological Methods, 144, 91-98. DOI Scopus6 WoS4 Europe PMC4
2018	Espinoza, J. L., Harkins, D. M., Torralba, M., Gomez, A., Highlander, S. K., Jones, M. B., . . . Dupont, C. L. (2018). Supragingival plaque microbiome ecology and functional potential in the context of health and disease. DOI
2017	Gomez, A., Espinoza, J., Harkins, D., Leong, P., Saffery, R., Bockmann, M., . . . Nelson, K. (2017). Host genetic control of the oral microbiome in health and disease. Cell Host and Microbe, 22(3), 269-278. DOI Scopus153 WoS119 Europe PMC98
2015	Mihailidis, S., Bockmann, M., McConnell, E., Hughes, T., Van Beijsterveldt, T., Boomsma, D., . . . Townsend, G. (2015). The influence of chorion type on health measures at birth and dental development in Australian and Dutch twins: a comparative study. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 18(4), 368-374. DOI Scopus3 WoS2 Europe PMC1
2014	Hughes, T., Townsend, G., Pinkerton, S., Bockmann, M., Seow, W., Brook, A., . . . Lekkas, D. (2014). The teeth and faces of twins: providing insights into dentofacial development and oral health for practising oral health professionals. Australian Dental Journal, 59(Suppl. 1), 101-116. DOI Scopus46 WoS36 Europe PMC19
2013	Hughes, T., Bockmann, M., Mihailidis, S., Bennett, C., Harris, A., Seow, W., . . . Townsend, G. (2013). Genetic, epigenetic, and environmental influences on dentofacial structures and oral health: Ongoing studies of australian twins and their families. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 16(1), 43-51. DOI Scopus26 WoS26 Europe PMC13
2012	Townsend, G., Bockmann, M., Hughes, T., & Brook, A. (2012). Genetic, environmental and epigenetic influences on variation in human tooth number, size and shape. Odontology, 100(1), 1-9. DOI Scopus93 WoS76 Europe PMC39
2011	Bockmann, M., White, A., Bennett, C., Odeh, R., Hughes, T., & Townsend, G. (2011). Timing of colonization of caries-producing bacteria: an approach based on studying monozygotic twin pairs. International Journal of Dentistry, 2011(571573), 1-7. DOI Scopus11 WoS12 Europe PMC10
2010	Bockmann, M., Hughes, T., & Townsend, G. (2010). Genetic modeling of primary tooth emergence: A study of Australian twins. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 13(6), 573-581. DOI Scopus26 WoS24 Europe PMC11
2010	Woodroffe, S., Mihailidis, S., Hughes, T., Bockmann, M., Seow, W., Gotjamanos, T., & Townsend, G. (2010). Primary tooth emergence in Australian children: timing, sequence and patterns of asymmetry. Australian Dental Journal, 55(3), 245-251. DOI Scopus36 WoS31 Europe PMC17
2009	Townsend, G., Hughes, T., Luciano, M., Bockmann, M., & Brook, A. (2009). Genetic and environmental influences on human dental variation: A critical evaluation of studies involving twins. Archives of Oral Biology, 54(Suppl 1), 45-51. DOI Scopus131 WoS108 Europe PMC72
2007	Hughes, T., Bockmann, M., Seow, W., Gotjamanos, T., Gully, N., Richards, L., & Townsend, G. (2007). Strong genetic control of emergence of human primary incisors. Journal of Dental Research, 86(12), 1160-1165. DOI Scopus63 WoS59 Europe PMC37
2006	Townsend, G., Richards, L., Brearley-Messer, L., Hughes, T., Pinkerton, S., Seow, K., . . . Bockmann, M. (2006). Genetic and environmental influences on dentofacial structures and oral health: Studies of Australian twins and their families. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 9(6), 727-732. DOI Scopus28 WoS23 Europe PMC19
2006	Meikle, P., Grasby, D., Dean, C., Lang, D., Bockmann, M., Whittle, A., . . . Hopwood, J. (2006). Newborn screening for lysosomal storage disorders. Molecular Genetics and Metabolism, 88(4), 307-314. DOI Scopus142 WoS121 Europe PMC91
2006	Dean, C., Bockmann, M., Hopwood, J., Brooks, D., & Meikle, P. (2006). Detection of mucopolysaccharidosis type II by measurement of iduronate-2-sulfatase in dried blood spots and plasma samples. Clinical Chemistry, 52(4), 643-649. DOI Scopus26 WoS24 Europe PMC18
2006	Townsend, G., Richards, L., Messer, L. B., Hughes, T., Pinkerton, S., Seow, K., . . . Bockmann, M. (2006). Genetic and Environmental Influences on Dentofacial Structures and Oral Health: Studies of Australian Twins and Their Families. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 9(6), 727-732. DOI
2005	Hein, L., Meikle, P., Dean, C., Bockmann, M., Auclair, D., Hopwood, J., & Brooks, D. (2005). Development of an assay for the detection of mucopolysaccharidosis type VI patients using dried blood-spots. Clinica Chimica Acta, 353(1-2), 67-74. DOI Scopus29 WoS25 Europe PMC17
2005	Meikle, P. J., Dean, C. J., Grasby, D., Bockmann, M. R., Whittle, A. M., Lang, D. L., . . . Hopwood, J. J. (2005). NEWBORN SCREENING FOR LYSOSOSMAL STORAGE DISORDERS: EVALUATION OF PROTEIN PROFILING. JOURNAL OF INHERITED METABOLIC DISEASE, 28, 14. WoS3

Books

Year Citation

2015 Townsend, G., Pinkerton, S., Rogers, J., Bockmann, M., & Hughes, T. (2015). Twin studies: research in genes, teeth and faces. Adelaide: University of Adelaide Press.
DOI

Year	Citation
2015	Townsend, G., Pinkerton, S., Rogers, J., Bockmann, M., & Hughes, T. (2015). Twin studies: research in genes, teeth and faces. Adelaide: University of Adelaide Press. DOI

Book Chapters

Year	Citation
2016	Hughes, T., Townsend, G., & Bockmann, M. (2016). An overview of dental genetics. In J. Irish, & G. Scott (Eds.), A Companion to Dental Anthropology (pp. 123-141). Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons. DOI Scopus13
2012	Chan, E., Bockmann, M., Hughes, T., Mihailidis, S., & Townsend, G. (2012). Do feeding practices, gestation length, and birth weight affect the timing of emergence of the first primary tooth?. In G. Townsend, E. Kanazawa, & H. Takayama (Eds.), New Directions in Dental Anthropology: paradigms, methodologies and outcomes (1 ed., pp. 35-45). Australia: University of Adelaide Press. DOI Scopus5 WoS5
2012	Townsend, G., Bockmann, M., Hughes, T., Mihailidis, S., Seow, W., & Brook, A. (2012). New approaches to dental anthropology based on the study of twins. In G. Townsend, E. Kanazawa, & H. Takayama (Eds.), New Directions in Dental Anthropology: paradigms, methodologies and outcomes (1 ed., pp. 10-21). Australia: University of Adelaide Press. DOI Scopus11 WoS14

Conference Papers

Year	Citation
2009	Mihailidis, S., Woodroffe, S., Hughes, T., Bockmann, M., & Townsend, G. (2009). Patterns of Asymmetry in Primary Tooth Emergence of Australian Twins. In Frontiers of Oral Biology Vol. 13 (pp. 110-115). Postfach Basel Switzerland CH-4009: Karger. DOI Scopus14 WoS13 Europe PMC7
2009	Townsend, G., Hughes, T., Bockmann, M., Smith, R., & Brook, A. (2009). How studies of twins can inform our understanding of dental morphology.. In Frontiers of Oral Biology Vol. 13 (pp. 136-141). Postfach Basel Switzerland CH-4009: Karger. DOI Scopus16 WoS10 Europe PMC8

Conference Items

Year	Citation
2024	Kanagasabai, A., Hughes, T., & Bockmann, M. (2024). Otitis media and maxillary arch shape in early to mid-childhood. Poster session presented at the meeting of Abstracts of the 102nd General Session & Exhibition of the International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR/AADOCR/CADR 2024). New Orleans, USA: Elsevier BV. DOI
2024	Giri, J., Bockmann, M., Brook, A., Gurr, A., & Hughes, T. (2024). Genetic and environmental contributions to the development of soft tissue facial profile. Poster session presented at the meeting of Abstracts of the 29th Australian Orthodontic Congress 2024. Adelaide, South Australia: Australian Society of Orthodontists.
2023	Hughes, T., Suresh, S., Bockmann, M., Davis, K., & Brook, A. (2023). Long lost cousins or distant neighbours? The dental morphology of early South-East Asian migration. Poster session presented at the meeting of AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY. WILEY.
2021	Sukumar, S., Martinez, E., Willet, C., Bui, Q., Sadsad, R., Martin, F. E., . . . Adler, C. (2021). Longitudinal metagenomic profiling reveals presence of oral resistome in childhood. Poster session presented at the meeting of 2021 International Association of Dental Research General Session.
2021	Sukumar, S., Simpson, C., Willet, E., Hughes, T., Bockmann, M., Sadsad, R., . . . Adler, C. (2021). The composition of the oral resistome is altered by the presence of caries. Poster session presented at the meeting of Microbiome Virtual International Forum.
2016	Hughes, T. E., Townsend, G. C., Brook, A. H., Bockmann, M. R., & Mihailidis, S. (2016). The modern human dentition: insights from three decades of studies on twins. Poster session presented at the meeting of AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY. Atlanta, GA: WILEY-BLACKWELL.

Date	Project/ No.	Investigators	Funding Body	Amount
2021	2814-2020	Hughes, Adler, Bockmann	Australian Dental Research Foundation	$9,300
2020-2025	1RO1-DE029838	Austin, Adler, Hughes, Aurora, Bockmann	National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Biology	$5,081,098
2020	-	Moores, Moynihan, Hughes, Bockmann	Adelaide Dental School - RIBG	$4,934
2020	-	Bockmann, Hughes	Adelaide Dental School - RIBG	$1,750
2018-2019	APP1147383	Hughes, Adler, Townsend, Bockmann	National Health and Medical Research Council	$284,652
2016-2017	161328	Hughes, Townsend, Adler, Bockmann	Channel 7 Children's Research Foundation	$75,000
2010	-	Mihailidis, Bockmann, Hughes, Seow, Townsend	Australian Dental Industry Association	$5,000
2010	28/2009	Mihailidis, Hughes, Bockmann, Winning, Townsend	Australian Dental Research Foundation	$3,340
2010	27/2009	Mihailidis, Bockmann, Hughes, Seow, Townsend	Australian Dental Research Foundation	$12,290
2009-2010	2009-223	Townsend, Hughes, Bockmann	Financial Markets Foundation for Children	$50,000
2007	-	Hughes, Bockmann, Townsend, Gully	School of Dentistry	$5,865
2007	-	Bockmann	Australian Twin Registry - Travel Award	$1,250

Casual Academic Tutor/Practical Demonstrator

Date	Degree	Subject	Field
2006, 2007 and 2009	Bachelor of Dental Surgery	Human Biology ID	Genetics
2006, 2007 and 2009	Bachelor of Dental Surgery	Dental Health Science II	Biochemistry
2000	Bachelor of Science	Molecular and Cell Biology I	Genetics

Other Supervision Activities

Date	Role	Research Topic	Location	Program	Supervision Type	Student Load	Student Name
2021 - 2022	Principal Supervisor	The relationship between natural and caesarean birth delivery methods on childhood caries in the Australian twin children population	The University of Adelaide	BSciDent(Hons)	Honours	Part Time	Bing Qing Lee
2021 - 2022	Principal Supervisor	Exfoliation timing and patterning of deciduous teeth in a cohort of Australian twins	The University of Adelaide	BSciDent(Hons)	Honours	Part Time	Leila Chye
2018 - 2019	Co-Supervisor	Emergence timing and patterning of the primary dentition	The University of Adelaide	BSciDent(Hons)	Honours	Part Time	Shanaya Senanayake
2018 - ongoing	Principal Supervisor	The oral microbiome & dental caries	The University of Adelaide	BSciDent(Hons) - Withdrew	Honours	Part Time	Amelia Wiese
2018 - ongoing	Principal Supervisor	Emergence timing and patterning of the primary dentition	The University of Adelaide	BSciDent(Hons)	Honours	Part Time	Shanaya Sananake
2010 - 2012	Principal Supervisor	The influence of chorion type on the emergence of the first primary tooth in Australian twins	The University of Adelaide	BSciDent(Hons)	Honours	Part Time	Elise McConnell
2009 - 2011	Principal Supervisor	Factors associated with the timing of emergence of the first primary tooth	The University of Adelaide	BSciDent(Hons)	Honours	Part Time	Emmanuel Chan

Mentoring

Date	Topic	Location	Name
2019 - 2020	Timing and patterning of exfoliation for the deciduous dentition in a cohort of twins	The University of Adelaide	Leila Chye
2019 - 2019	Host factors in the establishment of the oral microbiome	The University of Adelaide	Vivien Heng

Position: Grant-Funded Researcher B
Phone: 83133069
Email: michelle.bockmann@adelaide.edu.au
Fax: 83130792
Campus: North Terrace
Building: Helen Mayo South, floor 3
Org Unit: Dental School Administration

Ms Michelle Bockmann

Appointments

Education

Research Interests

Journals

Books

Book Chapters

Conference Papers

Conference Items

Other Supervision Activities

Mentoring

Connect With Me

External Profiles