Abhishek Kumar

I completed my degree in dentistry from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, India, and my doctoral degree (PhD) in medicine from Aarhus University, Denmark. have worked as a postdoctoral researcher (2015-2019) at the Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. Currently, I work as a Research Specialist at the Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, and Head of Research at the Academic Center for Geriatric Dentistry (ACT). My research focuses on clinical and behavioral studies on “orofacial neurosciences” with special emphasis on behavior learning, skill acquisition, and the effects of training in the improvement of oral motor skills. I am also involved in clinical studies investigating how the loss of teeth, and impaired chewing function contributes to the development of malnutrition, cognitive impairment, and poor quality of life. As a Ph.D. scholar, I investigated the effect of craniofacial pain and altered orofacial somatosensory inputs on oral fine motor control. I am also interested in mechanisms related to cortical plasticity in the corticomotor pathways associated with the various orofacial muscles. My current research involves identifying the phenotype profile of older people with chewing and swallowing problems. Furthermore, I am developing training paradigms to improve oral functions in older adults.