University of Maryland School of Dentistry

Dong-Yuan Cao, Ph.D., is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Neural and Pain Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry. Dr. Cao received his Master degree and Ph.D. in Neurophysiological Science from Xi’an Jiaotong University School of Medicine, China. He completed post-doctoral fellowship at State University of New York at Stony Brook and Palmer College of Chiropractic, where he conducted research on the effects of spinal manipulation on sensory nerve endings in paraspinal tissues. In 2010 he joined in Dr. Richard Traub’s lab as a post-doctoral fellow and research associate. From 2015 to 2023, he ran a research lab as Research Professor in Xi’an Jiaotong University College of Stomatology, China and successfully led several projects on stress-related pain conditions as a Principal Investigator. Dr. Cao has authored or co-authored over 90 scientific publications in prestigious journals such as Gut, Pain, Journal of Pain, Neuropharmacology and several book chapters. He serves on the editorial board of Frontiers in Neuroscience and BioMed International Research. He has mentored 5 Ph.D. candidates and more than 20 master degree students in stomatological science.

Research interest

Chronic primary pain includes fibromyalgia, temporomandibular disorder (TMD), and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). These diseases are exacerbated by stress and have a female predominance. The presence of one condition predicts the presence or development of additional conditions, making this a significant pain management problem. Dr. Cao developed an animal model of the comorbidity of fibromyalgia, TMD and IBS using heterotypic chronic stress.

Chronic stress alters gut microbiota, increases gut permeability and changes immune functions. Gut dysbiosis may be the underlying mechanism of the overlapping symptoms of fibromyalgia, TMD and IBS. Collaborating with Dr. Feng Wei and Dr. Hanping Feng, the preliminary data showed that chronic stress changed the microbiome and oral antibody-based immunotherapy that neutralizes gut tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) reversed somatic hyperalgesia, orofacial mechanical allodynia and visceral hypersensitivity induced by chronic stress. Mechanistically, reducing the levels of gut mucosal TNF-α and other neuroinflammatory mediators and modulating microbiome function is expected to disrupt the comorbidity of fibromyalgia, TMD and IBS. The goal of his study is to reveal the mechanisms underlying the gut-brain axis in the development of these chronic overlapping pain conditions (COPCs) and pave a new therapy approach.