Jan. 16, 2026
An Oral Surgeon Pivots to Periodontology
A periodontology trainee makes award winning stem cell science inroads at Pitt.
Designs on Aging-Ready
By Strategic Communications
Mahboube Hasheminasab is a fiend for knowledge. “I truly consider myself addicted to the pleasure of learning,” she says.
Hasheminasab, who was a practicing oral and maxillofacial surgeon in Iran for 10 years, left in 2022 for the United States to follow her quest for a challenge. After a year in San Francisco, she chose the University of Pittsburgh for periodontology training. She first visited a number of medical centers.
“When I came to Pitt, I saw something different immediately. I saw hardworking, open-minded and highly driven people—individuals who don’t take ‘no’ for an answer and who pursue visions far bigger than the microscopic scale of surgery we perform in periodontics,” she says.
“When I came to Pitt, I saw something different immediately. I saw hardworking, open-minded and highly driven people—individuals who don’t take ‘no’ for an answer and who pursue visions far bigger than the microscopic scale of surgery we perform in periodontics.”
Mahboube Hasheminasab, periodontology resident
Her clinical work spans delicate, microscopic-level procedures to large-scale surgeries that include full-mouth rehabilitations and comprehensive oral health makeovers.
Research Hasheminasab conducts in the lab of Giuseppe Intini won her the award for “Best Basic Science Research” at the annual American Academy of Periodontology meeting in 2025. The science focuses on periodontal ligament (PDL) stem cells.
“In periodontology, we perform regenerative procedures to restore complex tissues,” says Hasheminasab. “It is often difficult to know how much regeneration has occurred across all four types of tissues: bone, cementum, PDL and soft tissue. If we can harness and isolate PDL stem cells for clinical regeneration, we could use native cells to regenerate all four tissue types simultaneously.
“At Pitt, I have access to exceptional research facilities as well as advanced clinical tools. This combination of resources allows me to grow as both a clinician and a scientist.”