Carlos Rossa Junior is a dental surgeon/periodontist with extensive training and a long-term focus on research related to Applied Immunology and host-microbial interactions using periodontal disease as a study model. Since 2008, his laboratory has specifically concentrated on tumor immunology in head and neck cancer. Dr. Rossa Junior received his training in Molecular and Cell Biology from the State University of New York at Buffalo, University of Michigan, and Medical University of South Carolina, under the guidance of Drs. Keith L Kirkwood, Nisha D’Silva, and Dennis K. Watson. His research projects, both recently concluded and ongoing, explore immune influences on tumor progression and dissemination, employing in vitro experiments, various in vivo models of oral cancer, and ex-vivo experiments using patient-derived samples. Dr. Rossa Junior has mentored over 25 undergraduate students, 4 post-doctoral fellows, and 23 graduate students (MS and PhD levels), many of whom have pursued academic positions in Brazilian universities and abroad, including Singapore and the United States, as well as post-doctoral fellowship positions at universities in the US.