Microbiologist · Speaker · Oral Health Activist
I'm a PhD microbiologist who has spent twenty years studying where the oral microbiome meets the immune system. Now I bring that science to the hygienists, clinicians and curious people who care for mouths every day.
A note before the credentials
You're probably here because you want to know who I am, and why a microbiologist keeps talking about your mouth. Before I hand you the CV, I want you to know the part that doesn't fit on one.
I didn't start in a lab. I started behind the chair, though not a dental one. I spent my twenties as a hairstylist and educator in Seattle and went on to open two salon and spa businesses of my own. I loved the work and I loved the people. And I kept asking questions about the products I was using that nobody could answer.
So I went back to school. Chemistry first, then a PhD in microbiology at the University of Washington, where I studied how one notorious gum bacterium, Porphyromonas gingivalis, talks to our immune system. Then a postdoc in oral immunology at Penn, then years at Colgate-Palmolive turning lab science into patents and clinical trials.
All of it taught me one thing. The mouth isn't a set of teeth to keep clean. It's a living ecosystem, and when it's inflamed, the whole body hears about it.
I'm not a dentist or a hygienist. I'm a scientist who believes the people who care for mouths every day deserve the newest science, explained so they can use it on Monday morning. That's what I bring to every stage, podcast and page.
Let's get oral,
Camille
“If we think enamel health is the pinnacle of oral health, we're still thinking like we did 120 years ago.”
Camille Zenobia, PhD, on the RDH Magazine Podcast, 2026
Speaking
Two years running on the RDH Under One Roof stage, plus keynotes and courses for oral-systemic, integrative and cosmetic chemistry audiences.
Where the microbiome meets the immune system, and why that conversation doesn't stop at the gumline.
Why two patients with the same plaque can have very different gums, and what food has to do with it.
Signature talks
Why inflammation, not just plaque, should drive how we assess and treat the mouth, and where inflammation-based diagnostics are taking chairside care.
For hygienists, periodontal teams, dental schools
The oral-systemic connection, from the microbiome and immune tolerance to the gut, the heart and metabolic health.
For RDH and integrative audiences, wellness conferences
Most of the products on the shelf rest on mid-century technology. What mouthwash really does to the microbiome, and what next-generation, anti-inflammatory oral care looks like.
For cosmetic chemists, product developers, industry
Salivary testing and inflammation markers explained: what they can tell you today, what they can't yet, and how to talk about results with patients.
For clinicians, diagnostics and oral-systemic societies
Past stages
Media & press
With Jackie Sanders and Andrew Johnston. Where science meets the sulcus, bridging microbiology, diagnostics and modern hygiene care.
Listen to the episode →The oral microbiome, systemic inflammation, and what we should know about everyday products like mouthwash.
Read the interview →
Thinking of the mouth as a dynamic ecosystem where microbes, immunity and inflammation shape metabolic health.
Read the transcript →
Two mouth nerds, Jonathan Dornell, PhD and me, on the microbiome, taste, fluoride, bad breath and MOAR.
Listen on Spotify →
Essays on the oral microbiome, host-microbe coevolution and the research behind the headlines.
Subscribe →Research breakdowns, conference moments and behind-the-scenes from the lab and the stage.
Follow along →Also featured on the Disrupting Dentistry podcast.
For event organizers
Camille Zenobia, PhD, is a microbiologist, inventor and science communicator who studies where the oral microbiome meets the immune system. She earned her PhD in microbiology at the University of Washington, where her work on Porphyromonas gingivalis endotoxin shaped her view of the mouth as an immune organ, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in oral immunology at the University of Pennsylvania.
At Colgate-Palmolive she moved from the bench to clinical science, leading research programs that produced multiple patents and earning a Clinical Research Award from the American Academy of Periodontology. She has edited oral health sections for Frontiers and Nature journals and publishes with leading periodontal researchers.
Camille is the founder of OSSA Oral Care, the first niacinamide oral care system, co-host of the Let's Get Oral podcast, and a board member at Vitalize DX and Ostia Sciences. She has spoken at RDH Under One Roof, AAOSH, the Integrative Dental Medicine Society and the New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists. Before science, she was a hairstylist, educator and two-time salon owner, which is why she still believes the best science is the kind people can use.
Camille Zenobia, PhD, is a microbiologist and oral health activist who studies where the oral microbiome meets the immune system. Trained at the University of Washington and Penn, she led oral care research at Colgate-Palmolive, founded OSSA Oral Care, and co-hosts the Let's Get Oral podcast. She translates new oral-systemic science into practical tools for dental professionals.
Book Camille
Keynotes, CE courses, panels, podcasts and advisory work. Tell me about your audience and I'll shape the talk around what they need to take home.