in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE 2015 MAJOR: BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY Approved By: ____________________________________________ Advisor Date ii DEDICATION I dedicate my thesis to my parents, Melissa and Harry Myers, and my grandparents, Marie and John Beverly. They have been my number one fans since I was born. They have done nothing but love, support and push me to be the very best I can be. There are not enough words or thanks that I can

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... write to explain how glad I am to have you as my role models and family members. Thank you for never losing faith in me. I also want to thank my sister, Kayla Myers, for putting up with me and being a great roommate through this time in my masters. She is a wonderful cook! iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to take this time to thank Dr. Robert Akins for all of the encouragement and direction in my journey to complete my masters and research. He is truly one of the best mentors I have ever had and I am very grateful for being able to be a part of his lab and for him to allow me to do my masters thesis on oral microbes. He has taught me a lot and has helped me become a better writer, presenter, and professional. Thank you. I want to give a special thanks Dr. Dana Freeman for his cooperation in recruiting xerostomia patients for my thesis. I also want to thank him for opening my eyes and being one of my main inspirations for choosing a career in dentistry. I was very happy to include him in this process of my education. I also want to acknowledge Kay Dedicatoria. Thank you for all your hard work and helping me accomplish things I did not have time for. I also want to thank all my friends, colleagues, who assisted, advised, and supported my research and writing efforts over the past year and a half.