Dr. Pin-Ying (Joyce) Li joined the faculty of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics Department of Periodontics on Aug. 26, 2026.

Li comes to Iowa following postgraduate training in periodontics and implant surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She previously completed a general practice residency at Taichung Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan and earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Taipei Medical University in 2021.

Her clinical interests include implant therapy, regenerative and mucogingival surgery, sinus augmentation, and digital implant dentistry. Li’s research interests focus on oral-systemic disease interactions, periodontal pathogens and neuroinflammation, implant biology and peri-implant disease, and microbiome-mediated inflammatory pathways. At UCLA, her research examined the relationship between periodontal pathogens, the brain microbiome, and neuroinflammation.

Li also brings teaching experience from UCLA’s predoctoral dental program, where she supervised students in periodontal diagnosis, maintenance, re-evaluation, and clinical procedures. She received an American Academy of Periodontology Annual Meeting Scholarship in 2025 and has presented research at national meetings, including the Academy of Osseointegration Annual Meeting and the IADR/AADOCR/CADR General Session.