10th Anniversary Researcher Spotlight: Denice Bay

That’s how Dr. Denice Bay, a microbiologist with a passion for applied science, ended up leading a promising research collaboration that could transform the way we detect gum disease.

Today, Bay is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the University of Manitoba. But rewind a few decades, and she had her sights set on a completely different future.

“I wanted to be an artist,” she says. “I was going to be an animator for Disney, and when I graduated (high school) they laid off all the people who were doing art and my mom looked at me and said, ‘You could do more in the sciences.’”

What started as a leap of faith quickly turned into a calling. While pursuing her undergraduate degree in microbiology at the U of M, Bay had what she calls her “Aha!” moment in a protein biochemistry course.

“I suddenly understood the chemical structure of life—and it just blew my mind,” she says. “From that moment on, I was in.”

Bay went on to earn her PhD in microbiology in 2007 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Calgary before returning to Manitoba in 2015 to begin her faculty appointment.

Over the years, she’s dedicated her research to solving real-world problems—bridging gaps between academic research and practical health innovations.

“My goal in collaborating with companies is to help address the microbiology knowledge gaps that affect us all, to help promote and advance translational research applications to local life sciences companies,” she says.

That mission came into sharp focus in 2018, when she attended an innovation event designed to connect Manitoba scientists with the province’s biosciences industry.

There, she met representatives from PerioDiagnostics Inc., a Winnipeg start-up working in the dental technology space. The company was looking to create a rapid, easy-to-use diagnostic tool that could help dentists—and potentially patients—detect periodontitis, a chronic bacterial infection that affects the gums and bones supporting the teeth.

Enter Denice Bay.

“I said, ‘Oh, absolutely—I can help with that,’” she recalls. “It seemed like a no-brainer.”

With her expertise in microbiology and biochemistry, Bay was a perfect match. She and her team—including project leader Dr. Carmine Slipski—began work on a new prototype, supported by funding from Research Manitoba ($150,000), Mitacs ($120,000), and PerioDiagnostics ($65,000).

Interestingly, their inspiration came from a somewhat surprising source: a point-of-care gum disease test for dogs used by veterinarians in the eastern United States. It involved a paper strip and colour-changing dye that reacted to bacterial byproducts.

But adapting a veterinary product for human use was no small task.

“The veterinary strips were flimsy, the dyes degraded quickly, and they were too sensitive to things like oxidation or even finger contact,” says Bay. “Plus, the false-positive rate was far too high for human clinical use.”

So, the team went back to the drawing board—literally. Using a 3D printer, they developed a more durable, two-part plastic housing similar in design to the rapid COVID-19 tests now familiar to many. Inside, a specialized paper strip infused with colour-changing dyes reacts to the presence of specific chemicals secreted by gum disease-causing bacteria.

“The test works by using two different colour-changing dyes that each detect different secreted chemicals produced by bacteria,” Bay explains, “One detects (organic acids), and the other thiol (sulfur compounds). Why do they change colour? It’s because they react with the chemical byproducts to change the dye’s visibility,” she says.

“Many natural and synthetic colour-changing dyes exist, so there’s a lot of knowledge to work from for a large number of biologically produced chemical tests,” says Bay. “These two chemicals (detected by their test) are known to be secreted in high concentration by anaerobic periodontal disease-causing bacteria,” she says.

Currently, the device is undergoing pilot testing in local dental clinics. The team has also developed a companion app, designed by Dr. Slipski, that allows users to take a photo of the test strip and receive guidance on interpreting the results.

The goal is to make the test widely available by 2030, or sooner—with potential applications both in clinical settings and over-the-counter markets.

And while the technology is impressive, Bay says the real reward is the potential impact.

“The goal is if you understand you are already on the path to risk, (this test) can help you prevent gum disease. Because, once your gums are damaged, it’s really hard to get them back,” she says, noting that the condition can lead to other health issues such as heart disease and stroke, not to mention loss of teeth.

“If we could help save peoples teeth, that would be fantastic.”