Ronald B. and Cynthia J. McNeill Term Professor in Nanomedicine Harvinder Gill received the 2026 Excellence in Research Award from the Shils Fund. The award recognizes individuals whose outstanding research, scientific leadership and contributions have helped advance oral and public health. The Shils Fund Board of Directors acknowledges Gill’s pioneering contribution to the use of floss for vaccination, oral health innovation, translational bioengineering, and public health. 

Established in 2002 to honor the legacy of visionary dental industry leader Dr. Edward B. Shils, the Dr. Edward B. Shils Entrepreneurial Fund is a nonprofit dedicated to advancing oral health through innovation and entrepreneurial leadership. The Shils Fund actively invests in a new generation of dental entrepreneurs, clinicians, and researchers working to transform oral healthcare and its impact on overall well-being.

At NC State, Gill’s laboratory performs fundamental and translational research in drug delivery, vaccines, allergen immunotherapy and nanomedicine to help address some of the pressing biomedical challenges facing human health.

Gill and his colleagues have been developing the dental floss as a novel vaccine delivery system harnessing the naturally leaky junctional epithelium of the gingival sulcus.. Initial results were published last year in Nature Biomedical Engineering. 

The floss-based immunization induced strong and sustained immune activation across multiple organs, robust systemic and mucosal antibody responses, and durable protection against lethal influenza infection in mice. In human participants, fluorescent dye delivered via floss picks effectively reached gingival sulcus, supporting clinical feasibility. 

The team’s findings established floss-based vaccination as a simple, needle-free strategy that enhances vaccine delivery and immune activation compared with existing mucosal immunization methods.