After receiving a Doctor of Dental Surgeon degree at the University of Mahajanga, Madagascar, Dr. Andriankaja continued her post-graduate education at the University of Buffalo, School of Dental Medicine. She contributed to the conduct of clinical research in oral and systemic diseases (including periodontitis, CVD, and osteoporosis) at the Center for Preventive Medicine and Women’s Health Initiatives in the School of Public Health and Health Professions. She received post-doctoral training at the School of Dentistry at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 2006. During her training, she had opportunity to explore in greater details the pathogenesis of periodontitis and its association with type 2 diabetes. Beginning in the fall of 2008, she worked at the University of Puerto Rico, continuing to pursue the same oral-systemic connection as a research of interest, with a focus on underserved Hispanic populations in whom chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and periodontitis are highly prevalent. She has contributed to the conduct of the SOALS study.
She later received a two-year (2010-2012) NIH Diversity Supplement training grant, which she used to strengthen her background and skills in basic sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. The training provided her with basic knowledge in biology tailored to the study of chronic inflammatory diseases. Importantly, she worked on gene expression analysis to determine the involvement of lipid metabolism regulation in the mechanisms of systemic and local inflammatory processes, which provided additional information useful for pursuing possible new strategies for the treatment or prevention of periodontitis, especially among diabetic individuals. Her recent work has revealed the potential effect of lipid lowering agents in reducing periodontal inflammation.