Skeletal, Craniofacial and Oral Biology Graduate Program

Faculty

Andrew Arnold, Professor of Medicine and Murray-Heilig Chair in Molecular Medicine, M.D., Harvard University. The molecular genetic underpinnings of tumors of the endocrine glands. Role of cyclin D1 in tumorigenesis.

Felix Bronner, Professor Emeritus of Reconstructive Sciences, Center for Regenerative Medicine and Skeletal Development, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. 1) Calcium homeostasis, 2) Calcium transport in intestine and kidney, 3) Calcium in bones and teeth, 4) Ion transport, 5) Metabolic bone diseases.

Caroline N. Dealy, Associate Professor of Reconstructive Sciences, Center for Regenerative Medicine and Skeletal Development. Ph.D., University of Connecticut. Molecular regulation of vertebrate limb development, limb patterning, cartilage and bone differentiation, growth factor signaling, joint development, human embryonic stem cell differentiation.

Anne Delany, Assistant Professor of Medicine. Ph.D., Dartmouth Medical School. Function and regulation of the non-collagen matrix protein osteonectin/SPARC in bone; regulation of osteoblast gene expression by microRNAs; exploring how the extracellular matrix regulates gene expression in bone-metastatic prostate carcinoma.

Anna Dongari-Bagtzoglou, Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Health and Diagnostic Sciences, Division of Periodontology, D.D.S., Aristotle University, Greece, M.S., University of California, Los Angeles, Ph.D., University of Texas, San Antonio. Pathogenesis of oral opportunistic infections in the immunocompromised host. Regulation of oral mucosal inflammation in response to bacterial or fungal infection. Innate immune factors which limit oral mucosal infection and invasion.

Hicham Drissi, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery.

Paul M. Epstein, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Ph.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Second messengers and signal transduction. Particular focus on cyclic nucleotide metabolism and protein phosphorylation, with emphasis on analysis of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE).

Marion Frank, Professor of Oral Health and Diagnostic Sciences; Director, Center for Neurosciences, Ph.D., Brown University. Study of the sense of taste using basic and clinical research. Development of a fundamental understanding of gustatory systems in mammals, at all levels from receptors to cerebral cortex. Application of basic knowledge of gustatory systems to the diagnosis and treatment of taste disorders in humans.

A. Jon Goldberg, Professor of Reconstructive Sciences, Center for Regenerative Medicine and Skeletal Development, Ph.D., University of Michigan. Biomaterials, with studies involving structure-property relationships, development of novel systems, clinical evaluations and surface analysis.

Gloria Gronowicz, Professor and Director of Orthopaedic Research, Department of Orthopaedics, Ph.D., Columbia University. Effects of hormones and growth factors on the production of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, on the regulation of integrins (receptors for ECM proteins) and on apoptosis in bone; response of bone cells to implant biomaterials.

Arthur R. Hand, Professor of Orthodontics and Maxillofacial Surgery, Pediatric Dentistry and Advanced Education in General Dentistry, Division of Pediatric Dentistry, D.D.S., University of California, Los Angeles. Study of gene expression in rodent salivary glands during normal growth and development and in various experimental conditions employing morphological, immunological and biochemical methodology.

Marc Hansen, Professor of Medicine, M.S., University of Wisconsin, Ph.D., University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Molecular genetics of osteosarcoma and related bone diseases.

Marja Hurley, Professor of Medicine, M.D., University of Connecticut School of Medicine. Molecular mechanisms by which members of the fibroblast growth factor (FGFs) and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) families, (produced by osteoblasts, osteoclasts and stromal cells) regulate bone development, remodeling and disorders of bone. Fgf2 knockout and Fgf2 transgenic mice are utilized in loss and gain of function experiments to elucidate the role of FGF-2 in disorders of bone including osteoporosis.

Ivo Kalajzic, Assistant Professor, Department of Reconstructive Sciences and Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology. M.D., Ph.D., University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Croatia. Bone biology, differentiation of the osteoblast lineage cells.

Robert A. Kosher, Professor of Reconstructive Sciences, Center for Regenerative Medicine and Skeletal Development, Ph.D., Temple University. Limb development; roles and relationships among regulatory genes particularly homeobox-containing genes, secreted signaling molecules, and the extracellular matrix in the regulation of limb formation, outgrowth, patterning, cartilage differentiation, osteogenesis, and joint formation.

Barbara Kream, Professor of Medicine and Genetics and Developmental Biology. Ph.D., Yale University. Hormonal regulation of bone remodeling.

Liisa T. Kuhn, Assistant Professor of Reconstructive Sciences, Center for Regenerative Medicine and Skeletal Development. Ph.D., University of California-Santa Barbara. Biomaterials for drug delivery and bone regeneration and repair.

Marc Lalande, Professor and Head, Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology. Ph.D., University of Toronto. Genomic imprinting of human chromosome 15q.

Leo Lefrançois, Professor of Medicine and Pathology, B.S., Colorado State University; Ph.D., Wake Forest University. T lymphocyte development, mucosal immunology, intestinal intraepithelial T lymphocytes, gamma/delta T cells.

Alexander Lichtler, Associate Professor of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Ph.D., University of Florida, Gainsville. Hormone regulation of bone collagen synthesis.

Alan G. Lurie, Professor of Oral Health and Diagnostic Sciences; Head, Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, D.D.S., UCLA, Ph.D., University of Rochester. Digital imaging analysis of dental and bone diseases.

Sanjay Mallya, Assistant Professor of Oral Health and Diagnostic Sciences, Division of Oral Diagnosis, B.D.S, M.D.S., University of Bombay; Ph.D., University of Connecticut. Molecular genetics of oral cancer, effects of parathyroid hormone on bone.

Peter Maye, Assistant Professor of Reconstructive Sciences, Ph.D., Wesleyan University, 2001. Isolation, characterization and differentiation of embryonic and adult skeletal stem cells down the osteogenic lineage.

Mina Mina, Professor of Craniofacial Sciences; Head, Division of Pediatric Dentistry; Director, Skeletal, Craniofacial and Oral Biology Graduate Program, D.M.D., National University of Iran, Ph.D., University of Connecticut Health Center. Development of the mandibular arch including the elongation and polarized outgrowth of the mandibular primordia and subsequent differentiation of the skeletal tissues in spatially defined patterns. Characterization of genetic and epigenetic influences involved in the pattern formation and skeletogenesis of the chick mandible and mouse tooth germ. Regulation of patterning in the developing mandible and developing teeth by mandibular epithelium, extracellular matrix molecules, growth factors, and transcription factors.

Carol C. Pilbeam, Professor of Medicine; Ph.D., Yale University, 1982. M.D., Yale School of Medicine. Mechanisms of regulation of bone formation and resorption.

Justin Radolf, Professor of Medicine and Center for Microbial Pathogenesis, M.D., University of California, San Francisco. Molecular pathogenesis and immunobiology of spirochetal infections.

Ernst Reichenberger, Assistant Professor of Reconstructive Sciences, Center for Regenerative Medicine and Skeletal Development. Ph.D., University of Erlangen. The Reichenberger laboratory is interested in learning about the complex processes required for generating and maintaining the skin and bones. To find out how the mechanisms operate in a healthy person, we study human genetic disorders in which they are disrupted.

Blanka Rogina, Assistant Professor of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Ph.D., Zagreb University School of Medicine. Biology of aging including the molecular genetic determinants of aging and longevity.

Edward F. Rossomando, Professor of Craniofacial Sciences, D.D.S., University of Pennsylvania, Ph.D., Rockefeller University, M.S., (Management) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Translational research, strategic management, entrepreneurship, management of innovation and technology, strategic management in the healthcare industry.

David W. Rowe, Professor of Reconstructive Sciences, Director of Center for Regenerative Medicine and Skeletal Development, M.D., University of Vermont. Genetic and hormonal control of type I collagen production. Development of strategies for somatic gene therapy for heritable diseases of bone built upon the structural and regulatory principles of collagen production.

Jason M. Tanzer, Professor of Oral Health and Diagnostic Sciences and Division Head, Oral Medicine, School of Dental Medicine; also, Professor of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine. D.M.D., Tufts University School of Dental Medicine; Ph.D., Georgetown University; D.H.C., Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. 1. The physiological/biochemical/genetic bases of virulence by the mutans streptococci (Streptococcus mutans) and its colonization of the teeth and the physiological/biochemical/genetic bases of non-virulence of Streptococcus gordonii despite its avid colonization of the teeth. 2. The colonization determinants of certain HIV-inhibiting Lactobacillus species in the oral-gastro-intestinal tract.

William B. Upholt, Professor of Reconstructive Sciences, Center for Regenerative Medicine and Skeletal Development;  Ph.D., California Institute of Technology. Molecular mechanisms regulating differentiation and pattern formation during embryonic skeletal development in the limb and mandible. Use of transgenic mouse model systems. Study of the regulation of the process of chondrogenesis.