The research laboratory of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania is at the forefront of innovative biomedical science and technology in the field.
In our work, we foster a strong basic and clinical science interaction among multidisciplinary clinicians, researchers, and educators. This helps bring about the rapid translation of research from the laboratory to patients, better enabling prevention, early diagnosis and new treatments.
Our investigators work on many research projects. That work currently includes these areas:
- Exploring signaling in gingiva-derived stem cells that may influence anti-inflammatory functions
- Understanding mechanisms behind bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw, a condition for which there is no treatment
- Determining origins, properties and functions of oral cancer initiating cells, to develop new and effective therapies
As members of one of the world’s leading biomedical research communities, faculty from Penn Dental Medicine actively pursue interdisciplinary collaborations to advance the practice of dentistry and medicine. The University of Pennsylvania has top-ranked Schools in each of the health professions—Dental Medicine, Medicine, Nursing and Veterinary Medicine—located on a single, contiguous campus, as well as renowned Departments in Materials Sciences and Bioengineering (School of Engineering) and the basic sciences (School of Arts & Sciences). Interdisciplinary scholarship and translational research are hallmarks of the University and significantly enhance Penn Dental Medicine’s research enterprise.