What makes sci-ence exciting is that it is never static – one exper imenta l result leads to a new idea that eventually leads

DEPARTMENT OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES

April 2010, Volume 4, Issue 1

BMS NEWS

Human gingival fibroblasts on a 2D

matrix, revealing the expression of vinculin

at focal adhesions (Green). The nucleus

was stained with Hoechst dye (Blue)

and actin with Phalloidin 546 (Red). The overlap of actin

and vinculin at the edges displays

as yellow.

to an unforeseen discovery. Teach-ing is much the same – methods are improved and new technology intro-duced to make course instruction as effective as possible. The past year brought such changes in the activity of the Department of Biomedical Sci-ences that will impact short-term and long-term activities at Baylor College of Dentistry.

The hiring of the first bioengineer in the department and the funding of seed grants supported by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act mon-ies pointed BMS researchers toward developing biomimetic materials for tissue engineering applications. A second bioengineer will be hired in 2011 to augment this effort. Suc-cesses in this area will truly revolution-ize treatments for a variety of dental diseases. In addition, I am happy to report that two of our junior faculty members were successfully funded for their first major grant proposals, so their successes certainly enhance the

research profile of the department. The acquisition of a new confocal mi-croscope has given the department an improved tool for physiological experiments on live tissues and organ-cultured specimens. This capacity obviously enhances the quality and the amount of information gathered, which is needed for projects to move forward and produce significant results.

One of the challenges in dental education over the years has been the seeming disconnect between the basic science foundation laid in the initial years of instruction and the subsequent years of immersion in the clinical practice of dentistry. An initia-tive developed in BMS resulted in the creation of a new integrative scienc-es course that provided the students with instruction and practice in evalu-ating cases from a physiological, anatomical, pharmacological, and other basic sciences points of view. This type of approach will benefit the students in the short term, when they take their boards and face questions integrating the clinical with the basic, and in the long term, when they prac-tice dentistry in the “real” world.

I am proud that we have another Texas A&M Regents Professor in our

department. Dr. Kathy Svoboda was bestowed with this honor in 2009, and in 2010, Dr. Robert Hinton earned this prestigious title. I was honored as well in 2010 when I was elected Vice-Pres-ident of the American Association for Dental Research. At this critical junc-ture in dental academic research, I look forward to making a difference in my role in this organization. Several distinctions and awards were gained by faculty, students and postdoctoral fellows, as reported on page 10 of this newsletter.

I feel fortunate to serve as chair of one the few integrated Biomedi-cal Sciences departments found in American dental schools. Working in a unique department like this offers great benefits, like the successes and contributions to research and teach-ing produced by our faculty, as well as great challenges, such as uniting a department that is academically and ethnically diverse. Like science and teaching, this department is far from being static. This fifth annual newsletter showcases some of the department’s variety of activities dur-ing 2010.

Human gingival fibroblasts in which the nucleus is stained with Hoechst 33258 (Blue), actin is stained with Phalloidin 488 (Green), and vinculin is stained with Alexa Fluor 546 (Red).

Message from the ChairDr. Rena D’Souza

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Message from

p. 2

Teaching

p. 3

Research

p. 4 - 8

Department

p. 8 -12

Invited

p. 12-15

Contacting the

p. 18

Inside this issue:

Dr. Emet SchneidermanJeanne Santa Cruz

ProfessorsRena D’Souza, DDS, PhD, ChairPaul Dechow, PhD, Vice ChairLarry Bellinger, PhD, Associate Dean, Research and Graduate StudiesCharles Berry, PhD, Associate Dean, Academic Affairs Jian (Jerry) Feng, MD, PhDRobert Hinton, PhD; Director of Predoctoral Teaching and Faculty MentoringLynne Opperman, PhD, Director of Technology DevelopmentKathy Svoboda, PhD, GraduateProgram Director

Associate ProfessorsJay Groppe, PhDAllen Honeyman, PhDBob Hutchins, PhD, Director of Instructional TechnologyPhillip Kramer, PhDChunlin Qin, DDS, PhDEmet Schneiderman, PhDRobert Spears, PhDFred Williams, PhDBrendan Wong, PhD

Assistant ProfessorsM. Douglas Benson, PhDPaul Ezzo, DDS, PhDXiaohua Liu,PhDYongbo (Bob) Lu, MD, PhDGabriele Mues, MD, PhD Jayne Reuben, PhD L-Bruno Ruest, PhD

Adjunct & Joint FacultyBrad Amendt, PhD (TAMHSC Institute of Biosciences & TechnologyJacques Banchereau, PhD (Baylor Institute of Immunology Research)William Butler, PhDDavid Carlson, PhD (TAMHSC Office of Research and Graduate StudiesDamien Chaussabel, PhD (Baylor Institute of Immunology Research)Edward Ellis, DDS (UT Southwestern Medical Center)Mohammed El-Salanty, MD, PhD, (Medical College of Georgia)Richard Finnell, PhD (TAMHSC Institute of Bioscienes & Technology)David Genecov, MD (International Craniofacial Institute)Kenneth Hargreaves, DDS, PhD (UT Health Science Center, Dental School, San Antonio)Richard King, MD, PhD (University of Utah)

Adjunct & Joint Faculty continued:Joseph Newman, PhD (Baylor University Medical CenterEric Olson, PhD (UT Southwestern Medical Center)Anna Palucka, PhD (Baylor Institute of Immunology Research)Maria Pascual, PhD (Baylor Institute of Immunology Research)Kenneth E. Salyer, MD (World Craniofacial Foundation)Mikhail Samchukov, MD (Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children)Gottfried Schmalz, DDS, PhD (University of Regensburg, Germany)Fen Wang, PhD (TAMHSC Institute of Biosciences & Technology

Professors EmeritusPatricia Blanton, DDSRoy Dorris, PhDLoy Frazier, PhDTommy Gage, DDS, PhDJames McIntosh, PhDEdward Miller, Jr., PhDAlan Taylor, PhDMartin Wagner, PhD (deceased)Thomas Winford, PhD

Office StaffMarge PalmaNancy AnthonyDarla BensonJeanne Santa Cruz

Laboratory StaffAmanda BondsClaudia FernandezTian GaoMark HallmanHannah KongShannon KramerJan WesterlundKevin SpainLeben TeferaConnie TillbergLilin XiangSusan Yassin

Postdoctoral ResearchAssociatesZheng Guo Cao, PhDXianglong Han, DDS, PhDChangcheng Li, DDS, MSYing Liu, MD, MSShaun Logan, PhDSymone San Miguel, PhDMaria Serrano, DDSAmanda Strom, PhDYao Sun, DDS, PhDSuzhan Wang, DDSYing Wang, DDS, PhDXiaofang Wang, PhD

Postdoctoral ResearchAssociates continued:Hua Zhang, MD PhDQi Zhang, DDS, PhDRong Zhang, PhDYanping Zhang, MDQinglin Zhu, PhDZhaowen Zong, MD, PhD

Graduate StudentsRouba AssiAkshi AroraJohn BondsJulia ChangRoberto CarilloLeticia FerreiraHageer GlessaLakshmi GorugantulaElias KontogiorgosShuxian LinVeera MalaviaMohammed MansourMatt McBrideHoa NguyenMonica PrasadPavithra PugalagiriJyoti PuriAfsaneh RangianiSammer RazaqKatherine ReganAshneet SacharCara KesslerLeslie SmithYao SunShankar VenugopalanAnika VoiseyWendy VuAlbert Yamoah

Dental Student Research TraineesDestiny BeanEvan BlackwellBradley CrossfieldBen CurtisRyan DarrNima DeljavanLaura DinhAllison FieldsCorbin GatlinIda KhobahyGreg KnutsenChris LarrowBennett LarsenDavid McMullanRoland MiguelRichland MoselyDavid NguyenRosanna PuenteCara SmithAmeena TekbaliLarry TamSara VaughnBrad VermeulenJon WiddigRyan WilkinsonRyne Wilson

Teaching Highlights

Making Good Use of Student FeedbackStudents’ opinions and feedback are generally solicited at the completion of

courses as one means for instruc-tors to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching methods and gauge where improvements might be made. While students might think their written evaluations only end up in dusty file cabinets, never to be read after being turned in, student feedback has indeed been taken se-

The importance of student feedback has brought about changes and affirmed the benefits of ongoing methodology.

In Gross Anatomy, small group instruc-tion has been facilitated as a learn-ing aide. Several new cases were developed in conjunction with what the students were learning in their Evidence-based Dentistry course. Functional test questions were used in association with vignettes that will mimic those used on their national boards. CODA based competencies

were also supported by the compre-hensive testing of head and neck anatomy. Clinical correlations of the material studied were made with the help of several of the clinicians.

Clinical correlations were also part of the Neuroscience curriculum. In par-ticular, non-traditional course material emphasized the clinical application of nociceptive mechanisms underly-ing the management of pain. Test questions in this course were written using multi-disciplinary information relying on the concept outlined in

For a long time, the basic sciences and clinical sciences seemed to be worlds apart in dental school education. First-year dental students struggled through courses in physi-ology, anatomy, biochemistry and more, learning facts and memorizing terminology having to do with the biology of the human body. When the students’ second year in dental school began, their attention turned

-tistry, fixed and removable prosth-odontics, periodontics, and others. As they learned the protocols for various clinical dental procedures, the facts and terminology from the first year may have faded for many students. Thus, there seemed to be a disconnect between the basic sci-ence foundation laid in the D1 year and the subsequent clinical training.

Educators at some dental schools have once again tried to tackle the problem of integrating the scientific knowledge the students gain in the first year with the practice of clinical dentistry in the following three years. The rationale behind this movement is the belief that the traditional dental curriculum has not excelled at linking oral disease and dental care with overall health and physiology, espe-cially systemic disease. The students’ store of knowledge from their first year represents a potential source of information to be used for diag-

Bringing the Basic and Clinical Worlds Together

nosis and treatment planning but historically has been an untapped resource because of the invisible di-vide between the various basic and clinical science courses.

In 2010, Baylor College of Dentistry (BCD) joined a handful of other den-tal schools in the U.S. that have intro-duced integrative sciences courses into their curriculum. Led by Dr. Rena D’Souza and Dr. Charles Arcoria as course directors, the Biomedical Sci-ences (BMS) faculty began a new one-semester course with case-based examinations. Practice in an-swering case-based questions was offered in the BMS courses and also in sample questions posted on Black-board. After the initial offering of this course to the D1 students in Spring, 2010, modifications were made at the suggestion of the faculty and in response to feedback from the stu-dents. The course was thus moved to the Fall semester of the D2 year in order to include more of the D2 pre-clinical and basic science material in the case-based scenarios.

Another motivation for formally of-fering a course in the integration of the basic with the clinical sciences was that such exercises comprise 20% of the questions on the Na-tional Board Part 1 exam. Practic-ing this mode of questions in the integrative sciences course would

page 3Teaching Highlights

prepare the students well for this exam.

This “problem-based learning” ap-proach will support the American Dental Association Accreditation Standards stating that “Biomedical science knowledge must be of suffi-cient depth and scope for graduates to apply advances in modern biol-ogy to clinical cases and to integrate new medical knowledge and thera-pies relevant to oral health care” and that “Graduates must be competent in the use of critical thinking and problem solving related to the com-prehensive care of patients.”

Along the same lines, the Ameri-can Dental Education Association’s guidelines on the skills for the New Dentist also include competen-cies on “obtaining and interpreting

and using these findings to accurate-ly assess and manage all patients”. They also expect students to be able to “recognize the manifestations of systemic disease and how the dis-ease and its management may af-fect the delivery of dental care.”

The BCD faculty involved in this effort believe that integrating the basic with the clinical will better prepare students as they proceed through their clinical training.

continued page 7

Ephrin signaling controls palatal fu-sion independent of TGFß3

Embryonic chicken palates were cultured in the presence of recom-binant proteins comprised of either the extracellular domain of ephrin-B2 (to activate Eph forward signal-ing) or EphB2 (to activate ephrin-B reverse signaling) fused to human IgG Fc. Activation of signaling for both pathways requires clustering of the proteins, accomplished by pre-incubation with anti-Fc antibody. When applied in unclustered form, these proteins still bind their targets and act as competitive inhibitors to block signal activation.

Dr. Symone San Miguel (Benson Lab) and Dr. Maria Serrano (Svoboda Lab) found that activation of ephrin-B reverse signaling by incubation with clustered EphB2 protein caused fu-sion as efficiently as TGFß3, and more-over, that it did so without the action of TGFß3 (Figure 3). Indeed, addition of unclustered Eph protein to block ephrin reverse signaling abrogated the ability of TGFß3 to cause fusion. They also incubated embryonic

TGFß3 in this process signals to the transcription factor Twist1 through phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K).

The Benson Lab recently noted the expression of members of the Eph family of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and their membrane-bound ligands, the ephrins, in palate MEE before and during fusion. Mutations of at least one ephrin, ephrin-B1, are linked to human syndromes that include cleft palate. They therefore

plays a role in palatal EMT and fusion.

Ephrins are unique among RTK li-gands in that they can also function as receptors, transducing signals into the ephrin-bearing cell upon Eph binding from other cells (Figure 2).

This process is called “reverse sig-naling”, and is essential for diverse developmental events involving cell migration and tissue segregation. Thus, these studies examined contri-butions of both forward and reverse signaling using ex vivo palate fusion model systems.

page 4Research Highlights page 4

Studying the Developing PalateCleft palate is one of the most com-mon human birth defects, often resulting in difficulties in breathing, feeding, speech and dental devel-opment. Despite the frequency of cleft palate and other facial clefts, the molecular mechanisms underly-ing these malformations are not well understood. Drs. Kathy Svoboda, Douglas Benson and L-Bruno Ruest lead efforts to discover the root mo-lecular causes of faulty palate de-velopment such that these problems might be prevented before birth. In the meantime, Drs. Emet Schnei-derman and Kenneth Salyer are focused on the postnatal treatment of cleft patients; they are initiating clinical studies with an international consortium of cleft centers to iden-tify the surgical procedures that best facilitate normal post-natal growth. This issue of the BMS Newsletter high-lights the molecular research con-ducted in the Svoboda and Benson laboratories.

How the hard palate forms

While a child is still in utero, projections of mesenchymal tissue surrounded by a thin sheet of epithelium project vertically on each side of the tongue. As the fetus grows, these palatal shelves elevate over the tongue and grow to meet at the midline. There, the medial edge epithelium (MEE) of each adheres to the other. The MEE cells then undergo epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) while they migrate into the mesenchyme. They ultimately undergo apoptosis, leaving a confluent fused palate of mesenchyme (Figure 1).

Previous work found that EMT and fu-sion in mammals depends on local synthesis of transforming growth fac-tor beta 3 (TGFß3). Blockage of TGFß3 in mammalian palates abrogates fusion, and addition of exogenous TGFß3 to chicken palates (which do not make their own and do not nor-mally fuse) causes them to fuse. The Svoboda Lab discovered that the

Figure 1. Sequence of palate EMT and fusion.

Figure 3. Eph and ephrin effects on palate fusion. (A) Palatal shelves were dissected from eight day old chicken embryos and cultured in contact on a support for 72 h in the presence of specific treatments, as indicated.

Figure 2. Forward and reverse ephrin signaling.

A

continued page 5

page 5Research Highlights page 5

Figure 5. Model of ephrin and TGFß3 signal transduction in palate fusion. Ephrin and TGFßR signals intersect at a point upstream of PI3K, which is required for fusion. Other possible pathways from ephrin-Bs that do not go through PI3K are not diagrammed. Signals from Eph RTKs that induce partial fusion are unknown

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mouse palates (which naturally fuse in culture) with unclustered Eph pro-tein, and prevented disintegration of the MEE and fusion.

Addition of an inhibitor of PI3K to chicken palate cultures almost com-pletely inhibited Eph-induced fusion (Figure 4).

Together, these data demonstrate that ephrin reverse signaling is both necessary and sufficient to cause palatal EMT and fusion, and that it

requires the PI3K pathway to do so (Figure 5). Ongoing studies in the Benson and Svoboda labs focus on

and ephrin family members that me-diate EMT, 2) the signal transduction pathways downstream of ephrins in the palate, and 3) the molecular genetic mechanisms in MEE and mesenchyme that accompany the changes in cell identity and mobility leading to fusion.

Shown are representative H&E stained sections from each treatment. Note the darkened epithelial layer that disappears as fusion proceeds. H&E stained sections from anterior to posterior were scored on for fusion on a scale of 1 to 5 at anterior, middle, and posterior points and these scores averaged to yield the mean fusion score (MFS) shown. Values are ±SEM, with n=7 to 9 for each group across three separate experiments.

Six P30 Seed Grants Awarded

As reported in the 2010 BMS News-letter, TAMHSC Baylor College of Dentistry (BCD) was one of seven institutions in the U.S. to be award-ed grant funding through the NIH “Biomedical Research Core Cen-ters to Enhance Research Resourc-es” initiative, otherwise known as the “P30” grant mechanism. Dur-ing the two-year grant period, BCD’s $1.4 million award is being

has concentrated on the hiring of two new bioengineering faculty. The first of these bioengineers is Dr. Xiaohua Liu (see article on page 9). In the second phase, approxi-mately $250,000 in seed research funds is being made available to

the BCD faculty to develop bioen-gineering and translational re-search projects in collaboration with the new bioengineering facul-ty. The primary purpose of these seed funds is to generate prelimi-nary data for extramural grant sub-missions focusing on translational bioengineering research that pro-motes clinical treatment advances. These projects can be on topics such as craniofacial tissue regen-eration, bioengineering for bone, tooth and periodontium, biomi-metic approaches to novel implant design, biological interfaces for the delivery of therapeutics, delivery systems for novel TMJ therapeutics, device design, optimization, analy-

sis, and modeling, biomimetic scaf-fold design, nanostructured materi-als, stem cell-mediated approach-es, 3-D delivery systems, bioactive factors, and drug release devices. The awards may support transla-tional research combining both basic biomedical and clinical sci-ence approaches.

All full-time faculty at BCD, includ-ing clinicians, clinical and basic science researchers, early-career investigators (i.e., Instructors or As-sistant Professors), and senior inves-tigators, were eligible to apply in July 2010 for the first round of fund-ing. The grant administrators were looking for translational and clini-cal projects offering innovative so-

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B

(B) Embryonic day 14.5 mouse palates were cultured in the presence of unclustered EphA4/Fc soluble recombinant protein or IgG Fc control protein. H&E stained sections were scored for fusion. Values are ±SEM for n=14 palates over four independent experiments.

Figure 4. Effect of PI3K inhibition on Eph-induced palate fusion. Chicken palates grown in TGFß3 or EphB2 alone fused almost completely. Addition of the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 abrogated fusion with either TGFß3 or clustered EphB2/Fc.

page 6Research Highlights page 6

lutions for problems in oral health care.The following faculty were award-ed seed grants funded for one year by the NIH P30 grant program, “Baylor’s Program for Bioengineer-ing Sciences and Translational

Dr. Jerry Feng, Department of Bio-

1A (Bmp1a) null osteoblast cells ac-

Dr. Takashi Komabayashi, Depart-

endodontic inter-canal medica-tion for open apex permanent teeth using an intelligent release system of calcium hydroxide”

Dr. Phillip Kramer, Department of Bio--

crospheres and TMJ pain treatment”

Dr. Paula Ortiz, Department of Peri--

ery of TNF- on periodontal disease”

Dr. Chunlin Qin, Department of

biomimetic nano-structured scaf-fold in osteogenesis”

Dr. Kathy Svoboda, Department -

izing cell scaffold interactions in real time”

The co-investigator on each of these projects is Dr. Xiaohua Liu, who is an expert in bioengineering studies on topics such as biomimet-ic nano-structured scaffolds and microsphere technology.

continued from page 5

Engagement Through Professional Meetings

One important aspect of the life of faculty and students is attendance at professional meetings where they have opportunities to share their research or teaching methodology, learn about new ideas in their field of expertise, and meet others with the same interests who may become collaborators and colleagues. BMS faculty and students are no different. In addition to attending the annual meetings of professional organizations such as the American Association for Dental Research and the Society for Neuroscience, members of the department participated in other scientific forums where they gave presentations as well as attended presentations.

The 10th International Conference on the Chemistry and Biology of Mineralized Tissues (ICCBMT) was held in Scottsdale, Arizona, from

th to 12th, 2010. The goal of the meeting was to present the most recent information about the structure, function and interactions of the mineral, matrix, and cellular components of bones, teeth and other mineralized vertebrate and invertebrate tissues of the body. A contingent of BMS faculty and students attended the meeting

and gave the following oral and

Dr. Rena D’Souza – Molecular insights into BMP4-dependent signaling during tooth morphogenesis

Dr. Yao Sun – Failure to process dentin matrix protein 1 into fragments leads to the loss of its function in osteogenesis and dentinogenesis

Dr. Afsaneh Rangiani – Unique roles of DMP1 and phosphate in hard tissues

Dr. Xianglong Han – A marrow “guardian” cell inhibits marrow space mineralization and

sclerostin expression

Anika Voisey – ALK3 controls the

signaling pathway

Dr. Jay Groppe – In vitro analyses

ACVR1 kinase linked to heterotopic ossification in FOP

Katherine Regan – Bioactive multidomain peptides and their application for dental tissue regeneration

Posters were also presented by BMS

Qinglin Zhu, Yao Sun, Yongbo Lu, Xiaofang Wang, Monica Prasad, Albert Yamoah, Jian Q. Feng,

Chunlin Qin. Proteolytic processing of dentin sialophosphoprotein (DSPP) were blocked by substitutions of amino acid residues at cleavage sites.

Xiaofang Wang, Yixia Xie, Janjun Hao, Brianda Hernandez, Yao Sun, Albert Yamoah, Monica Prasad, Qinglin Zhu, Jian Q. Feng, Chunlin Qin. The expression of FAM20C (DMP4) in the tooth and skeleton indicates a unique role of this protein in odontogenesis and osteogenesis.

Yao Sun, Monica Prasad, Albert Yamoah, Jian Q. Feng, Chunlin Qin. Detection of small integrin-binding ligand, N-linked glycoprotein (SIBLING) family members in the rat brain.

Kerstin M. Galler, Katherine R. Regan, Gottfried Schmalz, Jeffrey D. Hartgerink, Rena N. D’Souza. Growth factor-binding to self-assembling peptide hydrogels for dental tissue regeneration.

Yongbo Lu, Yucheng Li, Adriana Cavender, Alka Mansukhani, Rena D’Souza. Runx2 controls FGF

heterodimers.

Afsaneh Rangiani, Rong Zhang, Omar Ashraf, Baozhi Yuan, Yixia Xie, Chunlin Qin, Makoto Kuro-o, Jian Q. Feng. Unique roles of DMP1 and

continued page 7

Research Highlights

Members of BMS who attended ICCBMT

phosphate in hard tissues.

X. Han, J. Gluhak-Heinrich, Y. Sun, T. Gao, W. Yang, M.A. Harris, C. Qin, L.F. Bonewald, S.E. Harris, Jian Q. Feng. A marrow “guardian” cell inhibits marrow space mineralization and trabecularization through

A. Voisey, L. Ye, Q. Tian, H. Qin, S. Shi, R. D’Souza, C. Liu, J. Feng. ALK3 controls the

signaling pathway.

Monica Prasad, Yao Sun, Xiaofang Wang, Qinglin Zhu, Jian Q. Feng, Chunlin Qin. Role of the NH2-terminal fragment of dentin sialophosphoprotein (DSPP) in biomineralization.

The first-ever Texas A&M Health Science Center Research Symposium was held on November 11-12, 2010, in College Station, TX. This event was organized to encourage scientific exchange among members of the HSC components, including both faculty and trainees (graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and residents), and research technicians. The planning committee included faculty representatives from the College of Medicine, Institute

continued from page 6

of Biosciences and Technology, Rangel College of Pharmacy, and School of Rural Public Health, and Baylor College of Dentistry. The organizers from Baylor College of Dentistry were Drs. Chunlin Qin and L-Bruno Ruest.

Presentations in both oral and poster formats were given in several broad

biology and stem cell research; infection and inflammation; cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, neuroscience, and translational medicine and core centers. The presentations given by BMS faculty

OralL. Bruno Ruest. Twist1 functionduring mandibular development.

Rena N. D’Souza, Application of developmental principles to tooth-

specific regenerative strategies.

Phillip Kramer. Blockade of the GABAA receptor 6 reduced the nociceptive response in an inflamed temporomandibular joint.

PosterLarry L. Bellinger, Jenny He and Phillip R. Kramer. The use of meal duration (MD) as a behavioral marker of tooth pain in

male rats.

Chunlin Qin, Yao Sun, Rena D’Souza, Jian Q. Feng. Proteolytic processing of dentin matrix protein is essential to the formation of bone and dentin.

Maria J. Serrano, Kathy K.H. Svoboda. Mouse genotype alters palatal fusion response to nicotine.

Symone M. San Miguel, Maria J. Serrano, Ashneet Sachar, Kathy K. Svoboda, M. Douglas Benson. Ephrin modulation of palate fusion.

Xiaohua Liu and P.X. Ma. Biomimetic nano-structured scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.

Lynne Opperman, Elias D. Kontogiorgos, Mohammed E. Elsalanty, T. Mulone, Paul C. Dechow. Development of a novel bone transport reconstruction plate.

the previous article (“Bringing the Ba-sic and Clinical Worlds Together”) to stress the integration of the biomedi-cal sciences. Extra credit assignments were also used to stress the impor-

tance of critically evaluating current research as it applies to dentistry.

Feedback from the students in these and other courses helps the instructors

know when they are on the right track or when the track may need to be redirected. In this sense, the students become partners with the instructors as they develop their clinical skills.

continued from page 3

page 8Research Highlights / Department News page 8

A Rewarding Year for Dr. Hinton

The year 2010 was a year for Dr. Rob-ert Hinton to shine. He was honored by the Texas A&M University System as a recipient of the prestigious Re-gents Professor Award and by his department as the 2010 Golden Apple Educator Award winner. Both awards are conferred on those who contribute significantly to the mis-sion of the college.

On August 10, 2010, Dr. Hinton was presented with the Golden Apple Award during the D1 luncheon by Dr.

Rena D’Souza, Chair of Biomedical Sciences. She initiated this biennial award in 2008 as a way to recognize dedicated and outstanding instruc-tors in the Department of Biomedi-cal Sciences.

Dr. Hinton’s Regents Professor award was announced on December 2, 2010. This award is bestowed annu-ally by the A&M System’s Board of Regents in recognition of awardees’ exemplary contributions to their uni-versity or agency and to the people

of Texas. In all, 11 A&M System faculty members were designated Regents Professors for 2009-10. Dr. Hinton was one of only two recipients from the Texas A&M Health Science Center.

Dr. Hinton is professor and director of undergraduate teaching and faculty mentoring in the Depart-ment of Biomedical Sciences. He has concentrated his teaching ef-forts on the Gross Anatomy course to the first-year dental students, and the Biomedical Sciences course to

continued page 9

Figure 1. Contrasts corresponding micrographs of undecalcified bone taken with the Leica TCS confocal microscope (upper panel) with µ-ct im-ages (lower panel). Sections a and c are control specimins; b and d are 12-week regenerate bone created by bone transport osteogenesis.

The newest high-end research in-strument for the BCD faculty, train-ees and staff arrived in November 2010. This new confocal microscope, the Leica TCS SP5, substantially in-creased the research capabilities of BCD’s existing light microscope facility. The TCS SP5 can detect at least four signal wavelengths and will be available for physiological experiments on live tissues and organ-cultured specimens. It was obtained through an NIH shared in-strumentation grant funded by the American Recovery and Reinvest-ment Act stimulus money allocated to NIH in 2009.

BCD’s old confocal microscope, a Leica TCS SP2 Confocal Scanning Laser Microscope (CSLM), was over 10 years old with over 5,500 logged hours on the lasers. The new micro-scope has several features that will offer users a faster scan rate, wider field and longer working distance objectives in a controlled environ-ment. It strengthens the current BCD core facilities for ongoing studies and future projects arising after the capabilities of the micro-scope have been fully explored. Faculty, students, postdoctoral fel-lows and technicians needing to use the instrument will be trained in its operation. Instrument utiliza-tion will also be integrated into the

appropriate graduate courses that include practical research appli-cations, such as Techniques in Cell and Molecular Biology, and Mi-croscopy. Besides being a tool that current faculty, staff, and students can use, it will also be beneficial for the recruitment of new students, postdoc toral fellows and basic sci-ence faculty.

Dr. Kathy Svoboda is the Principal Investigator of the half million-dollar grant that funded the new micro-scope. Other participants on the grant application were Drs. Rena D’Souza, Jerry Feng, Phillip Kramer, Chunlin Qin, Bruno Ruest, Robert Spears, Douglas Benson, Lynne Op-perman, and Avadhesh Sharma. The Biomedical Sciences Resource

New Microscope Enhances BCD’s Research Capabilities

Dr. Kathy Svoboda with Dr. Ashneet Sachar seated at the microscope.

Committee, composed of Dr. Allen Honeyman (chair) and Drs. Kramer, Opperman, Ruest and Svoboda, will oversee the policies and use of the new instrument.

Figure 1 shows examples of photos of speci-mens taken under the microscope.

a b

c d

page 9Department News

Bioengineer joins BMS faculty

In addition to the Biomedi-cal Sciences faculty spe-cializing in dis-ciplines such as physiology, microbiology, and anatomy, the depart-Dr. Xiaohua Liu

ment now has a specialist in bioen-gineering. This most recently hired faculty member in the department is Dr. Xiaohua Liu, who joined Baylor College of Dentistry in July 2010.

Dr. Liu was previously a postdoc-toral fellow in the Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, where he studied bio-mimetic scaffold design and fabri-cation for tissue engineering, novel biodegradable polymer synthesis and characterization, and con-

trolled drug and protein delivery for tissue engineering. His research projects included developing in-jectable scaffolds for bone and cartilage tissue engineering, bio-mimetic computer-aided design techniques for scaffolding design and fabrication, and novel surface modification techniques of scaf-folds for bone tissue engineering.

Hiring Dr. Liu was made possible by an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) P30 grant whose specific purpose was to hire two first-time faculty who would add expertise in tissue regenera-tion to the department in an effort to bridge the gap between basic and clinical research. The grant also provided seed grant funds for Baylor College of Dentistry faculty to develop projects in collabora-tion with these newly hired bioengi-neers (see article on p. 5).

Dr. Liu was educated at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, where he earned a B.E. in Chemical Engineer-ing and a Ph.D. in Polymer Chem-istry. He began a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michi-gan in 2002 under the direction of Dr. Peter X. Ma. His research results have appeared in 26 published ar-ticles and five book chapters, and he has given oral presentations at meetings within the United States and in China, the Netherlands, and Australia.

Dr. Liu was the recipient of the Changxing Graduate Scholarship (2000-2001) given to the top 5% outstanding graduate students at Tsinghua University, the GuangHua

and the Aptitude Student Award of -

sented to the top 3% outstanding undergraduate students.

the dental hygiene students, and courses in craniofacial growth and development to the graduate stu-dents. He has also participated in teaching the summer enrichment courses to high school and col-lege students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are interested in dentistry. He has consistently re-ceived high ratings in student eval-uations and has been nominated several times for the BCD “Teacher of the Year” award.

In addition to his formal duties in the classroom and laboratory settings, Dr. Hinton dedicates a significant amount of effort toward guiding entry-level faculty in their first teach-ing assignments and carving out their career development plans. He

continued from page 8

works tirelessly behind the scenes to guide and improve through innovation the teaching activ-ity in BMS and at Baylor College of Dentistry. One of Dr. Hinton’s most important achievements has been

in the area of curriculum de-velopment. Three years ago he led the efforts to submit an Oral Health Research Edu-cation (R25) grant introduc-ing instruction in evidence-based dentistry (EBD) to the dental students. The grant was successfully funded by the National Institute of Den-tal & Craniofacial Research and is now entering its third

year of activity. Its primary purpose is to support the introduction of EBD content and experiences into all four years of the DDS curriculum while creating faculty development experiences that complement this endeavor.

Dr. D’Souza and Dr. Hinton are pictured during the presentation of the Golden Apple Award.

page 10Department NewsAwards and Honors

Dr. Robert Hinton was designated as a Regents Professor by the Texas A&M University System and was also the recipient of the BMS departmental distinction, the Golden Apple Award (see page 8 for complete article).

Dr. Robert Hinton

Dr. Maria Serrano, postdoctoral fellow in Biomedical Sciences, was selected as one of six recipients of the 2010 Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Postdoc-toral Professional Development Award. Dr. Serrano is mentored by Dr. Kathy Svoboda. The award was sponsored by the Na-tional Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health. As an award winner, Dr. Serrano was given a $3,000 unrestricted career development award and certificate of recognition. She used part of her award to attend a three-day lecture and laboratory course at the National Institutes of Health on Immunofluorescence and Confocal Microscopy. Dr. Serrano also received a travel award up to $2,450 to support her travel to a national scientific meeting.

Dr. Maria Serrano

A postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Jerry Feng’s lab, Dr. Xianglong Han, was the recipient of the ASBMR (American Society for Bone and Mineral Research) Young Investigator Travel Award that he used to attend the ASBMR annual meeting in Toronto on October 15-19, 2010.

Dr. Xianglong Han

Dr. Kathy Svoboda, was named a Silver Fellow by the Association for Research in Vision and Opthalmology (ARVO).

Dr. Kathy Svoboda

Three Ph.D. students, Afsaneh Rangiani, Anika Voisey, and Katherine Regan, each won a Travel Award to attend the International Conference on the Chemistry and

mentored by Dr. Jerry Feng, and Katherine is mentored by Dr. Rena D’Souza.

Afsaneh Ragiani Anika Voisey Katherine Regan

page 11

The office member who has nightmares about being chased by stacks of course manuals in giant binders is Darla Benson, Lead Office Assistant. It’s no dream, she does have to work with the course manuals written by the department faculty who teach all the basic sci-ence courses to the dental and dental hygiene stu-dents. She is responsible for ordering binders, get-ting the manuals printed in BCD’s print shop, and stuffing the binders with all

Department News Action Central: The Biomedical Sciences Department Office

Not for the faint of heart, the Biomedical Sci-ences Department of-fice is the place where problems are solved, crises are averted, and multi-tasking abounds. Four dedicated em-ployees with nerves of steel, each with her own special domain of responsibilities and expertise, shoulder the many duties of working with a large group of faculty educators and researchers, labora-tory assistants, dental students, and graduate students.

The buck stops with Marge Palma, Senior Administrative Coordinator. That’s because she keeps track of the many accounts that pay the departmental bills. Think it’s hard to keep your personal bank account balanced? Marge has 56 depart-ment accounts to track, including state accounts, grant accounts, and individual faculty accounts. She facilitates and approves pur-chases needed by faculty and staff and is an expert at ordering such diverse items as liquid nitro-gen, rats, and body bags. Besides money matters, Marge is respon-

-neuvers through the complicated maze of regulations involved in hir-ing departmental faculty and staff. Once they are hired, she oversees the hourly employees who use the online TimeTraq system to report their hours worked, the LeaveTraq system all employees must access to request the use of sick and va-cation leave, and she ensures that all departmental faculty and staff have completed their required Traintraq training in various sub-jects. Marge keeps everybody on the right traq, though it’s not easy. She is the “go-to” person when so-lutions to daily problems of various

kinds are not evident and deals with each situation with equanim-ity and patience.

Nancy Anthony, Administrative As-sistant, has her finger on the pulse of the entire department. She knows who is present or absent, where the Cell and Molecular Biology course is meeting this se-mester, why that old chair is sitting in the hallway and when each faculty member generally arrives each morning. Her duties include assisting the department Chair with her calendar and travel ar-rangements and providing support to the Graduate Program Director by getting the students enrolled in their courses each semester and answering questions for prospec-tive M.S. and Ph.D. students. With sensitivity and neighborliness, she advises potential body donors and their families about the Willed Body Program; once the donors are de-ceased, she sees to the transport-ing of their bodies to BCD. Nancy processes travel reimbursements after the faculty have attended scientific meetings and other professional events, and she also processes financial documents. Nancy is a welcoming presence in the department that many visitors have appreciated over the years.

L-R, Nancy Anthony, Marge Palma, Jeanne Santa Cruz, Darla Benson

those manuals, some of which may be several hundred pages long. Then she must cleverly figure out how to stack up all 100 manuals per course in her work room in the most efficient way since she sometimes has two or three courses-worth of manuals to get ready at the same time. The final step is to distribute the manuals to eager students whose enthusiasm may be some-what tempered when they see how big some of the manuals are, but Darla’s pleasant demeanor immediately helps them accept the inevitable. As each course pro-gresses, she sees that quizzes and exams are copied and stuffs them with scantrons. She is truly the in-structors’ right hand and plays an important role in the teaching mis-sion of the department. Besides these duties, Darla also processes invoices for payment.

Just mind your “p’s and q’s” when you’re around Jeanne Santa Cruz, Education Specialist. Her job in-volves a lot of writing, so she is familiar with the finer points of Eng-lish, like the difference between “lie” and “lay” and when to use subjunctive verbs. She assists the department chair and faculty with drafting documents of all shapes and sizes, such as correspondence and reports, and edits scientific

continued page 12

page 12Department Newscontinued from page 11

manuscripts and grants to smooth out the prose. She sometimes even writes newsletter articles. Jeanne is also the department webmaster – she’s no geek but has learned to negotiate the idiosyncrasies of the “Content Management System” software to create pages about the BMS faculty and staff, the research programs and other departmental activities. In addition, she serves as the staff administrator of the NIH T32 training grant that supports stu-dents interested in a career com-

bining dentistry with research.

Marge, Nancy, Darla, and Jeanne keep the department moving forward each day as they juggle a multitude of tasks, solve unex-pected problems, deal with the many personalities in the depart-ment, and leap over tall buildings. “They are a remarkable group in that not only do they perform all of their myriad functions effectively and professionally, but each one of them is always kind, thought-

ful, and helpful. This is no mean feat given some of the pressures that come to bear,” says Dr. Rena D’Souza, Department Chair.

These four hard workers share the opinion that one of the cable channels could easily create a popular reality show about daily life in the BMS department office ! but probably no one would believe that all the things they experience each day could really happen.

Invited PresentationsInvited presentations

D’Souza R. Overview of Current and Critical Issues Related to NIH Funding, Hispanic Dental Association Meeting, Chicago; October 29-30, 2010.

D’Souza R. Guest Lecturer, Graduate Endodontics Program, Temple University, Philadelphia; October 4, 2010.

D’Souza R. Short Course on Tissue Engineering, Rice University, Houston; August 11, 2010.

D’Souza R. International Symposium on Tissue Injury and Pulp Regeneration, Geneva, Switzerland; July 18-20, 2010.

D’Souza R. IADR Symposium #99, Genetic Regulation -

niofacial Biology and Mineralized Tissue Sections; July 15, 2010.

D’Souza R. Wuhan-Baylor Symposium on Craniofacial -

note lectures).

D’Souza R. Inaugural Meeting of the Shanghai Cranio-facial Research Center, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine; May 31, 2010.

Qin C. First Clinical College of Harbin Medical Univer-sity, Harbin, China; June 11, 2010.

Qin C. Fourth Military Medical University College of Stomatology. Xi’An, China; June 14, 2010.

Qin C. Jilin University College of Stomatology, Chang-chun, China; June 14, 2010.

Qin C. Harbin Medical University College of Stomatol-

Qin C. Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY; July 28, 2010.

Reuben J. Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, Charlotte, NC; November 10, 2010.

Ruest LB. 1st Texas A&M Health Science Center Re-search Symposium, College Station, TX; 2010.

Spears R. Introduction to Dentistry and Baylor College of Dentistry (lecture series to Biomedical Sciences stu-dents), Texas A&M University; February 2010, Septem-ber, 2010.

Spears R. TAMU PreDent Organization, Texas A&M Uni-versity; September 2010.

Spears R. Second-year medical students in Integra-tive Sciences course, TAMHSC College of Medicine; November 2010.

Spears R. Introduction to Dentistry and Baylor College of Dentistry; 4 separate lectures to Biomedical Sci-ences students, Texas A&M University.

Svoboda K. Orofacial Clefting in Mouse Models sym-posium; American Association for Dental Research annual meeting; Washington, D.C.; March 2010.

Infrastructure and Training Grants; Experimental Biol-ogy annual meeting; April 2010.

continued page 13

page 13page 13Invited Presentations / Publications -

mental and Comparative Perspectives symposium; Experimental Biology annual meeting; April 2010.

Publications

Bellinger LL, Wellman PJ, Harris RB, Kelso EW, Kramer PR. The effects of chronic nicotine on meal patterns, food intake, metabolism and body weight of male rats.

Benson MD, Opperman LA. Regulation of calvarial bone growth by molecules involved in the craniosyn-

-agnosis and Treatment. Muenke M, Kress W, Collmann H, Solomon BD, eds.; KargerAG, Basel, 2010.

Callis AN, McCann AL, Schneiderman ED, Babler WJ, Lacy ES, Hale DS. Application of basic science to clini-

Cao Z, Jiang B, Xie Y, Liu C, Feng JQ. GEP, a local growth factor, is critical for odontogenesis and amelo-

Dechow P, Wang Q, Peterson J. Edentulation alters material properties of cortical bone in the human

-

Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary

D’Souza R, Ruest LB, Hinton R, Svoboda K. Develop-ment of the craniofacial complex. Topics in Bone

10), Bronner F, Farach-Carson MC and Roach HI, eds.; Springer, 2010.

Feng JQ, Guo FJ, Jiang BC, Frenkel S, Zhang Y, Wang D, Tang W, Xie Ybond morphogenic protein 2-inducible growth factor

92, 2010.

Foley CH, Kerns DG, Hallmon WW, Rivera-Hidalgo F, Nelson CJ, Spears R, Dechow PC, Opperman LA. Ef-fect of phosphate treatment of acid-etched implants on mineral apposition rates near implants in a dog

Galler KM, Aulisa L, Regan K, D’Souza RN and Hartger-ink JD. Self-assembling multidomain peptide hydro-

allows enhanced cell migration and spreading. J Am

Galler KM, D’Souza RN, Hartgerink JD. Biomaterials and their potential applications for dental tissue engi-

Gericke A, Qin C, Sun Y, Redfern R, Redfern D, Fujimoto Y, Taleb H, Butler WT, Boskey AL. Different forms of DMP1 play distinct roles in mineralization. J Dent Res

Gluhak-Heinrich J, Guo D, Yang W, Harris MA, Lichtler A, Kream B, Zhang J, Feng JQ, Smith LC, Dechow P, Harris SE. New roles and mechanism of action of BMP4

45, 2010.

Gordon M, DeSantis A, Deshmukh M, Lacey C, Hahn R, Beloni J, Anumolu S, Schlager J, Gallo M, Gerecke D, Heindel N, Svoboda K, Babin M, Sinko P. Doxycycline hydrogels as a potential therapy for ocular vesicant

Harrington E, Coon D, Kern M and Svoboda K. PTH stimulated growth and decreased Col-X deposition are phosphotidylinositol-3,4,5 triphosphate kinase (P13K) and mitogen activating protein kinase (MAPK) dependent in avian sterna. Anatomical Record

He D, Genecov DG, Herbert M, Barcelo CR, Elsalanty MR, Weprin RE, Opperman LA. The effect of rhBMP-2 on bone regeneration in large defects of the growing canine skull after dura mater replacement with a dura

Hu J, Smith L, Feng K, Liu X, Sun H, Ma P. Response of human embryonic stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells to osteogenic factors and architectures of materials during in vitro osteogenesis. Tissue Engineer-

Hutchins B. A self-testing guide to the bony features of the temporal bone. Med Ed PORTAL, ADEA.

Jiang B, Cao Z, Lu Y, Janik C, Lauziere S, Xie Y, Poliard A, Qin C, Ward LM, Feng J. DMP1 C-terminal mutant mice recapture the human ARHR tooth phenotype. J

Kaplan F, Groppe J, Seeman P, Pignolo R, Shore E. Fi-

implications of a novel metamorphogene. Bone De-velopment (Vol. 6). Topics in Bone Biology, Chapter 14; Bronner, Farah-Carson & Roach, eds., 2010.

Kramer I, Halleux C, Keller H, Pegurri M, Gooi JH, Wecontinued page 14

continued from page 12

page 14Publications continued from page 11page 14Publications

continued page 15

continued from page 13

ber PB, Feng JQ, Bonewald LF, Kneissel M. Osteocyte

Kramer PR, Kerins CA, Schneiderman E, Bellinger LL. Measuring persistent temporomandibular joint noci-ception in rats and two mice strains. Physiol Behav

Kramer PR, Puri J, Bellinger LL. Knockdown of Fc re-ceptor III in an arthritic temporomandibular joint re-duces the nociceptive response in rats. Arthritis Rheum

Liu X, Ma P. The nanofibrous architecture of poly (L-lactic acid)-based functional copolymers. Biomateri-

Lv K, Huang H, Lu Y, Qin C, Li Z, Feng J. Circling behavior developed in Dmp1 null mice is due to bone defects in

McCann AL, Schneiderman E, Hinton R. E-teaching and learning preferences of dental and dental hy-

Mues G, Tardivel A, Willen L, Kapadia H, Seaman R, Frazier-Bowers S, Schneider P, and D’Souza RN. Func-tional analysis of Ectodysplasin-A mutations causing

2010.

Muhney K, Dechow P. Patients’ perception of pain dur-

piezoelectric and magnetostrictive scalers. J Dent

Paschalia M, David CS, Antonios GM, Kramer PR. Intra-articular microparticles for drug delivery to the rat TMJ.

Pickard M, Dechow P, Rossouw P, Buschang P. Effects of miniscrew orientation on implant stability and re-sistance to failure. Am J Ortho and Dentofac Ortho

Prasad M, Butler WT, Qin C. Dentin sialophosphopro-

Sanjideh PA, Rossouw PE, Campbell PM, Opperman LA, Buschang PH. Tooth movements in foxhounds af-ter one or two alveolar corticotomies. Euro J Orthod

San Miguel SM, Opperman LA, Allen EP, Zielinski J, Svoboda K. Antioxidants counteract nicotine and pro-

mote migration via RacGTP in oral fibroblast cells. J

Shi J, Jiao X, Song T, Zhang B, Qin C, Cao F. CRISPLD2 polymorphisms are associated with non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate in a northern Chi-

Smith L, Liu X, Hu J, Ma P. The enhancement of human embryonic stem cell osteogenic differentiation with

2010.

Strait D, Grosse I, Dechow P, Smith A, Wang Q, et al. The structural rigidity of the cranium of australopithecus

and the allometry of feeding biomechanics. Anat

Sun Y, Gandhi M, Prasad M, Yu X, Wang X, Zhu Q, Feng JQ, Hinton R, Qin C. Distribution of small integrin-binding ligand, N-linked glycoproteins (SIBLING) in the condylar cartilage of rat mandible. Int J Oral Maxil-

Sun Y, Prasad M, Gao T, Wang Y, Zhu Q, D’Souza RN, Feng JQ and Qin C. Failure to process Dentin Matrix Protein 1 (DMP1) into fragments leads to its loss of func-

Sun Y, Lu Y, Chen S, Prasad M, Wang X, Zhu Q, Zhang J, Ball H, Feng J, Butler WT, Qin C. Key proteolytic cleavage site and full-length form of DSPP. J Dent Res

Sun Y, Ma X, Zhou J, Yamoah A, Feng JQ, Hinton RJ, Qin C. Expression and distribution of small integrin-binding ligand, N-linked glycoproteins (SIBLING) in the articular cartilage of the rat femoral head. J Histochem Cyto-

Susan C, Shiavi Q, Feng J. Osteocytes and mineral me-

The Spectrum of Renal Osteodystrophy and Vascular Calcifications in Uremia; Oxford University Press, 2010.

Van Bebber L, Campbell PM, Honeyman AL, Spears R, Buschang PH. Does the amount of filler content in sealants used to prevent decalcification on smooth enamel surfaces really matter? Angle Orthodontist

Wang J, Liu X, Jin X, Ma H, Hu J, Ni L, Ma P. The odonto-genic differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells on nanofibrous poly (l-lactic acid) scaffolds in vitro

continued page 16

Wang Q, Ashley D, Dechow P. Regional, ontogenetic, and sex-related variations in elastic properties of corti-cal bone in baboon mandibles. Am J Phys Anthrop

Wang X, Hao J, Xie Y, Sun Y, Hernandez B, Yamoah AK, Prasad M, Zhu Q, Feng JQ, Qin C. Expression of FAM20C in the osteogenesis and odontogenesis of

Wei W, Wang X, Yang M, Smith L, Dechow P, Sonoda J, Evans R, Wan Y. PGC1 mediates PPAR activation of osteoclastogenesis and rosiglitazone-induced bone

Zapata U, Elsalanty ME, Dechow PC, Opperman LA. Biomechanical configurations of mandibular trans-port distraction osteogenesis devices. Tissue Eng Part

Zapata U, Metzger K, Wang Q, Elsey R, Ross C, Dechow P. Material properties of mandibular cortical bone in the American alligator, alligator mississippiensis. Bone

Zhang B, Sun Y, Chen L, Guan C, Guo L, Qin C. Ex-pression and distribution of SIBLING proteins in the

Zhou X, Zhang Z, Feng JQ, Dusevich VM, Sinha K, Zhang H, Darney BG, de Crombrugghe B. Multiple functions of Osterix are required for bone growth and homeostasis in postnatal mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci

Zhu Q, Sun Y, Prasad M, Wang X, Yamoah AK, Li Y, Feng J, Qin C. Glycosaminoglycan chain of dentin sialopro-

Leadership

D’Souza R, Benson MD. Reviewer, Journal of Bone and Mineral Research; Journal of Trace Elements in Medi-cine and Biology.

Dechow P. Member, Postdoctoral Award committee, American Association of Anatomists.

Dechow P. Member FASEB committee to organize symposium and white paper on translation research initiatives in basic science; chair of subcommittee on Opportunities in Translational Research.

Dechow P. Editorial Board member, The Open Den-tistry Journal; The Open Anthropology Journal.

Dechow P. Reviewer Board, Anatomical Record.

Dechow P. Grant Review Boards for National Science Foundation (Physical Anthropology section; Organis-mal Biology section).

Dechow P. Ad hoc reviewer for Journal of Anatomy, Archives or Oral Biology, Anatomical Record, Journal of Dental Research, American Journal of Physical An-thropology, Bone, Journal of Dental Education.

D’Souza R. AADR Vice-President.

D’Souza R. Member, AADR Board of Directors; IADR and AADR Research Councils; Finance Committee; Annual Sessions Committee; IADR Regional Develop-ment Committee; Science Information Committee.

D’Souza R. Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Den-

Medicine.

D’Souza R. Member, NIDCR National Advisory Dental and Craniofacial Research Council.

D’Souza R. Chair, Oral Biology Section, American Den-tal Education Association.

D’Souza R. Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Scientific Program Committee.

Groppe J. Ad hoc reviewer, National Health & Medi-cal Research Council, Australia.

Hinton R. Organizer and presenter at symposium -

ship within the Dental Curriculum REVISITED. American Dental Education Association meeting, Washington, D.C.

Hinton R. Member, ADA Test Construction Committee (Anatomical Sciences section).

Hinton R. Ad hoc reviewer for Bone, J Dental Research, Arch Oral Biology.

Honeyman A. Editorial Board Member, Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, Journal of Bacteriology.

Honeyman A. Reviewer, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, Applied and Environmental Microbiol-ogy, Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

Hutchins B. Basic Science Consultant, Commission on Dental Accreditation.

page 15continued from page 14

page 15Publications/Leadership

page 16Leadership page 16continued from page 15

continued page 17

Hutchins B. Member, American Dental Association, National Board Exam, Part 1 Testlet Committee.

Kramer P. Editorial Board Member, Open Tissue Engi-neering & Regenerative Medicine, The Open Rheu-matology Journal.

Kramer P. Reviewer, Stem Cells and Development, European Journal of Pain, Tissue Engineering, Oral Pa-thology and Medicine.

Kramer P. Grant reviewer, NIDCR study section ZRG1 MOSS-N.

Lu Y. Oral Session chair, AADR annual meeting.

Liu X. Reviewer, Acta Biomaterialia, Biomaterials, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Parts A and B, Annals of Biomedical Engineering, Journal of Bio-

Biointerfaces.

Mues G. Reviewer, Orthodontics and Craniofacial Re-search, Journal of Dental Research, Clinical Genetics.

Opperman L. Life Sciences Committee, Technol-ogy Business Council, Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce.

Opperman L. Member, Program Committee, Ameri-can Association of Anatomists.

Opperman L. Member, Executive Board, American As-sociation of Anatomists.

Opperman L. Member, Editorial Board, Developmen-tal Dynamics, Frontiers in Craniofacial Biology.

Opperman L. Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Journal of Endodontics.

Panel for P01 grants.

Opperman L. Grant reviewer, National Research Foundation of South Africa.

Qin C. Editorial Board member, Journal of Dental Re-search, Journal of Endodontics.

-sue Group.

Qin C. Session chair, AADR annual meeting (Wash-ington, D.C.); 10th International Conference on the

Chemistry and Biology of Mineralized Tissues.

Research Careers) Advisory Board.

Reuben J. Member, American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP), Committee for Career Development, Women and Minorities (CCDWM).

Reuben J. Poster judge (Neurosciences), Annual Bio-medical Research Conference for Minority Students.

Reuben J. Abstract reviewer, SACNAS (Advancing His-

Reuben J. Abstract reviewer for EB 2011, ASIP graduate students.

Ruest L.B., member, American Association of Anato-mists (AAA) Advisory Committee for Young Anatomists.

Ruest LB. Member, Organizing Committee, Texas A&M Health Science Center Research Symposium.

Schneiderman E. Reviewer, Journal of Dental Education.

Schneiderman E. Pilot award reviewer, North and Cen-tral Texas Clinical and Translational Science Initiative.

Spears R. AADR National Student Research Group Faculty Advisor.

Spears R. Member, AADR Fellowships Committee.

Spears R. ADA CODA Site Reviewer.

Speas R. ADA Student Clinician Program Advisor.

Spears R. ADEA Council of Faculties; Member, Refer-ence Committee for Association Administration Affairs, Member, Annual Session Mentorship Program.

Spears R. Member, ADEA Commission on Change and Innovation.

Spears R. Member, Hinman National Student Sympo-sium, Advisory Board.

Spears R. Member, Texas State Anatomical Board.

Spears R. Accreditation Site Reviewer, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Svoboda K. Chair, Experimental Biology Board of Di-rectors, American Association of Anatomists (AAA) representative.

Grantscontinued from page 14continued from page 16

Svoboda K. AAA Fellows Committee.

Svoboda K. AAA 125th Anniversary Planning Committee.

Svoboda K. Board member, EMT International Association.

Svoboda K. Women in Eye and Vision Research Luncheon Program Committee.

Svoboda K. Member, PerioScience Scientific Board.

Svoboda K. Organizer, Extracellular Matrix in Health and Disease Symposium and dinner.

Svoboda K. Member, Editorial Board, Developmental Dynamics, Anatomical Record, The European Journal of Dentistry.

Grants

(unless otherwise noted, dollar amounts are total costs)

Benson MD. Role of ephrins in osteoblast differentia-

Benson MD. Ephrin inhibition of regeneration after spi-nal cord injury. Christopher and Dana Reeve Founda-tion; 2011-2012; $150,000.

Dechow P. Integrative analysis of hominid feeding

D’Souza R (PI). Regulation of Runx2 function by Twist-1

2011; $1,185,280.

D’Souza R (PI); Mues G (Co-I). Signaling mechanisms in

2008-2012; $1,495,000. Administrative Collaborative

D’Souza R (PI), Hartgerink J (Co-I), Schmalz G (Co-I). Nanostructured peptide hydrogels and stem cells for

-SmithKline Innovation in Oral Care Award; 2009-2011;

D’Souza R, Dechow P and Adams P (Co-directors).

DE018380-01A1; 2008-2012; $1,600,000.

D’Souza R (PI), Dechow P and Bellinger L (Co-inves-tigators). Baylor’s P30 program for bioengineering

-

ery Act Limited Competition Supporting New Faculty

direct).

Feng J. Effects of mechanical strain on osteocyte func-

(annual direct).

Feng J. Disturbance of phosphate homeostasis changes in osteocyte morphology and function. Gen-zyme Renal Innovations Program; 2008-2011; $50,000 (annual total).

Feng J. Studies of the roles of DMP1 and DSPP in

Feng J, Dechow P. Evaluation of the mandible bone

of novel bone active compounds in animal models.

Groppe J. Mechanisms of BMP receptor kinase dys-

Groppe J. Structural basis of ACVR1 dysregulation in fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva. Center for Re-search in FOP and Related Disorders, UPenn School of Medicine; 2006-2012; $100,000.

Hinton RJ (Co-PI), Berry C (Co-PI), Dechow P (Col-laborator); D’Souza R (Collaborator), Bellinger L (Col-

-

$600,000.

Honeyman A. Analysis of carbohydrate transport specificity in S. mutans. NIH NIDCR Pathogen Func-tional Genomics Resource Center Award. Ongoing; materials only.

Honeyman A. Identification of P. gingivalis virulence factors. NIH NIDCR Pathogen Functional Genomics Resource Center Award. Ongoing; materials only.

Honeyman A. In vitro analysis of Socklt on an Entero-coccus faecalis biofilm. McMerlin Dental. Ongoing.

survey of current practices. ADEA; 2009-2010; $5350.

Mues G. EDA pathway mutations in non-syndromic tooth continued page 18

Opperman L. Curvilinear mandibular bone recon-

2010; $42,968.

Opperman L, Dechow P. Improved bone transport re-

Opperman L. Osseoinductive surface treatment for

Opperman L (Collaborator). Role of ephrins in osteo-

2010-2012; $150,000.

Qin C. Studies of the roles of DMP1 and DSPP in os-

Qin C. Studies of the roles of DMP1 and DSPP in os-

Qin C. Studies of the roles of DMP1 and DSPP in os-

Ruest LB. Endothelin-A receptor function in cardio-

vascular development. American Heart Association

Spears R (Co-PI). Use of a novel microstimulatory de-vice to treat chronic pain. NIDCR SBIR Phase I R43

this grant; 2009-2010; $16,240.

Spears R (Co-PI). Physical and biological properties of a new endodontic material. American Association of Endodontists Foundation; 2010-2011; $8500.

Spears R (consultant). Instrument system and tech-

NIDCR R43 SBIR Phase II grant; 2010-2011; $110,655.

Spears R (Co-PI). Assessment of osseous wound heal-ing using HemCon dental dressing. American Asso-

Svoboda K; Ruest LB. Leica SP5 confocal microscope for Texas A&M Health Science Center. NIH; 2010-2011;

Svoboda K. Visualizing cell scaffold interactions in real time. NIH P30 pilot project; 2010-2011; $20,000.

Svoboda K. Animal models for antioxident therapy. Periosciences; 2010-2011; $80,552.

Svoboda K. Testing antioxidant compounds on gingi-val fibrlblast cells; 2008-2010; $60,000.

Svoboda K. Regulation of EMT during palate devel-opment. March of Dimes Foundation; 2006-2010; $250,800.

page 18continued from page 17 Grants

Chair’s OfficeRena N. D'Souza, DDS, PhDProfessor and Chair

rdsouza@bcd.tamhsc.edu

Paul Dechow, PhDProfessor and Vice-Chair

pdechow@bcd.tamhsc.edu

Departmental OfficeNancy AnthonyAdministrative Assistant

nanthony@bcd.tamhsc.edu

Graduate ProgramsKathy Svoboda, PhDProfessor & Graduate Program Director

ksvoboda@bcd.tamhsc.edu

Undergraduate EducationRobert Hinton, PhDProfessorDirector of Predoctoral Teaching and Faculty Mentoring

bhinton@bcd.tamhsc.edu

Bob Hutchins, PhDAssociate Professor Director of Instructional Technology

bhutchins@bcd.tamhsc.edu

Contacting The Department http://bcd.tamhsc.edu/education/bms/index.html