The Department of Basic and Translational Sciences brings together the School’s basic sciences faculty in the areas of anatomy and cell biology, biochemistry, microbiology, and pathology into one unified department. Spanning common research between lab groups, interdisciplinary collaboration creates a synergy to leverage the collective potential of faculty, testing the boundaries of basic science, translational medicine, and clinical sciences to support and advance research across disciplines.
Basic & Translational Sciences
Basic & Translational Sciences
Dr. Henry Daniell has developed a novel plant-based system that allows for the oral delivery of proteins and is effective in producing and delivering vaccines (for polio, tuberculosis, and malaria) and biopharmaceuticals to treat Alzheimer’s, diabetes, hypertension, hemophilia, muscular dystrophy, and retinopathy.
Altering Bone Marrow Can ‘Train’ Innate Immune System for Future Challenges
George Hajishengallis of the School of Dental Medicine and an international team of colleagues have found that “training” the immune system causes changes in the precursors of immune cells in the bone marrow. These changes could facilitate a more robust response to future infections or even enable the immune system to regenerate faster after chemotherapy.
To Resolve Inflammation, Location Matters
Where a protein is expressed can influence its action. Dr. George Hajishengallis and colleagues from the School of Dental Medicine have identified one that plays a key role in getting the body back to normal after inflammation
Modeling the Most Common Form of Vision Loss in Older Adults
A new model of age-related retinal degneration, developed with leadership from the School of Dental Medicine, will give researchers a deeper understanding of the disease, as well as possible ways to prevent or treat it.
Program & Faculty Features
Faculty
Robert P. Ricciardi, MA, PhD
Acting-Chair,
Professor of Basic & Translational Sciences
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Margherita Fontana, DDS, PhD, is the Clifford Nelson Endowed Professor of Dentistry in the Department of Cariology, Restorative Sciences and Endodontics at University of Michigan School of Dentistry (U-M). She is currently co-director of Cariology courses, and cariology discipline co-coordinator at U-M. As a principal investigator, she has received research grants from the National Institutes of Health, the American Association of Pediatric Dentistry, the Delta Dental Fund, DentaQuest, and private industry amongst others. She has over 125 papers published in peer reviewed journals, such as Journal of Dental Research, Caries Research, Journal of Dental Education, Pediatric Dentistry, Advances in Dental Research, Journal of Public Health Dentistry, Journal of the American Dental Association, British Dental Journal, etc. She was the 2007-2008 President of the Cariology Group of the International Association for Dental Research(IADR), and the 2010-2011 Chair of the Cariology Section of ADEA. In 2012 she received the USA Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) for her work on caries risk assessment in children.She was the 2009 winner of the IADR Cariology Research Group’s Basil G. Bibby Award in Cariology, and in 2016 winner of the IADR Burrows Memorial Award.
University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider. ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry.Latest News
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