Sunday O.  Akintoye

Sunday O. Akintoye, BDS, DDS, MS

Associate Professor,
Director, Oral Medicine Research Program
Director, Master of Oral Health Sciences Program

Department of Oral Medicine
Room 211, Schattner Building
Phone: 215-898-9932
Fax: 215-573-7853
Email: akintoye@dental.upenn.edu
Professional Biography

Dr. Akintoye is a clinician-scientist with interest in basic and translational research related to alleviating orofacial complications of cancer therapy. His research is focused on orofacial bone mesenchymal stem cells, site-specific characteristics and therapeutic applications as donor graft to bridge osseous defects in the maxillofacial region. His laboratory reported that human orofacial mesenchymal stem cells within the jaw bone are unique and different from those in non-oral skeletal sites in terms of their growth, lifespan and bone regenerative properties. He is studying the modulatory roles of orofacial bone mesenchymal stem cells in the pathogenesis of jaw osteonecrosis and how their unique properties can be harnessed for oral bone healing.

Dr. Akintoye is also interested in dental manifestations of metabolic bone diseases. He has focused on fibrous dysplasia and described the dental features of maxillo-mandibular fibrous dysplasia associated with McCune-Albright syndrome. Dr. Akintoye’s research has received funding support from the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research and National Institute of Aging. He has also been funded by American Cancer Society, University of Pennsylvania Research Foundation, Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders, Penn Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Private Foundations. Dr. Akintoye’s research was featured in the 2014 “Grantee Spotlight” of the National Cancer Institute/Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities and in the December 2015 e-Newsletter of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research/National Institutes of Health. Dr. Akintoye teaches in the Oral Medicine Clinic and in the graduate programs of the Division of Advanced Dental Education. He was a Fulbright Scholar to University of Lagos in 2015/2016.

Honors / Credentials
  • Editorial Board Member, Bone Reports Journal, 2021 – Present
  • Co-Section-Editor, Craniofacial Skeleton Section, Current Osteoporosis Reports Journal, 2021 – Present
  • Editorial Board Member, Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology, 2020 – Present
  • ‘Herschfus Memorial Award’- in recognition of dedication and outstanding service to the American Academy of Oral Medicine, 2018.
  • Chair, American Academy of Oral Medicine, Research and National Meeting Abstracts Review Committee, 2011-2016
  • Chair, American Academy of Oral Medicine, Research Advancement Committee, 2017-2021
  • Fulbright Scholar (Faculty of Dental Sciences, University of Lagos, Nigeria), 2015/2016
  • Member, Board of Trustees, The American Academy of Oral Medicine, 2011- present
  • Associate Editor-Oral Diseases Journal, 2014 – Present
  • Joseph and Josephine Rabinowitz Award for Research Excellence at Penn Dental Medicine, 2004 and 2017
  • Clinical Fellow, Craniofacial and Skeletal Diseases Branch, NIDCR/NIH, 2001 – 2003
  • Lester William Burket Research Award for Oral Medicine residents conferred by the American Academy of Oral Medicine, 2002
  • Clinical Fellow, Oral Medicine, Clinical Research Core, NIDCR/NIH, 1999 – 2001
Selected Publications
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Education
  • 2001-2003 Postdoctoral Training, Craniofacial and Skeletal Diseases Branch, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research/National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
  • Certificate, Oral Medicine/Clinical Research Training Fellowship, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research/National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 1998-2001
  • MS, Oral Biology, New York University, 1998
  • DDS, New York University College of Dentistry, 1995
  • BDS, University of Lagos Dental School, 1980