Dr. Jacqueline Hecht is a board-certified PhD Medical Geneticist with extensive clinical expertise in skeletal dysplasias (dwarfing conditions), orthopedic syndromes and common birth defects. The Hecht Lab currently focus on gene discovery in nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate (NSCLP) and modeling identified genetic variation in the zebrafish craniofacies and delineating the molecular mechanism underlying pseudoachondroplasia (PSACH), a severe dwarfing condition, and developing therapeutic interventions.

Keywords: Cleft lip/palate, zebrafish, dwarfism, genes, COMP, pseudoachondroplasia

Dr. Leticia Chaves de Souza’s research interests are focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying apical periodontitis (AP) development, susceptibility and healing. She is also interested in the clinical outcome of endodontic procedures, such as disinfection protocols, obturation techniques, and physico-chemical and biological properties of endodontic instruments and materials.

Dr. Brett Chiquet’s primary research interests are patient care for those with cleft lip with or without cleft palate.  His research focuses on factors that influence patient care by collaborating with the multidisciplinary team that provides comprehensive care to these patients, including (1) pediatric plastic surgeons and orthodontists to study the effect of early appliance intervention, (2) microbiologists to study the effect of the oral microbiome during infancy, appliance therapy, and childhood, (3) orthodontists to study the feasibility of 3D printing on presurgical infant orthopedics, and (4) genetics professionals to study the etiology of cleft lip and palate and normal craniofacial development.  His secondary research interests lie in patient safety, specifically surrounding pharmacologic behavior guidance techniques (pBGTs) utilized in pediatric dentistry, focusing on patient-factors, parental concerns, and provider attitudes towards patient safety during pBGT utilization.

Dr. Walid Fakhouri’s research focuses on understanding the genetic and epigenetic regulation of cell fate determination during neural tube and craniofacial development. The Fakhouri Laboratory investigates the function of two developmental genes and their protein activities in regulating cell shape changes and cytoskeletal organization, and how the loss of function can lead to birth defects, including cleft lip and palate, craniosynostosis, and facial dysostosis. His lab uses mouse models, organ cultures, and biochemical assays to delineate further the underlying cellular mechanism and regulatory pathway that drive the proper formation of the neural tube and craniofacial bone development. His research aims to uncover druggable genes and signaling pathways that can be used to prevent and treat congenital birth defects. His lab also investigates the role of the cleft lip and palate gene, IRF6, in salivary gland development and maturation. His research also aims to accelerate the identification of pathological non-coding DNA variations to improve cancer screening and prevention.

Dr. Farach-Carson’s research aims to integrate extracellular matrix biology with three fields: a) salivary gland tissue engineering b) cancer biology and metastasis to bone, and (c) bone and cartilage structure-function relations. Three-dimensional engineered microtissue models are used to study the behavior of both normal and aberrant cells and to study their behavior in a physiologically relevant context. Their translational partnerships support the development of new technologies needed to study cell behavior including for regenerative medicine and cancer biology applications.

Keywords: Salivary gland tissue engineering, extracellular matrix, complex 3D systems for culture of both normal and cancerous tissues.

Dr. Harrington’s research focuses on developing polymeric and supramolecular biomaterials for use in tissue regeneration and in vitro 3D cell culture. Lab members apply functionalized hyaluronan-based hydrogel matrices for salivary cell culture, including multiple biomanufacturing methods such as bioprinting. These same materials also enable our complex in vitro co-cultures of cancer xenografts with associated stromal fibroblasts on a microfluidic platform for drug screening. In our collaborations, Dr. Daniel Harrington uses self-assembling peptide amphiphile hydrogel platforms for growth factor delivery to promote nerve viability.

Dr. Syed Hashmi’s research focuses on the epidemiological and population-level aspects of birth defects that involve craniofacial structures. He has been involved in various epidemiological and genetic studies on various congenital defects, including research on maternal risk factors during pregnancy (e.g. maternal hyperthermia or folic acid use) that may influence the risk of giving birth to a child with oral clefts. He has expertise working with Big Data and has collaborated with and worked on large datasets from the Texas Birth Defects Epidemiology and Surveillance (BDES) Branch of the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Dr. Junichi Iwata’s research is focused on cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying craniofacial birth defects (e.g. cleft lip with/without cleft palate, tooth and musculoskeletal defects) and diseases (e.g. Sjögren’s syndrome). The Iwata Laboratory has been characterizing cellular metabolic processes, membrane trafficking, and non-coding RNAs—which are crucial for craniofacial development and homeostasis—using multidisciplinary approaches including genetics, genomics, proteomics, biochemistry, and molecular biology.

Dr. Komatsu's research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms responsible for human congenital diseases, with an emphasis on craniofacial abnormalities. Dr. Yoshihiro Komatsu’s ultimate long-term goal is to acquire the molecular knowledge for understanding craniofacial skeletal defects and to develop strategies for craniofacial skeletal tissue regeneration.

Dr. Noriaki Ono's laboratory studies the function of skeletal stem cells in development, diseases and regeneration of bone and cartilage, through advanced applications of genetically-engineered mice. Our current three major foci are: skeletal stem cells in growth plate, bone marrow and craniofacial structures, and molecular mechanisms governing their behaviors.

Dr. Wanida Ono's laboratory aims to understand mechanisms underlying tooth root and periodontium development, and tooth eruption. We use multiple genetically-engineered mice to study how populations of the dental follicle stem cells coordinate the formation of tooth root and periodontal apparatus, and signaling associated with these processes.

Dr. Wang's research focuses on studying the molecular and genetic regulation of craniofacial and cardiac development, diseases, and regeneration. Our goal is to develop novel diagnostic and therapeutic tools for cardiovascular and craniofacial diseases. Dr. Jun Wang uses a combination of state-of-the-art approaches including mouse genetics, physiology studies, and next generation sequencing techniques.

Dr. Danielle Wu's main areas of expertise include mechanobiology and tissue engineering. Her research interests include developing and testing tissue engineering prototypes in preclinical models for the restoration of tissue function. She investigates mechanotransduction mechanisms in skeletal, salivary, and lung tissue using bioequivalent and scalable ‘tissue-avatars’ to interrogate therapeutic interactions in health and disease.

Dr. Young's research efforts include the synthesis and characterization of implantable biomaterials designed to elicit in situ cell recruitment and programming. His work includes the use of materials able to simultaneously deliver multiple bioactive factors with distinct release profiles. These constructs have been used in a diverse set of applications such as the promotion of craniofacial bone regeneration and cancer immunotherapy. Current work in the Young Laboratory seeks to develop novel material-based immunotherapies for the treatment of head and neck cancer and explore mechanisms of how this approach may synergize with chemo/radiation therapy.  The paradigm of in situ cell programming using biomaterials is also being utilized in separate collaborative tissue engineering research projects exploring the use of semiconductor-based materials to enhance craniofacial bone regeneration and multidomain peptide hydrogels for nerve regeneration.