The researcher was recently promoted to the rank of Associate Professor of Dentistry with tenure. TO SOME, IT MIGHT SEEM UNUSUAL that Jian Xu, whose PhD research focused on cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure, would find her academic home at the Center for Craniofacial Biology, part of the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC. […]
A FEW WEEKS AGO, Assistant Professor Dechen Lin joined the Trojan Dental Family as a researcher for Ostrow’s Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, coming to us from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Here are five more things to know about our newest scientific investigator: 1. Lin completed his bachelor’s degree in biology before beginning his PhD […]
The data repository allows craniofacial scientists to share data, which could ultimately lead to improved care for patients with craniofacial developmental disorders. RAPID TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PAST DECADE have allowed scientists to generate more data than ever before. At the same time, increased calls for transparency, reproducibility and data sharing in the scientific community […]
Jian Xu hopes to better understand the mechanisms behind environmental toxins increasing the occurrence of birth defects in order to develop new treatments or even prevent craniofacial birth defects. NEARLY 120,000 BABIES WILL BE BORN with birth defects this year. While there are a number of causes — genetics and chromosomal issues, infections during pregnancy, […]
Ostrow researchers awarded five-year grant to investigate how a popular antidepressant interacts with pregnant women’s genes to cause craniofacial birth defects NEARLY 25 PERCENT OF PREGNANT WOMEN TAKE CITALOPRAM — a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) that works by boosting levels of the “feel good” hormone serotonin. While the antidepressant might have positive effects on […]
A new study, led by Amy Merrill-Brugger, could lead to new treatments for the common disorder. OUR JAWS ALLOW US TO TALK, chew, swallow, sing and even yawn. All these activities require the temporomandibular joints, which connect the lower jaw to the base of the skull and drive its movement up and down and side […]
The discovery, made by an Ostrow-led research team, could soon improve the lives of human beings with critical size cranial defects. EVERY YEAR, SURGEONS PERFORM MORE THAN 5,000 CRANIOPLASTIES (surgeries that restore cranial defects) on patients who have experienced critical size cranial defects resulting from congenital defects, head trauma or tumor removals. Traditional materials used […]
Ostrow jumps to fourth top-funded U.S. dental institution by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. IF A GLOBAL PANDEMIC WAS MEANT TO SLOW RESEARCHERS DOWN in their quest for knowledge, no one told the research teams working in Ostrow’s lab spaces across both campuses. This year, the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of […]
USC researchers replicate the neurocognitive symptoms of the craniofacial defect in mice and successfully treat it with stem cells. ONE OUT OF EVERY 2,500 INFANTS BORN IN THE UNITED STATES will suffer from craniosynostosis — a craniofacial defect caused by the premature fusion of the different bones that comprise the human skull. In a typically developing infant, […]
The findings, published in the journal Science Advances, could mean more effective treatment (and even prevention) for craniofacial defects. CRANIOFACIAL BIRTH DEFECTS, WHICH INCLUDE CLEFT LIP, CLEFT PALATE, jaw deformities and malformed or missing teeth, are among the most common of all birth defects. Cleft lip and cleft palate alone occur in 1 in 1,000 […]
