Director, Michigan Center for Oral Health Research
Najjar Endowed Professor of Dentistry,
Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine,
School of Dentistry

William Giannobile is the Director of the Michigan Center for Oral Health Research.  He began his professorship at the University of Michigan in 1998, and now holds the titles of Najjar Endowed Professor of Dentistry in the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, and Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering.  He earned his DDS, and MS degrees in Oral Biology from the University of Missouri.  He later received his certificate in Periodontology and Doctor of Medical Science in Oral Biology from Harvard University.  He subsequently completed postdoctoral training in Molecular Biology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and Harvard Medical School, and served as a faculty member at Harvard and Forsyth Institute in Boston. 

Dr. Giannobile has published more than 100 articles, and presented over 120 lectures in the fields of regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and salivary diagnostics as it relates to periodontal and peri-implant reconstruction. 

In addition Dr. Giannobile was named the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Dental Research in 2010, and previously held positions on the editorial boards of the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, International Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Implants, and the International Journal of Periodontics & Restorative Dentistry. 

Dr. Giannobile also serves as a consultant to the ADA Council of Scientific Affairs and the National Institutes of Health, and is a fellow of the American College of Dentists, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology. 

To read more about Dr. Giannobile as a NIDCR investigator, please visit the NIDCR website for an article on the future impact of research on periodontal disease. For additional information about Dr. Giannobile, see his faculty profile, or to read about Dr Giannobile's pre-clinical research go to http://www.dent.umich.edu/pom/research/wglab.

Assistant Professor in Dentistry, Department of Periodontics and Oral  Medicine, and Biomedical Engineering

Dr. Kaigler completed his DDS in 2001 and in 2004, earned a PhD in Oral Health Sciences (David Mooney, advisor). Dr. Kaigler subsequently earned a certificate in Operative Dentistry, followed by an MS in Clinical Research Design and Statistical Analysis and a Post-doctoral Fellowship through the School's NIDCR Tissue Engineering Training Program at MCOHR. 

Dr. Kaigler received his Certificate in Periodontology from the University of Michigan and is Board Certified from the American Board of Periodontology. His research focuses on cell-based therapies for alveolar bone tissue engineering applications. A recently published abstract of Dr. Kaigler's clinical research can be seen at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20412009.
 

Assistant Professor of Dentistry, Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine 

Janet Kinney received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Dental Hygiene from the University of Michigan in 1983.  Much of Janet’s clinical practice has been in the specialty of periodontics.  Janet has practiced overseas in Zurich, Switzerland, and returned to the United States in 2004 in order to commence the Master’s Degree Programs at the University of Michigan in both Dental Hygiene, and Clinical Research and Statistical Design.  Her long term career goals have been to become a Dental Hygiene Educator and Oral Health Clinical Researcher. 

In addition to conducting research as a Principal Investigator at the Michigan Center for Oral Health Research, she has been involved with many clinical research projects, including an investigation for the diagnosis of periodontal disease using microfluidic detection of periopathogenic biomarkers, and a clinical trial investigating a pharmacologic agent in the relationship of bone regeneration, periodontal disease, and osteoporosis. 

Janet is an active member of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association, Past President of Nu Chapter, Sigma Phi Alpha (Dental Hygiene Honor Society), and Past Secretary of the University of Michigan Dental Hygienists’ Alumnae Association. 

Assistant Professor of Prosthodontics, Department of Biologic and Materials Science

Dr. Alex DaSilva joined the University of Michigan Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences as an Assistant Professor in January 2008.  Dr. DaSilva's research interests include treatment of chronic trigeminal pain, including TMJD, trigeminal neuropathic pain and migranes. 

Dr. DaSilva completed his residency in Orofacial pain management with a DMSc in Oral Biology from Harvard.   His post-doctorate work focuses on migraine pathophysiological mechanisms using novel structural neuroimaging methods at the MGH. Information about Dr. DaSilva's research studies can be found at http://www.dent.umich.edu/?q=bms/bmsresearch/dasilvalab.

Biostatistician, Michigan Center for Oral Health Research, and School of Public Health 

Tom is an Associate Professor in the Biostatistics Department at the School of Public Health, and holds a 50% appointment with MCOHR, and provides extensive service to the students, staff, and faculty of the School of Dentistry.

Tom received a Ph.D. in Biostatistics from the University of Washington in 1999, and joined the University of Michigan faculty that same year. Dr. Braun's current research interests include methodology for optimizing schedule-of-administration in Bayesian Phase I trial designs, developing permutation tests for the comparison of medical diagnostic tests, and methodology for modeling tooth-level and site-level correlation of teeth in longitudinal studies. 

Research Area Specialist Intermediate, Michigan Center for Oral Health Research 

Anna received her Bachelor of Science degree in Clinical Laboratory Sciences from Michigan State University, and was employed as a certified hospital Medical Technologist for 4 years. She also worked as a study coordinator for 4 years at William Beaumont Hospital in research projects in the areas of Oncology, Infectious Diseases, Vascular Surgery and Interventional Radiology prior to her arrive at the MCOHR. 

Initially at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Anna worked in the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine with Dr. David Sarment, and collaborated on a number of projects including a 510K FDA application for a International dental implant company.  

Anna is the Research Program Manager and provides oversight of and regulatory support to MCOHR research projects. Anna also provides IRB and eResearch assistance to dental faculty, students, and staff and serves as a liaison with other departments and organizations. 

 

Patient Services Assistant, Michigan Center for Oral Health Research

As MCOHR’s Patient Services Assistant Hily'e is responsible for providing customer service to patients, arranging and coordinating support for patient care, providing general clerical support, and performing duties for study specific patient recruitment protocols such as appointment scheduling and potential patient screenings, in addition to providing assistance with subject recruitment.

 

Study Coordinator, Michigan Center for Oral Health Research

Jen received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Eastern Michigan University in 2005. She comes to us from the University of Michigan Health System Sleep Lab where she was a research and laboratory technician for the past 4 years. As the study coordinator she will assist with the day to day oversight of study operations, help develop project protocols and assist with regulatory functions.

Dental Assistant, Michigan Center for Oral Health Research 

Tina is MCOHR’s Dental Assistant and has 32 years of experience in the dental field, with over 10 years of experience in Periodontics. She assists chair-side for all clinical procedures and coordinates the clinic activity for all studies, including digital radiographs, preparing blood, saliva, and other samples in our laboratory, and coordinating faculty, staff, and student training

MCOHR
General Phone: (734) 998 - 1468
Patient Phone: (734) 998 - 6721
Fax: (734) 998 - 6900
24 Frank Lloyd Wright Dr.
Lobby M, Box 422
Ann Arbor, MI 48106
mcohrclinicalresearch@umich.edu

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