Yuanyuan Hu received a Bachelor of Medicine (BMed) in Medicine from Tongji Medical University in 1991, followed by a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in 2000, Wuhan, China. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor (2000-2003). Since 2003, Yuanyuan Hu has been working on tooth development research at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, initially as a Research Associate, later advancing to Research Lab Specialist Intermediate in 2005, and then to Research Lab Specialist Lead in 2012. She has actively participated in numerous NIH-funded research grants and has authored 46 papers. Yuanyuan Hu is best known for her contributions to dental research through the application of advanced electron microscopy techniques.
Prof. Petros Papagerakis served as faculty of Dentistry (primary) and Medicine (affiliated) at the 7th University of Paris, the University of Texas, and the University of Michigan before relocating to the University of Saskatchewan. He is currently a professor at the Université Laval. He graduated from the School of Dentistry-Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece. He completed postgraduate training at the University of Paris (France) in Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Hospital Pediatric Dentistry, Biomedical Sciences (BSc), Oral Biology (MSc), and Cellular and Developmental Biology (PhD). He also completed NIH-funded post-doctoral training in Craniofacial Molecular Genetics at the University of Texas, USA. His research interests include Cellular and Developmental Biology, and circadian rhythms.
Prof. Brian L. Foster is an Associate Professor at the College of Dentistry, the Ohio State University. He holds an MS from Central Michigan University and a PhD from the University of Washington. He studies the molecular biology of tooth root development and mineralization, with interests including genes, mechanisms, diseases, and novel regeneration strategies. His overarching objective as a researcher in the dental-oral-craniofacial field is to understand the molecular mechanisms driving tooth root formation and bring that insight to novel approaches for regenerating tissues and restoring function.
James P. Simmer received a BS in Zoology (1976) and DDS (1980) at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor; a PhD in Biochemistry (1990) at Wayne State University School of Medicine, and a post-doctoral fellowship (1991-1993) under at the Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology (CCMB) University of Southern California School of Dentistry. Dr. Simmer was Assistant Professor (1993-1999) and Associate Professor with Tenure (1999-2002) in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio; Associate Professor with Tenure (2002-2005) Professor with Tenure (2006-2024); Active Emeritus Professor (2024-present) in the Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences, University of Michigan School of Dentistry. As of this writing (November 2024) Dr. Simmer has authored over 250 peer-reviewed publications with an h-index of 80. Dr. Simmer credits his success to working closely with many brilliant scientists, most notably Hal Slavkin, Alan Fincham, Jan C-C Hu, Jung-Wook Kim, Shih-Kai Wang, Charlie E. Smith, Tian Liang, and John Bartlett. Dr. Simmer is known best for his contributions in the areas of tooth development (dentin and enamel formation) and dental genetics. Keywords: Enamel, Dentin, Teeth, Amelogenin, Enamelin, KLK4, MMP20.
John D. Bartlett, MS, PhD, is a tenured Professor at The Ohio State University, College of Dentistry in the Division of Biosciences and he is the College of Dentistry’s Associate Dean for Research. Dr. Bartlett’s research is focused on understanding the molecular biology of dental enamel development. Dr. Bartlett was awarded several research honors including two Distinguished Scientist Awards from the International Association for Dental Research. One for Basic Research in Biological Mineralization (2012) for his studies on MMP20 and enamel development and the other in Pharmacology/ Therapeutics/ Toxicology Research (2018) for his work on how fluoride affects enamel development.
