The regenerative potential in the animal kingdom displays striking divergence across ontogeny and phylogeny. For example, heart regeneration is remarkably robust in adult zebrafish and newborn mice while very limited in adult mammals. This presents a particular problem for patients with a heart attack who suffer from loss of millions of heart muscle cells and life-threatening functional deterioration of the heart.
Academic:
My research is driven by a desire to understand how major hormonal and regulatory pathways determine the specification, differentiation, and morphogenesis of mesenchymal tissues such as bone, cartilage, muscle, and fat. Mis-regulation of these pathways leads to significant medical diseases, including the inappropriate formation of mineralized tissues in atherosclerosis, heterotopic ossification, and cancer.
Dr. Hong is associate professor and graduate orthodontics program director in the Division of Orthodontics. She completed her dental education cum laude from Harvard University, following which she pursued advanced training in orthodontics and an MS in oral Bbology at UCLA. Immediately following the completion of her residency, she became a faculty member at UCLA, where she was an associate professor and predoctoral orthodontic program director. Dr. Hong is a diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics.
Dr. Sunita Ho is a bioengineer who focuses on studies related to biomineralization, biomechanics, and biomaterials. She is a Professor in the Department of Urology, School of Medicine, and in the Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences (PRDS), School of Dentistry. Dr. Ho focuses on site-specific interventions to mitigate the beginnings of pathologic formations of biomaterials in humans. She investigates the regenerative aspects of soft and hard tissue attachments within craniofacial and musculoskeletal joints. Using biomechanics and mechanobiological approaches, Dr.
Safa's research interests include the application of 3D technologies and sensors in the prosthetics clinic, the development of orthopaedic sensors to monitor bone fracture healing, and the biomechanical evaluation of orthopaedic implants and surgical strategies.
Interests: Orthopaedic biomechanics, bone fracture fixation, osteoporosis, finite element analysis, joints, smart implants, diagnostic tools.
Major programs in Dr. Halloran's laboratory include stem cell aging using animal models to study the effects of aging on stem cells and bone. Projects include work with natural products from fruits for the treatment of osteoporosis, development of orthopedic stem cell-based devices to facilitate spine fusion and bone healing. Students and postdoctoral fellows are encouraged to work collaboratively with other faculty in the Departments of Medicine, Bioengineering and Orthopedics.
Stefan Habelitz is a Materials Scientist and Chemist and Associate Professor at the Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences at the School of Dentistry at UCSF. His research focuses on understanding how matrix proteins control mineralization in enamel and dentin. Current approaches include:
Graf is interested in translational research, moving laboratory discoveries into the clinic to help patients. He directs the UCSF Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Observational Cohort, which has enrolled more than 830 patients at UCSF and ZSFG. The cohort collects clinical information and blood samples from participants, making this information available to researchers at UCSF and beyond and jump-starting investigations that seek to improve treatment of patients with RA.
I earned a BSc in Biological Sciences with a specialization in Genetics from the University of Alberta in Edmonton. My interest in science derived from a desire to understand, and ideally prevent or treat, human disease and so I joined Dr. Michael Walter’s lab in the Department of Medical Genetics for my PhD work. For my thesis project I used genetic linkage analysis and candidate gene approaches in small families with highly penetrant ocular dysgenesis to identify genes that, when mutated, cause developmental glaucoma.
Dr. Lianne Gensler is a rheumatologist and serves as director of the UCSF Ankylosing Spondylitis Clinic, which is dedicated to care for this inflammatory disease.
Gensler's primary research interest is the disease progression of axial spondyloarthritis (a category that includes ankylosing spondylitis). Her research also seeks to identify predictors of osteoporosis development in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
