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Center
of Excellence in Oral
and Craniofacial
Biology
Administration
The team of
researchers in The Center
of Excellence consists of
over 60 faculty members
from clinical and basic
science departments in the
LSUHSC. The highly
productive faculty members
not only strive to develop
and improve the current
information available to
the dental profession,
they also impart their
research knowledge base to
dental students and
postgraduate residents who
participate in research
projects each year.
Dr. Paul
Fidel, Jr. graduated from
Allegheny College in
Pennsylvania with a B.S.
degree in Biology in 1984.
He then attended the
University of Oklahoma
where he continued his
studies, and received a
M.S. and finally Ph.D.
degree in Microbiology in
1988. He joined the Wayne
State University School of
Medicine in Detroit,
Michigan as a postdoctoral
fellow in the department
of Immunology and
Microbiology and was
eventually appointed
Assistant Professor of
Medicine in the Department
of Medicine, Division of
Infectious Disease in
1990. In 1995, Dr. Fidel
came to the Louisiana
State University Medical
Center in New Orleans to
serve as an Associate
Professor of Microbiology,
Immunology, and
Parasitology. He was
granted tenure in 1997 and
promoted to Professor in
1999. In 2001 Dr. Paul
Fidel was named holder of
the Carl Baldridge Chair
in Oral and Craniofacial
Biology and appointed the
director of the Center of
Excellence in Oral and
Craniofacial Biology. Dr.
Fidel has mentored
numerous Ph.D students,
medical/dental students,
and junior faculty. He has
authored over 160
publications and has
served as Principal
Investigator for over 20
research grants totaling
over $30 million, 15 of
which were from the
National Institutes of
Health. He was also
recently inducted into the
American Academy of
Microbiology. Dr. Paul
Fidel's research has
greatly impacted the
fields of medical mycology
and infectious disease.
Pioneering studies using
novel mouse models and
human clinical samples
have defined unique
paradigm-changing aspects
of host-pathogen
interactions in vaginal
and oral candidiasis.
Since 1997,
Dr. Thomas Lallier has
been a member of the
Department of Cell Biology
and Anatomy. Since 2001,
he has acted as the
Coordinator of Student
Research for the LSU
School of Dentistry and
was appointed Assistant
Director to the Center of
Excellence in Oral and
Craniofacial Biology in
2002. He has served in
many educational
capacities; teaching to
undergraduate dental
students, dental
post-graduates as well as
graduate students. He is
interested in elucidating
the molecular mechanisms
of cell migration. He is
currently focusing on two
model systems (1) the
embryonic craniofacial
development of the frog
Xenopus laevis and (2) the
regeneration of the human
periodontium. Both systems
involve investigating the
role of cell-extracellular
matrix interactions in
guided cell migration and
differentiation. His most
recent work has
investigated the role of a
family of cell surface
guidance molecules
(semaphorins) and a family
of cell-extracellular
matrix attachment proteins
(integrins) in periodontal
regeneration and
craniofacial formation.
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