Center
of Excellence in Oral
and Craniofacial
Biology
The Center of Excellence
in Oral and Craniofacial
Biology, a Louisiana
state-acknowledged Center,
is operated under the
auspices of the LSUHSC
School of Dentistry
(LSUSD). Faculty in the
School of Dentistry and
the School of Medicine
participate in center
activities. Its research
laboratories occupy two
floors at LSUSD with the director and staff housed amidst the
laboratories. The Center
was formally established
in 1999. In the same year
the center was awarded a
$4.8 million grant from
the Louisiana Board of
Regents Millennium Trust
Health Excellence Fund
(HEF); the center's
proposal ranked second
among 79 proposals
statewide. The grant
provided infrastructure
and laboratory funding to
fully initiate the Center
of Excellence.
In 2004, the Center
received an NIH Center of
Biomedical Research
Excellence (COBRE)
award of $10.7 million to
develop junior faculty
into independent
researchers and enhance
the administrative,
equipment and statistical
infrastructure
at the dental school. The
grant ran through
September 2011. The theme
of the COBRE was "oral
infectious diseases" which
has become a research
strength at the dental
school. Current efforts
center on opportunistic
infections, periodontal
disease and caries.
There is also a strong
biomaterials research
program at LSUSD that is
focused on
fluoride-releasing
bioactive dental
restorative materials. The
Division
of Biomaterials in
the Department of
Comprehensive Dentistry
and Biomaterials is
responsible for teaching
and research in
biomaterials and dental
materials. Dental
materials courses are
offered to undergraduate
dental, dental hygiene,
and dental technology
students. An advanced
dental materials course is
offered to residents and
fellows. The division
supports
Advanced Education
programs and the research
activities of faculty,
students, and residents in
the school.
The Biomedical
Equipment Core and Biomaterials Equipment Core
provides major research
equipment and support for
investigators. The goal of
the cores is to facilitate
research by providing
access to a diverse array
of instruments while
fostering greater
collaborations among
students and/or faculty of
the Center of Excellence
in Oral and Craniofacial
Biology. The cores have a
Director who oversees the
operations and provides
maintenance of the
equipment. The Biomedical
Equipment core is led by Dr. Thomas Lallier. The Director of
Biomaterials research is Dr.
Xiaoming Xu.
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