Wound Healing and Regenerative Sciences Research
Regenerative Science research at UIC College of Dentistry are moving dental care beyond tissue replacement, using materials to enable our bodies to regenerate damaged and failing tissues. Our researchers are leading investigations into how materials interact with living tissues, and the building of tissue replacements for the growth of cells/tissues to replace lost tissues. The Center for Wound Healing and Tissue Regeneration (CWHTR) is a unique community of scientists and clinicians devoted to the study of injury, wound healing, and regeneration. The Laboratory of Applied Dental Biomaterials and Interfaces is a NIH funded center studying the properties of the tooth in order to develop reparative/regenerative biomaterials to replace lost tooth structure.
Featured Researchers
Dr. Luisa A. DiPietro is Director of the UIC Center for Wound Healing and Tissue Regeneration and a Professor in the Department of Periodontics, and Associate Vice Chancellor for Research at UIC. Her research focuses on the regulation of inflammation, angiogenesis and scar formation at sites of injury. This research compares wound healing mechanisms between the oral mucosa and the skin as the intellectual basis for the development of rapid, non-scarring wound healing tools for mucosal and skin wounds. Dr. DiPietro is a world-wide recognized leader in the wound healing field. She organizes the widely acclaimed Regenerative Sciences Seminar every Fall semester. Her CV includes more than 100 publications to her credit and she has been continuously funded by the NIH since 1993. Dr. DiPietro has mentored countless junior faculty members, postdoctal fellows, PhD and undergraduate students, and she continues to be an exemplary academic leader and role model for many of us.
Dr. Anne George is Allan G. Brodie Endowed Professor in the Brodie Tooth Development Genetics and Regenerative Medicine Research 
Laboratory and Professor of Oral Biology, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry. Her research focus is on dentin mineralization and the role of the gene Dentin Matrix Protein 1 (DMP1) in bone metabolism. Dentists today traditionally use amalgam or other artificial compounds to fill cavities. Instead, dentists could one day fill the cavity with the dentin matrix protein 1, which binds calcium, allowing tooth dentin to regenerate.
Dr. Ana Bedran-Russo, Director of the Laboratory of Applied Dental Biomaterials and Interfaces, and her team conduct studies to investigate the mechanical and biochemical properties of specific sites in the tooth, and the interface between biomaterials and tooth structures. They study the use of agents that can strengthen the tooth and consequently improve the properties of the tooth and tooth-restoration interface. Her discoveries have tremendous implications for oral and overall human health, as rather than removing diseased tooth structure and replacing it with materials dissimilar to natural teeth, patients will have treatment options that help them remain free of dental decay.
Dr. Sriram Ravindran, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Biology, UIC College of Dentistry. Dr Ravindran's research interests focus on the development and application of Biomimetic Extracellular Matrix-Incorporated Scaffolds for dental tissue regeneration. Dr. Ravindran has received the UIC Discovery Fund award for his project related to tissue engineering of transplanted islets. His research on extracellular matrix mediated dental tissue regeneration has been funded by NIH as well as industry. As a UIC graduate, Dr. Ravindran has extensive collaboration with multiple partners in the Departments of Oral Biology, Periodontics, Endodontics and Biomedical Tissue Engineering.