Ana Bedran-Russo, DDS, MS, PhD
Associate Dean for Research
Professor and Head, Department of Oral Biology
Contact
Building & Room:
Room 402E
Address:
801 S. Paulina St. Chicago, IL 60612
Email:
About
Dr. Bedran-Russo is a clinician-scientist that is highly recognized in the field of dental biomaterials. She has extensively published in the areas of structural, mechanical and compositional studies of dentin and interfaces between dental tissues and dental biomaterials. She pioneered the use of bioinspired strategies to mimic native reinforcement mechanisms various hierarchical levels of the extracellular matrix organization and mediate the biomechanics and biostability of dentin. Among these strategies, her group is well-known for exploiting nature-derived oligomeric proanthocyanidins as interventional biomaterials, that have gained attention beyond the field of dentistry. She is a well-funded Principal Investigator having received continuous research funding support from the National Institutes of Health, foundation awards, and corporate contracts. She has published over 150 manuscripts and four book chapters.
Dr. Bedran-Russo is a strong supporter of research and career mentoring. She was the Program Director of the Multidisciplinary Oral Science Training program (MOST) supported by a T32 NIH training grant and Director of the MOST in the summer (R25 NIH), a structured undergraduate summer research program from 2014-2020. Many of her trainees are now in successful academic careers and research.
Dr. Bedran-Russo is actively involved in service to the profession. She is currently the Treasurer of the American Association for Dental Oral Cranial Facial Research (AADOCR), board member of the Academy of Operative Dentistry, President of the Chicago Association for Dental Research. She is the associate editor for the JADA Foundation Sciences, Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Dental Research, JADA and Journal of Dentistry. She served as standing member of two NIH study sections. She is past-member and chair of the ADA Council of Scientific Affairs, past-president DMG/IADR, past board member Academy of Dental Materials.
Her research and mentoring efforts have been recognized with the 2014 UIC Researcher of the Year Award. The 2021 Way Klingler Research Award, 2023 WISN/IADR Distinguished Female mentor of the year, and the 2023 DMG/IADR Stephen Bayne Career Award.
Education
- Aracatuba School of Dentistry, Brazil, DDS, 1997
- CranioFacial Anomalies Center in Bauru, Brazil, hospital residency, 1998
- Piracicaba School of Dentistry, Brazil, MS, 2000
- Piracicaba School of Dentistry, Brazil, PhD, 2003
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, post-doctoral work, 2004
- University of Illinois at Chicago, post-doctoral work, 2005
- 2017-2018 Fellow of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM)