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Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology

Chair: E. Dianne Rekow, Professor of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology and of Orthodontics;
Director of Translational Research

Overview
The Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology is one of the largest departments in the College. It was established in 1991 by the fusion of six separate basic science departments under one chair. NYUCD is one of a handful of private dental schools with its own basic science faculty. All faculty have a doctoral degree. Some also hold a D.D.S. or a D.M.D. degree in addition to a dental specialty degree. The faculty participates in all aspects of the college life: education, scholarly activity, clinical teaching, and service. In addition, they teach in all programs of the College: undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate, and allied health. Several members of the department are nationally and internationally renowned scientists, educators, and academic leaders.

Curriculum
The faculty of the Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology teach approximately 20 percent of the undergraduate and postgraduate curricula. Most of the undergraduate teaching occurs in the freshman curriculum.

First Year
Science Basic to the Study of Dentistry I: Building Blocks of Life
The material in this course is divided into several units. The first unit provides a basic understanding of the biochemical structures, properties, and functions of proteins, enzymes, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, vitamins, and hormones. The second unit features the metabolic pathways, their regulation, and their integration into a dynamic molecular-based model for the function of all normal cells and organisms. The third unit defines the molecular basis of genetic inheritance, its metabolism, and molecular biology. It is emphasized that disease processes often begin at the molecular level and are related to changes in the building blocks and/or the way that they are used. All three units are further woven together by tracing changes in biochemistry from the molecular level, through organelles, and into functioning cells and tissue. The clinical manifestations of biochemically derived or managed diseases are emphasized in the clinical case presentations and seminars.

Science Basic to the Study of Dentistry II: Cellular Organelles and Functions
This course provides an understanding of cell structure from both a morphological and functional level. Each of the basic components are described and their functions elucidated in a manner that allows an understanding of how cells function as individual, freestanding units and as components of groups of cells (tissues). A comparison is made, throughout the course, between eukaryotic cells (those with a nucleus) and prokaryotic cells (bacteria). The course also provides an understanding of the patterns and processes of Mendelian and microbial genetics as well as information on cellular processes such as cell motility, cell adhesion, and signal transduction.

Science Basic to the Study of Dentistry III: Basic Tissues
The course presents the basic tissue types of the human body in an integrated manner and includes aspects traditionally included in the histology, biochemistry, and physiology courses. The tissues that are discussed include epithelium, connective tissue proper, cartilage, bone, blood and bone marrow, nervous tissues and muscle. Lectures emphasize structure-function relationships based on information from both light and electron microscopy and biochemical and physiological data. This course provides a basis for the other courses in the curriculum: Organ Systems; Prenatal and Postnatal Facial Development; Special Topics in Oral Biology; Oral Medicine, Medicine, and Therapeutics; Pathology; and Pathogenesis of Oral Disease. The conferences consist of extensive photographic slide presentations that complement the material presented in lecture and prepare the students for case presentations in the pathogenesis and pathology segments in the second year. Clinical case presentations are included in the discussion of each of the basic tissue types.

Science Basic to the Study of Dentistry IV: Anatomy of the Head and Neck
The teaching of this course stems from the recognition that anatomy provides the professional language of the health sciences. Knowledge of normal structure and the clinically significant variations in it makes it possible to progress to histology, pathology, medicine, and surgery. This course provides the student with intensive and detailed experience in the anatomy of the head and neck. The ability to describe, in detail, the neural and vascular structures pertaining to the viscera of the oral and perioral areas is emphasized. Lectures are accompanied by laboratory sessions in which students undertake intensive dissection of the head and neck on cadavers with emphasis on areas of clinical importance to dentists and head and neck health professionals. The goal is to allow the students to apply the anatomical information in the clinical practice of dentistry in such representative areas as periodontics, endodontics, and oral surgery.

Science Basic to the Study of Dentistry V: Organ Systems
Organ Systems presents the gross and cellular structure and the normal functions of the cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, renal, endocrine, reproductive, and lymphatic/immune systems of the human body. Each system is discussed in terms of its role in maintenance of homeostasis and in its interactions with the systems previously presented. The result is an overall integrated view of the ways the different organ systems interact to maintain health and homeo- stasis. References are occasionally made to situations in which these interactions fail and disease results, but these serve only to illustrate the interactions that prevail in the normal, healthy person. An integrated block on neuroscience incorporates neuroanatomy, neuroembryology, and neurophysiology. Emphasis is placed on the central connections of the cranial nerves, pain pathways, and orofacial sensation, since they remain crucially important to the clinician dentist.

Science Basic to the Study of Dentistry VI: Prenatal and Postnatal Facial Development
Students are presented with a basic understanding of general embryology, which is essential for understanding the material presented in other basic science courses, especially facial development. They are provided with the basic concepts of maxillofacial development and structure. A knowledge of prenatal craniofacial development is necessary for the understanding of postnatal development. The development of the teeth and periodontal structures are covered in detail. Mechanisms of facial development, including the concept of induction and interactions between genes and factors, and teratology are introduced to the students. The postnatal growth patterns of the face are taught collaboratively with the Department of Orthodontics. Conferences reinforce the concepts presented in lecture as students study images of embryological development.

Science Basic to the Study of Dentistry VII : Special Topics in Oral Biology
This course covers areas of special importance to dentists. It is a combination of anatomy, histology, biochemistry, physiology, neurophysiology, and cell biology as it relates to the area of the oral cavity. The course consists of a series of lectures, conferences, and applied clinical cases. Topics include oral epithelial structures and functions, mastication and swallowing, salivation, somatosensation, pain, taste and smell, mineralization and fluorides, periodontal structures, caries, and aging. Lectures include structure-function relationships based on information from biochemistry, light, transmission and scanning electron microscopy, histochemistry, experimental morphology, behavioral sciences, cell and molecular biology, and other special techniques. The specific significance of concepts to the understanding of clinical areas of dentistry is emphasized. Conferences, consisting of in-depth orientations, applied oral biology, open-computer exams, and review sessions, complement some of the material presented in lecture.

Second Year
General Microbiology
The course in general microbiology prepares the student for subsequent courses that deal with infectious diseases of the human host and the pathogenesis of infections of the oral cavity. The general properties of bacteria and viruses are described in detail as well as methods used for identification of these microbes in the laboratory. A series of lectures on antibiotics, sterilizing agents, and disinfectants is presented with emphasis on the target sites in the microbes that result in their sensitivity to these antimicrobial agents. Two lectures on host-parasite relationships are presented to set the stage for a description of the infectious diseases that are described in the subsequent courses.

Pathogenesis of Oral Diseases
This course, jointly run with the Department of Oral Pathology, describes the microbial etiology and pathogenesis of infections of the oral cavity. It begins with a discussion of the microbial ecology of the oral cavity and microbial succession in the formation of dental plaque. The properties of the more significant oral microbes are described as well as factors that protect the host against infection by them. A series of lectures and a clinical case presentation on caries are designed to inform the student about the acquisition of cariogenic bacteria, the infectious nature of caries, and the most appropriate treatment for caries in the host. A description of periodontal disease and the microbes associated with its initiation follows. A conference on a method used to rapidly identify and quantitate periodontal bacteria is presented as well as a conference on methods to collect, transport, and identify oral bacteria in a clinical lab. The course ends with a series of lectures on pulp and periradicular tissue, inflammation and infections of pulp tissue, and the radiographic appearance of pulpal and periapical pathoses.

Systemic Pathology
Systemic pathology, a course jointly run with the Department of Oral Pathology, focuses primarily on mechanisms of disease and includes common diseases of the major organ systems. Physicians introduce major and current concepts in the lectures. The application of these pathologic principles to dental treatment, particularly of medically complex patients, is also an important component of the course and is taught in smaller, interactive seminars with a significant emphasis on critical thinking and case-based learning. Oral manifestations related to systemic disease are included in the seminar cases. Clinical cases are also presented to the entire class as clinical conferences. The foundation knowledge taught in systems pathology applies to the clinical disciplines.

Pharmacology
This course presents the principles of pharmacology and the pharmacologic actions and interactions of selected classes of drugs. While particular emphasis is placed on those of special importance in dentistry, a wide variety of other drugs are considered based on the extent of their use and their therapeutic importance.

Fourth Year
Senior Selective in Anatomy
This course offers to a select few students an opportunity to review human gross anatomy during their senior year. This course is particularly useful for students interested in surgical residencies (O.M.S. or O.M.S./M.D.). As an integral part of this course, the selected students help teach and tutor freshman gross anatomy.

Research
The Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology has an active research program that conducts basic and translational research in each of the areas of research emphasis at the College. These are (1) oral cancer, (2) biomaterials, biomimetics, and tissue engineering, (3) infectious diseases, and (4) oral/systemic disease linkages.

In oral cancer, the research ranges from fundamental mechanisms of apoptosis, programmed cell death, to work on studying premalignant to malignant cell transformation using human oral epithelial cells. The department is currently funded by grants from NIH and NSF to determine whether lycopene and selenium inhibit mutagenesis in lung, colon, and prostate of lacZ mice ($517,293), to investigate tobacco use and oral vancer ($55,975), breast cancer induction by nitrochrysene ($250,000), the role of mitochondrial channels in cell death ($877,469), molecular studies of a mitochondrial ion channels ($134,998), and cell-cell and cell stroma regulation in oral premalignancy ($1,367,150).

The work in biomaterials, biomimetics, and tissue engineering focuses on tissues engineering of muscle, cartilage, and bone with the long-range goal of developing artificial tissues that could be used to repair damaged or lost craniofacial tissues but also has fundamental work on biomineralization and machineable ceramics. This work is currently supported by grants from NIH and NSF to study tissue engineering of muscle ($663,750), the interaction of PDGF and integrins in the heart ($572,866), biophysical studies of repeat motifs found in intracrystalline scaffolding proteins ($287,978), biomolecular studies of biomineralization proteins ($240,000), and a program project grant on Machinable Ceramics: Optimizing Performance and Properties ($5,900,000).

The work in infectious diseases centers on the caries and periodontal disease as infectious diseases. There is also an emerging group interested in bioterrorism preparedness and bioterrorism agent detection. Currently this work is funded by grants and contracts from NIH and the Department of Justice to study microbial diversity characterization of cariogenic bacteria ($1,046,393), S.mutans: characterization of its mutacin antibiotic ($342,480), mathematical modeling of dental visit cancellations as a predictor of a bioterrorist event ($896,000), and real-time PCR based screening of bioterrorist events ($1,200,000).

In addition, the department has other fundamental research projects going on in various areas including microbiology, immunology, and molecular mechanisms of taste funded by the USA-Israel Binational Agricultural Research Fund ($86,000).