Gloria Turner: Bringing Cellular Research into Focus
) ) Mrs. Turner stained the outermost layer of knee cartilage blue to highlight how osteoarthritis caused a disruption in the production of an essential protein. The cartilage in the broken area at left has worn away. ) A close-up of a section of knee cartilage that still looks relatively normal. ) A close-up of a worn-away section of cartilage. ) Damaged by osteoarthritis, this cartilage cell produces a clone of itself instead of reproducing through normal cell division. ) This image of an 18-day-old quail embryo’s head and lower body helped Dr. Teixeira document the early stages of a cartilage growth study. |
NYUCD researchers have long relied on Gloria Turner, Supervisor of the Histology/Pathology Laboratory in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Radiology & Medicine, to provide richly–detailed images of their tissue samples’ cellular structure. Mrs. Turner’s microscopic images have shown implanted cartilage cells sprouting inside the wings of an embryonic quail; head and neck tumors shrinking from a potent drug injection; and oral cancer at its earliest, most insidious stage. Dr. Cristina Teixeira, an Assistant Professor of Orthodontics and of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology, is one of the many faculty members who have been helped by Mrs. Turner, in one instance to understand the effects of osteoarthritis on human knee cartilage and bone. "Mrs. Turner worked painstakingly for weeks," Dr. Teixeira recalls, "soaking slabs of bone and mineralized cartilage in demineralizing solution until they were soft, then shaving them down into perfectly–preserved slivers that revealed every layer of cellular structure under the microscope." Another faculty member, Dr. Ron Craig, was helped to document his periodontal tissue regeneration research. "Gloria knew how to preserve delicate, newly–grown connective tissue samples so that they wouldn’t rip when she cut them into thin sections for viewing under her microscope," says Dr. Craig, an Associate Professor of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology. "When it comes to working with tissue samples, Gloria is like a craftsman who shapes a fine piece of jewelry bit by bit until it is just right," adds Dr. Joan Phelan, Professor and Chair of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Radiology & Medicine. "Her meticulous attention to detail makes her an invaluable member of our research team." |
