Dental Regeneration at the Cutting Edge: iPSC-Based Approaches for Tooth Repair

Induced pluripotent stem cell colony and karyotype.

Seeking highly enthusiastic and motivated students to study tooth regeneration using pluripotent stem cells. 

Project description

The research in our laboratory is focused, among others, on developmental biology, with a particular emphasis on the differentiation of dental epithelial and mesenchymal progenitors and the transcriptional networks guiding tooth development.

Our experimental approach centers on the step-wise in vitro differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into early-stage tooth progenitors. This includes both dental epithelial and mesenchymal lineages, which contribute to the formation of teeth.

We are seeking highly motivated students to contribute to the development of novel human iPSC reporter lines engineered to express fluorescent proteins under the control of key tooth development transcription factors. 

Project outcome

Students will be trained in a wide range of experimental techniques, including human iPSC culture, directed differentiation protocols, real-time RT-qPCR, gene editing (e.g., CRISPR/Cas9), and both confocal and epifluorescence microscopy. The possibility to work with bioinformatic pipelines for analysis of single cell RNA-Seq datasets also exists.

Through this project, students will gain hands-on experience in developmental biology. They will also have the opportunity to present their findings at university research events. Highly productive students will be included as co-authors in future publications related to tooth progenitor differentiation. 

Project details

Timing, eligibility and other details
Length of commitment More than a year
Start time Anytime 
In-person, remote, or hybrid? In-Person Project 
Level of collaboration Individual student project 
Benefits Academic credit 
Who is eligible Freshman & Sophomore 

Core partners

  • Optical Imaging and Analysis Facility

  • UB Genomics and Bioinformatics Core 

Project mentor

Laertis Ikonomou

Associate Professor;

Oral Biology

Phone: (716) 829-6206

Email: laertisi@buffalo.edu

Start the project

  1. Email the project mentor using the contact information above to express your interest and get approval to work on the project. (Here are helpful tips on how to contact a project mentor.)
  2. After you receive approval from the mentor to start this project, click the button to start the digital badge. (Learn more about ELN's digital badge options.) 
Start the Digital Badge

Preparation activities

Once you begin the digital badge series, you will have access to all the necessary activities and instructions. Your mentor has indicated they would like you to also complete the specific preparation activities below. Please reference this when you get to Step 2 of the Preparation Phase. 

  • Meet with the PI and discuss the project

  • Take the online "Lab Safety" course 

Keywords

Induced pluripotent stem cells; Totth Progenitors; Directed Differentiation; Oral Biology