Craniofacial Development

Dr. Yang Chai is the George and MaryLou Boone Professor at the University of Southern California. He serves as the Director of the Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology (CCMB) and Associate Dean of Research at the Ostrow School of Dentistry University of Southern California. He is most noted for his research on the molecular regulation of cranial neural crest cells during craniofacial development and malformations. Over the years, his laboratory has developed multiple genetically engineered mouse models in order to investigate how craniofacial organs, such as tooth, palate, mandible, maxilla, tongue and calvaria are formed and how tissue-tissue interactions control patterning and morphogenesis. He is also interested in stem cells and craniofacial tissue regeneration. More recently, his laboratory has significantly expanded their effort in linking animal models with human birth defects and has successfully rescued craniofacial malformations by manipulating signaling pathways during embryogenesis. Dr. Chai has authored more than 120 scientific papers and numerous book chapters. His work has earned him multiple awards including the 2011 IADR (International Association of Dental Research) Distinguished Scientist Award. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS). He serves on the editorial board of Developmental Biology and Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. He also serves on the Board of Scientific Counselors at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institute of Health. He also serves on NIH study sections and reviews grant applications for the Welcome Trust and other international research organizations. Dr. Chai earned a DMD degree from Peking University School of Stomatology as well as DDS and PhD in Craniofacial Biology from the University of Southern California.

Part-1 Craniofacial Morphogenesis and Regeneration: From Cells to Tissues to Organs 1. Craniofacial Muscle Development Inbal Michailovici, Tamar Eigler and Eldad Tzahor 2. Mandible and Tongue Development Carolina Parada 3. Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Palatogenesis Yu Lan, Jingyue Xu and Rulang Jiang 4. Genetic Influences on Temporomandibular Joint Development and Growth Robert J Hinton, J Jing  and JQ Feng 5. Regulatory Mechanisms Driving Salivary Gland Organogenesis Belinda R. Hauser and Matthew P. Hoffman 6. The Development of the Calvarial Bones and Sutures and the Pathophysiology of Craniosynostosis Mamoru Ishii, Jingjing Sun, Man-Chun Ting and Robert E. Maxson 7. Tissue Interactions Regulating Tooth Morphogenesis and Renewal  Anamaria Balic and Irma Thesleff 8. Stem Cells in to Toth Development, Repair and Regeneration Tian Yu, Ana Angelova Volponi, Rebecca Babb, Zhengwen An and Paul T Sharpe 9. Development and integration of the Ear Jennifer C. Fuchs and Abigail S. Tucker

Part- 2 Craniofacial Patterning and Signaling Mechanisms 10. Zebrafish Craniofacial Development: A Window Into Early Patterning Lindsey Mork and Gage Crump 11. Regulation of Jaw Length During Development, Disease, and Evolution Richard A. Schneider 12. Facial Morphogenesis: Physical and Molecular Interactions Between the Brain and Face Ralph Marcucio, Benedikt Hallgrimsson and Nathan M. Young 13. Developmental Plasticity of Patterned and Regenerating Oral Organs J. Todd Streelman, Ryan F. Bloomquist and Teresa E. Fowler 14. Regulating Craniofacial Development at the 3’ End: MicroRNAs and their       Function in Facial Morphogenesis Andre L.P. Tavares, Kristin B. Artinger and David E. Clouthier 15. Transcription Factors in Craniofacial Development: From Receptor Signaling  to Transcriptional and Epigenetic Regulation Yongchao Gou, Tingwei Zhang and Jian Xu

Part- 3 Disease Models, Human Genetics, Genomics and Dynamic Imaging 16. Mouse Models of Rare Craniofacial Disorders Annita Achilleos and Paul A. Trainor 17. From Bench to Bedside and Back: Improving Diagnosis and Treatment of  Craniofacial Malformations Utilizing Animal Models Alice F. Goodwin, Rebecca Kim, Jeffrey O. Bush and Ophir D. Klein 18. Signaling Pathways in Craniofacial Development: Insights from Rare Skeletal Disorders Cynthia L. Neben and Amy E. Merrill 19. Clinical and Genomic Approaches for the Diagnosis of Craniofacial Disorders Pedro A.Sanchez-Lara 20. Morphometrics, 3D Imaging, and Craniofacial Development Benedikt Hallgrimsson, Christopher J. Percival, Rebecca Green ,Nathan M. Young, Washington Mio and Ralph Marcucio 21. Imaging the Cell and Molecular Dynamics of Craniofacial Development Le A. Trinh and Scott E. Fraser