|
|
| SPEAKER |
| Prof Paul Sharpe |
|
|
Department of Craniofacial Development, Dental Institute, Kings College London
|
|
|
|
MEETING
|
|
October 2009 |
|
| BIOGRAPHY |
|
Professor Paul Sharpe is the Dickinson Professor of Craniofacial Biology at Kings College London and founder/scientific Director of Odontis Limited, a university spin-out company that specialises in tissue engineering of teeth. He graduated with a degree in biology from York University (1977) and a PhD in biochemistry from Sheffield University (1981). Following postdocs in Sheffield, Wisconsin and Cambridge he became lecturer in molecular embryology at the University of Manchester in 1987 where he established a research group working on the molecular control of tooth development. He was recruited to his present Chair at the Dental Institute of Guy?s Hospital in 1991 (later to merge with Kings College), where he established a new basic research department, the Department of Craniofacial Development. In 2004 he was awarded the Craniofacial Biology Research Award by the International Association for Dental Research in recognition of his contribution to the understanding of how teeth develop and in 2006 his paper ?Stem cell-based tissue engineering of teeth? received the William J Gies award for best publication is Biomaterials and Bioengineering from the same organisation.
|
| TALK |
|
Biological replacement of teeth
|
| DESCRIPTION |
|
Most of our organs develop in the early embryo from simple origins, often from interactions between just two types of cell, epithelium and mesenchyme. In order to devise methods of constructing organs and tissues for replacement or repair, these embryonic epithelial-mesenchymal cell interactions must be reproduced in the laboratory. Since the most important characteristic of embryonic cells is their plasticity, stem cells are the most likely source of cells to be engineered to produce organ primordia that can be used for transplantation. Teeth are organs that can be easily accessible and non-essential for life. Replacing missing or damaged teeth using stem cell-based tissue engineering is thus not only clinically and commercially valuable but can also provide a test case for using stem cells for replacement of an organ that is not life-threatening to the patient. Using an understanding of the early developmental processes in embryos, we are developing methods of producing human tooth primordia for transplantation into the adult mouth. The procedure involves reproducing the epithelium and mesenchymal cells that form embryonic tooth primordia from cultured cell populations.
|
|
