Dr. Charles Sfeir, Associate Professor in the departments of Periodontics and Preventive Dentistry, and Oral and Craniofacial Sciences, serves as the Associate Dean for Research at the School of Dental Medicine, Director of the Center for Craniofacial Regeneration and Chair of the Department of Periodontics and Preventive Dentistry. He holds faculty appointments in the University's departments of Bioengineering, the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. He received a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree from the Université Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France, as well as degrees in Periodontology, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. There, he also earned a DDS.
Dr. Sfeir’s research focus includes:
Bone and dentin tissue engineering, utilizing biomaterials and cellular strategies to regenerate mineralized tissues
- Biomimetic scaffolds development for bone/dentin tissue engineering using biomineralization principles
- Biomaterials development (calcium phosphates or polymeric materials) to regenerate bone and dentin
- Engineering cellular therapies for bone and dentin regeneration. Strategies involve scaffoldless systems as well as stem cells in combination with biomaterials
- Identifying the signaling pathways involved in stem cell differentiation to bone cells
Biomineralization, post-translational modifications of non-collagenous proteins in bone and dentin
- Role of protein kinases in bone and dentin formation
- Role of phosphorylation in biomineralization
Modulation of the immune system to develop therapies for periodontal disease
Strategies to modulate the immune system to develop therapies for periodontal disease, involving local peptide or molecular agent delivery to attract T-regulatory cells, a subset of macrophages, or delivery of agents to treat periodontal disease
Biodegradable metals, developing load bearing bone fixation devices
Resorbable metals are attractive materials because of their load-bearing properties due to their initial mechanical strength; modulus similar to native bone; biocompatibility; and ability to degrade in vivo
Pulp tissue regeneration, develop strategies to achieve better endodontic therapies using biomaterials versus cellular approaches
Pre-clinical testing devices for FDA approval
"Our laboratory operates in a GLP-like environment with standard operating procedures (SOPs) developed for every experiment carried out, we have also implemented quality control procedures."