Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Spring 2018 - 31

Resident Research Review

Text cover featuring image from
Dr. Deiwert's collection. Lateral
view of 12-week whole-stained
embryo showing craniofacial
ossifications (red) and supporting
chondrocranium (blue)

Craniofacial Morphogenesis and Development
Long-time UBC Orthodontics faculty member Dr.
Virginia Diewert has made tremendous contributions to the fields of craniofacial embryology and
development. Having studied a rare collection of
human fetal samples as well as animal models,
Dr. Diewert's work has greatly enhanced our
understanding of ontogenic processes during
craniofacial morphogenesis, with particular
emphasis on the human mandible. Images from
her collection of slides can be found in many
leading embryology textbooks, including the
cover of the latest Craniofacial Embryogenesis
and Development by Sperber. A new faculty
member at UBC, Dr. Sid Vora, continues this work
by applying advanced 3-D imaging and morphometric tools as well as computation shape analysis methods in fetal craniofacial development.
These studies aim to uncover the growth trajectories of individual craniofacial bones, integration
patterns between different regions of the developing skull, and symmetry/asymmetry patterns
through the second trimester, a time when the
adult head shape is beginning to take form. Dr.
Vora's research also utilizes mouse models in
establishing the role of genetics, epigenetics, and
the environment in influencing and regulating
craniofacial morphogenesis,6 with a focus on
cranial base growth and tooth development.

UBC Orthodontics faculty members Drs. Angelina
Loo, Joy Richman, and Sid Vora are also researching
various aspects of cleft lip and palate, ranging
from understanding its pathogenesis at the
molecular and cellular level 7 to clinical research
investigating treatment outcomes utilizing Dr.
Loo's large collection of longitudinal data on
facial growth changes in patients with cleft lip
and/or palate. Advanced 3-D facial photogrammetry and contemporary computation image
analysis methods are being used to determine
the effectiveness of different pre-surgical and
surgical protocols on normalizing facial growth
in this patient population.
Residents in the orthodontics program are also
actively involved with basic science research
related to craniofacial growth. Dr. Adrian
Danescu is a PhD / orthodontics candidate and
a past recipient of the prestigious Canadian Institute of Health Research award. Dr. Danescu's
research is related to craniofacial developmental
birth defects using an in vivo and in vitro chicken
embryo model. Dr. Kathleen Martin, an MSc /
orthodontics resident, is tracing the cellular
origins of mesenchymal derivatives in craniofacial development.

(A) µCT of 14 wk skull; (B) PTA contrast-enhanced specimen from which the mandible (green), enamel organs (red), and dental papillae (blue)
have been segmented; (C) Factors influencing cranial base growth [adapted from Vora SR, 2017 8]

Spring 2018  PCSO Bulletin

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Spring 2018