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Research Areas:

Regulation of Epithelial Cell Proliferation, Migration, and Survival; Regulation of Epithelial Cell Behavior During Chronic Inflammatory Challenges; Bone Marrow Stem Cells

Teaching Areas:

Undergraduate Periodontal Curriculum Development; Graduate Perio Teaching; Graduate Student Research Supervision

Dr. Putnins completed his undergraduate dental training in 1981 (The University of Manitoba) and his Periodontal training in 1987 (The University of Manitoba). His research training includes the completion in 1991 of an M.Sc. in Medical Microbiology (The University of Manitoba) and a Ph.D. in Cell Biology (The University of British Columbia) in 1995. After his clinical and research training he assumed a full-time position on Faculty at The University of British Columbia. His research interests focuses on epithelial-specific growth factors and the role that they may play in regulating periodontal disease onset and progression. In addition Dr.Putnins' laboratory has been actively developing a new facet to his laboratory into the potential use of bone marrow stem cells (BMSC) to regenerate lost periodontal attachment. 
 
1) Epithelial-Specific Growth Factors 
 
Determining the role of epithelial-specific growth factors in controlling proliferation, migration and survival of epithelial cells are significant for two reasons. First, epithelial cell proliferation and migration are events that begin early in the disease process and may lead to loss of periodontal attachment. Second, clinical therapies aimed at managing periodontal diseases (guided tissue regeneration) are often limited in their therapeutic effectiveness because of excessive epithelial cell proliferation and migration that limits regeneration of periodontal attachment. Therefore, a better understanding by which epithelial-specific growth factors regulate proliferation, migration and survival are critical to not only our understanding of disease pathogenesis but may possibly lead to novel mechanisms to control the rate of epithelial cell proliferation and migration. Further project description can be found at my personal research web page. 
 
2) Periodontal Regeneration  
 
Periodontal regeneration of lost attachment is the preferred gold standard of treatment outcome. Although significant development has occurred in this direction over the last decade the lack of clinical predictability has frustrated many clinicians. Therefore, alternative approaches to accomplish periodontal regeneration are well justified. We have established in our laboratory an in vivo model to examine the potential use of bone marrow stem cells (BMSC) to regenerate lost periodontal ligament, cementum and alveolar bone. Further project description can be found at my personal research web page.