Giannobile Lab

ABOUT

Our laboratory’s main goal is to explore the potential of novel methods for growth factor delivery, such as gene therapy, for restoring periodontal tissue lost due to oral disease. Working with investigators at the College of Engineering, we are able to immobilize PDGF and BMP adenoviral vectors onto various biomaterials for soft tissue and bone regeneration in vivo.

We also are investigating ways to improve outcomes for patients with implants. In addition to our studies examining increased implant osseointegration, we are researching new methods to incorporate periodontal ligament with alveolar bone and titanium.

Finally, the lab has been involved in clinical research studies that analyze oral fluids (whole saliva, crevicular fluid) in order to identify predictive markers of gingivitis, periodontal disease progression and peri-implant bone loss. By combining the levels of specific biomarkers together with the expression levels of certain bacteria within patient plaque samples, we are able to better determine the patient’s disease status resulting in a more effective treatment plan.

Our laboratory is exploring the potential of novel methods of growth factor delivery such as gene therapy to stimulate periodontal tissue repair.

William Giannobile, DDS, MS, DMSc

DIRECTOR

William V. Giannobile, DDS, MS, DMSc
Najjar Endowed Professor of Dentistry and Biomedical Engineering

wgiannob@umich.edu | 734-763-2105

Dr. William Giannobile is the Najjar Endowed Professor & Chair of the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. He is also a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the College of Engineering. He received his DDS and MS in Oral Biology from the University of Missouri. He later received his Certificate in Periodontology and Doctor of Medical Sciences in Oral Biology from Harvard University. He completed postdoctoral training in Molecular Biology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Giannobile previously served as a faculty member at Harvard and the Forsyth Institute. He has served as a Visiting Professor at the University of Genoa Medical School Biotechnology Institute and in the Department of Periodontology at the Eastman Dental Institute, University College London.

Dr. Giannobile’s continuously NIH funded research program over the past 20 years has focused on Oral and Periodontal Regenerative Medicine, Tissue Engineering and Personalized Medicine. Dr. Giannobile currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Dental Research, the official journal of the International Association for Dental Research. He is a past-president of the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation. Dr. Giannobile is a consultant to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Dental Devices. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and a Fellow of the American and International Colleges of Dentists. He currently serves as the Co-Principal Investigator of the NIH-funded Michigan-Pittsburgh-Wyss Regenerative Medicine Resource Center that focuses on the translation of regenerative technologies to the clinical arena. Dr. Giannobile is a diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and participates in a practice limited to periodontics and implant dentistry in Ann Arbor.