"Stem Cells – The Dental Connection": Continuing Education for Dentists and Oral Surgeons

Provia Labs' chief scientific officer and clinical advisor are guest speakers at a continuing dental education program to be held at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Dental School on May 18th.

A continuing education program, called "Stem Cells – The Dental Connection," will be held May 18, 2011 at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). The guest speakers include the chief scientific officer and an advisor to Provia Laboratories, LLC. The program, intended for dental general practitioners and specialists, will provide a solid understanding of the emerging role of dental stem cells in regenerative dentistry. The program will cover the basic biology of dental stem cells and their sources, the clinical applications in development, and an evaluation of the dental stem cell banking services available today. The impetus for the program is the potential to bring therapies derived from dental stem cells into dental practice. It was little more than a decade ago that researchers at the National Institutes of Health discovered that stem cells reside in teeth. Since then, clinical studies have demonstrated that dental stem cells can be used to regrow jawbone and treat periodontal disease. Other research, though early, has shown the potential for additional uses in regenerative dentistry, such as growing new teeth, and wide-ranging uses in medicine as well. Laboratory investigations are targeting type 1 diabetes, spinal cord injury, heart attack and stroke, corneal damage, and neurological disorders. Guest speakers at the continuing-education program will be Peter Verlander, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Provia Labs, and Paul Krasner, D.D.S., clinical professor of endodontology at Temple University School of Dentistry and an advisor to Provia Labs. "This field is developing quickly, and it deserves the attention of the dental profession," says Dr. Verlander. "The dental team will play a key role in educating patients about dental stem cells and their potential use for both regenerative dentistry and medicine. Dentists and oral surgeons will ultimately be at the forefront in providing new treatments enabled by stem cells."

Dr. Verlander is a molecular geneticist with nearly 15 years of experience in human genetics research in both academia and industry. Before co-founding Provia Labs, he was the Associate Director for Strategic Development of the Laboratory for Molecular Medicine within the Harvard Medical School – Partners Healthcare Center for Genetics and Genomics. He led the team that developed the first clinical test for detection of EGFR mutations predicting therapeutic response in lung adenocarcinoma.

Dr. Krasner, a leader in the field of endodontic surgery for the past 30 years, has pioneered many techniques that are now textbook procedures. He invented the Save-A-Tooth® device for the preservation of avulsed teeth for reimplantation. Dr. Krasner has been a faculty member at Temple since 1977 and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Endodontics. He has a private practice in Pottstown, PA. Dr. Krasner acts as an advisor to Provia Laboratories, LLC, which offers Store-A-Tooth™, a service that enables families to collect and preserve the stem cells from their child's teeth for future clinical use. The continuing education program will be held at UMDNJ-New Jersey Dental School, Newark, NJ, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 18. For more information about the CE program, visit dentalschool.umdnj.edu/CDE/11-05-18_StemCells.html. About Provia Laboratories LLC Provia Laboratories, LLC (www.provialabs.com) is a healthcare services company specializing in high quality biobanking (preservation of biological specimens). The company's Store-A-Tooth™ service platform enables the collection, transport, processing, and storage of dental stem cells for potential use in future stem-cell therapies. The company advises industrial, academic, and governmental clients on matters related to the preservation of biological specimens for research and clinical use. In addition, Provia offers a variety of products for use in complex biobanking environments to improve sample logistics, security, and quality. Provia Labs is a member of ISBER, the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories.