21st Annual University of Minnesota School of Dentistry Research and Discovery Day

Meet Our Course Director

Kristin Bruk Artinger, PhD
Dr. Artinger is a Professor in the Department of Diagnostic and Biological Sciences and Associate Dean of Research and Discovery at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. She previously was a Professor in the Department of Craniofacial Biology in the School of Dental Medicine and Graduate Program Director at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. In addition, she served as Vice Chair for the Department of Craniofacial Biology and Chair of the Dean's Executive Committee. Dr. Artinger earned a PhD at the University of California in Irvine, California, where she also received her BS. She then completed postdoctoral work at Harvard Medical school in Boston, MA, in the labs of Drs. Wolfgang Driever and Mark Mercola. She started her lab at the University of Colorado in 2002 and has built a highly collaborative research laboratory focused on understanding the molecular and genetic mechanisms involved in the development of the neural crest. In particular, she uses the zebrafish model system to study the gene regulatory networks involved in cell fate determination, migration, and differentiation of neural crest cells in normal development and craniofacial birth defects. She currently serves as Deputy Editor of Birth Defects Research and on the editorial board of several scientific journals. As program director, she is committed to mentoring the next generation of scientists. Here, she provides strong mentorship to first-year graduate students, leads holistic recruiting efforts to support the requirements of diverse students, and builds strong grant-writing workshops to help trainees be competitive for fellowships.