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.
Meet our Keynote Speaker
Damien Fair, PA-C, PhD
Professor, Institute of Child Development, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota Medical School; Redleaf Endowed Director, Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain.
Meet our Faculty Presenters
Estephan Moana Filho, DDS, MS, PhD
Assistant Professor, Division of TMD and Orofacial Pain, Department of Diagnostic and Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota School of Dentistry.
Shruti Tophkhane, BDS, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate, Division of Basic Sciences, Department of Diagnostic and Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota School of Dentistry.
Eric Riklin, PhD, LP
Psychologist, Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Developmental and Surgical Sciences, University of Minnesota School of Dentistry.
Laurence Gaalaas, DDS, MS
Clinical Associate Professor, Division of Oral Medicine, Diagnosis and Radiology, Department of Diagnostic and Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota School of Dentistry.
Disclosure Summary
It is the policy of the University of Minnesota Office of Continuing Dental Education to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all its sponsored educational activities. All participating speakers, course directors, and planning committee members are required to disclose to the program audience any financial relationships related to the subject matter of this program. Relationships of spouse/partner with proprietary entities producing health care goods or services should be disclosed if they are of a nature that may influence the objectivity of the individual in a position to control the content of the CDE activity. Disclosure information is reviewed in advance to manage and resolve any possible conflicts of interest. Specific disclosure information for each speaker, course director, and planning committee member will be shared with the audience prior to the speaker’s presentation.
Continuing Dental Education Staff members have nothing to disclose.
The speakers disclosed the following information for this course. It is not assumed these financial interests or affiliations will have an adverse impact on course presentations. They are provided to inform course participants fully.
Damien Fair, PA-C, PhD
Receives financial and/or material support from Turing Medical; does not intend to discuss off-label/investigative use of a commercial product/device.
Estephan Moana Filho, DDS, MS, PhD
Indicated no relevant affiliations or financial interests and does not intend to discuss off-label/investigative use of a commercial product/device.
Shruti Tophkhane, BDS, PhD
Indicated no relevant affiliations or financial interests and does not intend to discuss off-label/investigative use of a commercial product/device.
Eric Riklin, PhD, LP
Indicated no relevant affiliations or financial interests and does not intend to discuss off-label/investigative use of a commercial product/device.
Laurence Gaalaas, DDS, MS
Receives grant or research funds from Dentsply Sirona, former consultant for Dentsply Sirona and receives financial and/or material support from the next generation dental magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) system; does not intend to discuss off-label/investigative use of a commercial product/device.
