Rajaram Gopalakrishnan, BDS, PhD

Dr. Raj Gopalakrishnan is Professor and director of the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Department of Diagnostic and Biological Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Minnesota. He is also a member of the Oral Biology Graduate program at the School of Dentistry. He is currently the President of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. He is a board-certified Oral and Maxillofacial Pathologist and participates in a surgical oral pathology practice (biopsy) and sees patients with oral diseases, including premalignant and malignant oral lesions.

Dr. Gopalakrishnan received his Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degree from University of Madras, Chennai, India in 1991 and completed a residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology from The Ohio State University College of Dentistry in 1995. He subsequently obtained a PhD in Pathology from The Ohio State University in 1999, and joined the laboratory of Dr. Renny Franceschi at the University of Michigan as a post-doctoral fellow. He came to the University of Minnesota as an Assistant Professor in 2002.

Dr. Gopalakrishnan has two broad areas of interest.

1. Dr. Gopalakrishnan has a strong interest in developing new protocols for early diagnosis and novel therapeutic strategies for oral premalignant and malignant lesions as it relates directly to better prognosis and treatment outcomes. In collaboration with Dr. Erin Dickerson (Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences and Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota), he has investigated the role of bone morphogenetic protein signaling in maintenance of oral cancer stem cells. More recently, his work in this area has specifically focused on targeting CD44, a cancer stem cell marker, and metabolic pathways in oral epithelial dysplasia and squamous cell carcinoma.D
2. Dr. Gopalakrishnan works closely with health care providers in the medical school in understanding the mechanisms involved in increased oral cancer risk in Fanconi anemia (FA) patients. FA patients have an almost 700-fold increase in oral cancer development. FA is diagnosed in children and have no exposure to traditional risk factors associated with oral cancer development such as tobacco or alcohol. Dr. Gopalakrishnan and his collaborators, use novel spatial genomic approaches to determine mechanistic differences in oral cancer in FA and non-FA patients thereby leading to better understanding of oral cancer development in FA patients. The ultimate goal of this project is to improve long term prognosis of FA patients by early detection, diagnosis and management of oral premalignant and malignant lesions.

Organogenesis, Fellowship
University of Michigan

Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Residency
The Ohio State University

Bone Biology, Visiting Scholar
University of Michigan

Award: Minnesota Craniofacial Research Training Program
Principal Investigator: Mansky, Kim
Sponsoring Organization: NIH NIDCR NATL INST OF DENTAL
Award Dates: 2017 - 2022

Award: Novel targeted treatment strategy for invasive and resis
Principal Investigator: Khammanivong, Ali
Sponsoring Organization: PARDEE FDN
Award Dates: 2016 - 2018

Award: Role of HDAC7 in Osteoclast Differentiation
Principal Investigator: Mansky, Kim
Sponsoring Organization: NIH NIAMS NATL INST OF ARTHRIT
Award Dates: 2013 - 2016

Award: Minnesota Craniofacial Research Training Program
Principal Investigator: Herzberg, Mark C
Sponsoring Organization: NIH NIDCR NATL INST OF DENTAL
Award Dates: 2012 - 2016

Award: Gravitational Regulation of Osteoblast Genomics and Meta
Principal Investigator: Hammer, Bruce E
Sponsoring Organization: NIH NATL INST OF BIOMEDICAL IM
Award Dates: 2011 - 2017

Award: Gravitational Regulation of Osteoblast Genomics and Meta
Principal Investigator: Hammer, Bruce E
Sponsoring Organization: NIH NATL INST OF BIOMEDICAL IM
Award Dates: 2011 - 2017

Award: Periodontal Disease as a Risk Factor for ONJ
Principal Investigator: Gopalakrishnan, Rajaram
Sponsoring Organization: NIH NIDCR NATL INST OF DENTAL
Award Dates: 2010 - 2013

Award: Periodontal Disease as a Risk Factor for ONJ
Principal Investigator: Gopalakrishnan, Rajaram
Sponsoring Organization: NIH NIDCR NATL INST OF DENTAL
Award Dates: 2010 - 2013

Award: Periodontal Disease as a Risk Factor for ONJ
Principal Investigator: Gopalakrishnan, Rajaram
Sponsoring Organization: NIH NIDCR NATL INST OF DENTAL
Award Dates: 2010 - 2013

Award: Function of HDAC7 in Osteoblasts
Principal Investigator: Jensen, Eric David
Sponsoring Organization: NIH NIDCR NATL INST OF DENTAL
Award Dates: 2010 - 2012

Award: Role of Twisted Gastrulation in Osteoclastogenesis
Principal Investigator: Gopalakrishnan, Rajaram
Sponsoring Organization: NIH NIAMS NATL INST OF ARTHRIT
Award Dates: 2010 - 2016

Award: Role of Twisted Gastrulation in Osteoclastogenesis
Principal Investigator: Gopalakrishnan, Rajaram
Sponsoring Organization: NIH NIAMS NATL INST OF ARTHRIT
Award Dates: 2010 - 2016

Award: Role of Twisted Gastrulation in Osteoclastogenesis
Principal Investigator: Gopalakrishnan, Rajaram
Sponsoring Organization: NIH NIAMS NATL INST OF ARTHRIT
Award Dates: 2010 - 2016

Award: The effect of Bisphosphonates on wound healing after too
Sponsoring Organization: ORAL & MAXILLOFACIAL SURGERY FOUNDATION
Award Dates: 2008 - 2010

Award: Regulation of Runx2 Transcriptional Activity
Principal Investigator: Gopalakrishnan, Rajaram
Sponsoring Organization: MAYO CLINIC ROCHESTER
Award Dates: 2008 - 2009

Award: Regulation of Runx2 Transcriptional Activity
Principal Investigator: Gopalakrishnan, Rajaram
Sponsoring Organization: MAYO CLINIC ROCHESTER
Award Dates: 2008 - 2008

Award: Twisted Gastrulation and Mandibular Arch Morphogenesis
Principal Investigator: Petryk, Anna
Sponsoring Organization: NIH NIDCR NATL INST OF DENTAL
Award Dates: 2007 - 2013