Penn Dental Opens Transformative Center For Innovation and Precision Dentistry

In a joint effort to transform the future of oral healthcare, the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine (Penn Dental) and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have founded the Center for Innovation and Precision Dentistry (CIPD).

Under the leadership of codirectors Michel Koo, DDS, MS, PhD, a professor in the Department of Orthodontics and Divisions of Community Oral Health and Pediatric Dentistry, and Kathleen Stebe, PhD, the Richer and Elizabeth Goodwin Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, the center aims to bridge dental medicine and engineering. It also seeks to discover and translate new knowledge and technologies into actionable healthcare, and train the next generation of leaders in oral and craniofacial research. 

The CIPD will use novel research and technologies to accelerate the development of new therapies, diagnostics and devices to address unmet needs in oral health, particularly in the areas of caries, periodontal disease, and head and neck cancer. 

The center has developed an interdisciplinary training program that includes mentorships from Penn Dental and Penn Engineering faculty, as well as access to shared resources, facilities and research centers across the college. Members of CIPD include 26 faculty from Penn Dental, Penn engineering, and from the schools of Medicine and Arts and Sciences.

From Decisions in Dentistry. April 2021;7(4):6.