Daniel Graf
Contact
Term Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Dentistry Dept Non-Budgeted
- dgraf@ualberta.ca
Overview
Area of Study / Keywords
Cleft Palate Differential gene expression ex vivo explant cultures RNA in situ hybridization Extracellular matrix Bone Morphogenetic Proteins Mouse transgenesis Developmental Biology Embryology Transplantation under kidney capsule hard tissue histology comparative gene expression analysis (incl. NGS) Amelogenesis Imperfecta Disease Model Bmp signaling craniofacial malformation Pierre Robin Sequence morphometrics bone development Periodontal tissue Periodontal disease model m
About
Born in Lucerne, Switzerland, I graduated in Biological Sciences from the Swiss Federal School of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Switzerland. PhD and post-doctoral studies at the Robert Koch-Institute, Berlin, the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, London, and Biomedical Sciences Research Centre ‘Al. Fleming’, Athens, Greece, focused on various aspects of immunology, in particular immune activation, T-cell development, and inflammatory disorders. My research groups at the BSRC ‘Al. Fleming’ Athens and the Institute of Oral Biology, University of Zurich focused on in vivo analysis of Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) signaling using conditional mouse alleles generated in the lab. For the last ten years, the research focus has been craniofacial development, covering a wide range of topics from teeth, bones, and cartilage. We are addressing fundamental questions on coordination of cell-cell interactions during embryonic but increasingly also post-natal development. Model systems include dental malformations (taurodontism, dentinogenesis imperfecta), cleft palate, midfacial hypoplasia, development and maintenance of craniofacial cartilages (nose, temporomandibular joint). Trained in molecular and experimental Immunology, Developmental Biology, and Mouse Genetics, my research made important contributions to our understanding how BMP regulates tissue development, maintenance and repair, including the immune system, the brain, and various craniofacial tissues.Research
The head is a very complicated structure and home to many important organs. Craniofacial tissues are affected in three out of four human congenital birth defects, but in most cases the underlying genetic variation remains unknown. We seek to understand how orofacial structures develop and what goes wrong in the case of malformations.Orofacial structures develop through reciprocal interactions of neural crest and epithelial cells. Central to these interactions is the reiterated use of only a few conserved signaling networks, amongst them Bone Morphogenetic Protein signaling. Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs) are evolutionary highly conserved molecules that regulate the development of most embryonic tissues. These molecules are also involved in the homeostasis and repair of most adult tissues.
By altering BMP signalling in vivo we study their specific involvement during the development of orofacial structures, which helps us to understand how altered BMP signalling results in orofacial malformations. Untangling the molecular and cellular interactions will not only give us a better understanding of the developmental processes in question, but will also facilitate novel approaches for tissue repair
Courses
OBIOL 501 - Oral Biology II
(Physiology and Cellular Mechanisms): This course reviews concepts relevant for oral physiology and discusses underlying cellular mechanism. Focus is on foundational knowledge with relevance to clinical practice. Current and advanced concepts will be discussed.
Featured Publications
Devine J., Vidal-García M., Liu W., Neves A., Lo Vercio L.D., Green R.M., Richbourg H.A., Marchini M., Unger C.M., Nickle A.C., Radford B., Young N.M., Gonzalez P.N., Schuler R.E., Bugacov A., Rolian C., Percival C.J., Williams T., Niswander L., Calof A.L., Lander A.D., Visel A., Jirik F.R., Cheverud J.M., Klein O.D., Birnbaum R.Y., Merrill A.E., Ackermann R.R., Graf D., Hemberger M., Dean W., Forkert N.D., Murray S.A., Westerberg H., Marcucio R.S., Hallgrímsson B.
Scientific Data. 2022 December; 9 (1) 10.1038/s41597-022-01338-x
Fox S.C., Widen S.A., Asai-Coakwell M., Havrylov S., Benson M., Prichard L.B., Baddam P., Graf D., Lehmann O.J., Waskiewicz A.J.
HUMAN GENETICS. 2022 August; 141 (8):1385-1407 10.1007/s00439-022-02430-3
Roth D.M., Souter K., Graf D.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY. 2022 August; 101 (3) 10.1016/j.ejcb.2022.151258
Taglienti M., Graf D., Schumacher V., Kreidberg J.A.
DEVELOPMENT. 2022 July; 149 (14) 10.1242/dev.200773
Fagundes N.C.F., Perez-Garcia A., Graf D., Flores-Mir C., Heo G.
BMJ Open. 2022 June; 12 (6) 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-061651
Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology. 2022 May; 10.1016/j.oooo.2021.08.052
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 177, 78-78. 2022 April; 10.1016/j.oooo.2021.08.052
Abrol N., Compton S.M., Graf D., Parashar P., Heo G., Gibson M.P.
Clinical and Experimental Dental Research. 2022 January; 10.1002/cre2.609
Baddam P., Bayona-Rodriguez F., Campbell S.M., El-Hakim H., Graf D.
Cartilage. 2022 January; 13 (1) 10.1177/19476035221087696
A microtomographic and histological analysis of the induced orthodontic movement in obese rats
Sociedade Brasileira de Pesquisa Odontológica - SBPqO - Virtual Annual Meeting. 2021 December;
Roth D.M., Puttagunta L., Graf D.
Methods in Molecular Biology. 2021 December; 2403 10.1007/978-1-0716-1847-9_12
Aponte J.D., Katz D.C., Roth D.M., Vidal-García M., Liu W., Andrade F., Roseman C.C., Murray S.A., Cheverud J., Graf D., Marcucio R.S., Hallgrímsson B.
eLife. 2021 November; 10 10.7554/eLife.68623
Baddam P., Thereza-Bussolaro C., Flores-Mir C., Graf D.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHODONTICS AND DENTOFACIAL ORTHOPEDICS. 2021 October; 160 (4):533-543.e2 10.1016/j.ajodo.2020.05.020
Tsekoura E.K., Pankongadisak P., Graf D., Boluk Y., Uludag H.
Pharmaceuticals. 2021 July; 14 (7) 10.3390/ph14070666
Baddam P., Young D., Dunsmore G., Nie C., Eaton F., Elahi S., Jovel J., Adesida A.B., Dufour A., Graf D.
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology. 2021 June; 9 10.3389/fcell.2021.696545
Houg K.P., Adanty K., MacGillivray S.R., McAllister L., Levin L., Alexiou M., Graf D., Romanyk D.L., Dennison C.R.
Dental Traumatology. 2021 June; 37 (3):464-473 10.1111/edt.12645
Roth D.M., Baddam P., Lin H., Vidal-García M., Aponte J.D., De Souza S.T., Godziuk D., Watson A.E.S., Footz T., Schachter N.F., Egan S.E., Hallgrímsson B., Graf D., Voronova A.
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology. 2021 April; 9 10.3389/fcell.2021.645386
Agnathan-like heads of functionally jawless zebrafish
INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY, vol. 61, pp. E617-E618. JOURNALS DEPT, 2001 EVANS RD, CARY, NC 27513 USA: OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC, 2021.. 2021 March;
Roth D.M., Bayona F., Baddam P., Graf D.
Head and Neck Pathology. 2021 March; 15 (1):1-15 10.1007/s12105-021-01301-z
Baddam P., Kung T., Adesida A.B., Graf D.
Journal of Anatomy. 2021 March; 238 (3):751-764 10.1111/joa.13332
Baddam P., Biancardi V., Roth D.M., Eaton F., Thereza-Bussolaro C., Mandal R., Wishart D.S., Barr A., MacLean J., Flores-Mir C., Pagliardini S., Graf D.
Disease Models and Mechanisms. 2021 February; 14 (2):dmm047738 10.1242/dmm.047738
Smeeton J., Natarajan N., Kumar A.N., Miyashita T., Baddam P., Fabian P., Graf D., Crump J.G.
Development (Cambridge). 2021 January; 148 (2):dev193409 10.1242/dev.193409