CCR Home | Our Approach | New Technologies | Partners

The Center for Craniofacial Regeneration

The human face and skull contain an array of vital sensory organs, through which we gather information about our surroundings. And we communicate with the people around us through our faces, with which we form our words, convey our emotions, and connect with our loved ones and colleagues.

We interact with the world with our faces.

When facial trauma, disease, or congenital malformations interfere with the function of the face and skull, the ability to communicate, self-image, and quality of life can all be destroyed.

The Center for Craniofacial Regeneration was established to develop tissue engineering-based treatments for wounds and defects of the face and skull that restore function as well as appearance. The tissues of the face and skull are many and complex. Accordingly, the Center’s team represents many disciplines, and is rooted in the many achievements by University of Pittsburgh researchers in tissue regeneration and biomaterial development.

The Center’s focus is to engineer mineralized tissues using cells, biomaterials, and signaling molecules.

Based at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine and the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, a program of the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the Center for Craniofacial Regeneration is comprised of a diverse team of clinicians, basic scientists, and clinical researchers.

Engineering expertise is provided by members of the Schools of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.

The Center is directed by Charles Sfeir, DDS, PhD, and hosts seven core faculty and ten affiliated faculty. Four to five new faculty will soon nearly double the Center ’s size. [continue]