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Biography
Dr. Zongyang Sun is an assistant professor in the College of Dentistry Division of Orthodontics at the Ohio State University. He received his dental degree and an MS in Oral Anatomy and Physiology from West China University of Medical Sciences in 1996 and 1999, respectively. He then obtained his MSD in Orthodontics and PhD in Oral Biology from the University of Washington in 2007. Dr. Sun’s career goal is to become an independent investigator and an excellent educator in orthodontics.
Research project
Skeletal defects of craniofacial bones cause severe impacts on facial esthetics and vital functions including mastication, breathing and speech. At present, treatment for these defects relies on orthognathic surgery with bone grafting, which is often limited by the availability of donor bone and the extent of bone movement. Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSc) are progenitor cells with potential to differentiate into multiple mesenchymal lineages. Because of its strong osteogenic (forming bone) potential, BMSc have been used locally and systemically to enhance bone repair and tissue engineer. Unlike autogenous bone grafts, autogenous BMSc can be abundantly obtained and easily expanded, which will reduce harvest-associated morbidities. Dr. Sun's long term research goal on this topic is to investigate the application of BMSc in repairing craniofacial skeletal defects.
His research project for this fellowship is aimed at characterizing and validating pig bone marrow stromal cell extraction and expansion techniques. First, human bone marrow stromal cells will be obtained, cultured and characterized for their osteogenic features at cellular and molecular levels. These cells will also be loaded with mechanical strains (using parameters obtained from their previous in vivo mechanical data). Second, bone marrow will be harvested from the pig tibia (a source where human bone progenitor cells could also be obtained), followed by BMSc extraction and purification using literature-reported protocols. Purified pig BMSc will be cultured, expanded, mechanically strained and characterized for their osteogenic features. The features of pig BMSc will be compared with human BMSc. The results from these experiments will be used for future in vivo studies using the pig as an animal model.
Significance of AAOF award
The AAOF Faculty Development Award will be used to support Dr Sun's lab personnel and experimental materials needed for this project. This support not only allows him to complete the research project and gain preliminary data, but also furthers his growth as a clinician-scientist and educator. He is very grateful to the AAOF for the substantial support provided to develop young orthodontic faculty. | 
