Demetrio L. Domingo, D.D.S., M.S., Acting Clinical Director
Mission
The Clinical Research Core (CRC) conducts clinical research, provides training in clinical research through the Clinical Research Fellowship and the NIDCR Junior Faculty Development Program, and provides an oral medicine and dental consultation service for the unique Clinical Center patient population. Clinical research fellows work in the Clinical Center (Building 10) and must have U.S. or American licensure. It is the goal of the CRC to advance the development of clinical applications of laboratory research to benefit both oral and systemic health.
CRC projects aim to facilitate translational research. Clinical research studies are conducted that complement ongoing basic science laboratory projects. Current protocols focus on salivary proteomics, craniofacial imaging of genetic diseases, and the genetic regulation of gingival overgrowth. Patients evaluated at the Clinical Center--including those with primary immunodeficiencies, those with inherited genetic disorders that frequently affect the craniofacial structures, and those undergoing cancer therapy, for example--are included in CRC clinical research projects. Fellows work with investigators in the CRC, the Human Craniofacial Genetics section, as well as with clinicians from other NIDCR branches and NIH institutes to carry out these studies.
The CRC is also committed to using new technologies to evaluate craniofacial structures. One example is stereo photogrammetry, which evaluates soft tissue facial features via three-dimensional images. Images from individuals with a known genetic disease can be combined to generate a “morphed” facial image. This image is then compared to the morphed image from controls matched for sex and age. Comparisons of facial images and controls could eventually evolve into a new screening method for genetic diseases. This technology will also be applied to studies of normal facial growth and development, which is essential to understanding how genes control craniofacial growth processes.