Source: Hospital of Stomatology
Written by: Zhan Xiaochang
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

The second and third lectures of “Face to Face with Overseas Masters” were held in the Hospital of Stomatology at Sun Yat-sen University on November 24, 2015. Prof. Ophir David Klein from the School of Dentistry at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and Prof. Bengt-Olof Nilsson from Lund University, Sweden were invited to give lectures to over a hundred faculty and students from Guanghua School of Stomatology·Hospital of Stomatology.

Prof. Cheng Bin, Executive Deputy Dean of Guanghua School of Stomatology, extended a warm welcome to the two professors and introduced their research achievements. Prof. Klein gave a lecture entitled “Biting into developmental and stem cell biology: the genetics of tooth morphogenesis and renewal”. Prof. Nilsson gave a lecture entitled “The human cathelicidin/LL-37 antimicrobial peptide: both friend and enemy”. The lectures were followed by an active Q&A session.


Prof. Ophir David Klein is the director of the UCSF Program in Craniofacial and Mesenchymal Biology. He is the Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) for many NIH grants. His research focuses on three areas. One is understanding the processes underlying craniofacial and dental development. His lab uses mouse models to study mechanisms responsible for the normal and abnormal development of teeth, facial skeleton and other organs, as well as the regeneration of these organs. The second area is the function of positive and negative regulators of receptor-kinase signaling, which play a critical role in the progression and development of many forms of cancer. The third focus is on the stem cells that renew the lining of the intestine, oral cavity and other organs.

Prof. Bengt-Olof Nilsson is head of graduate studies at the Department of Experimental Medical Science in Lund University and a senior researcher at the Swedish Research Council (VR). His main research interests are focused on oestrogen signalling in vascular and periodontal tissues and role of polyamines in vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation.

The “Face to Face with Overseas Masters” lecture series is aimed at enhancing international academic exchanges and broadening the students’ horizons in Guanghua School of Stomatology ·Hospital of Stomatology.