Dr. Franca is a dentist-scientist holding a Ph.D. in Oral Pathology and post-doctoral training in Tissue Engineering and Microfluidics. She currently serves as a Research Assistant Professor at the School of Dentistry and holds a position at the Knight Cancer Precision Biofabrication Hub within the Cancer Early Detection Advanced Research Center (CEDAR) at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). Her research journey has been consistently fortified by funding support from the NIH/NIDCR. She operates at the interface of engineering and biology, with a focus on investigating, understanding, and potentially controlling the interplay among cells, the extracellular matrix, local immune responses, and biomaterials. During a significant portion of her post-doctoral work, she dedicated her efforts to developing organ-on-chip platforms and disease models. Under the mentorship of Dr. Bertassoni, she secured funding through an R01 Diversity Supplement to create and characterize a pioneering microfluidic model known as the “Tooth-on-a-chip.” This innovative model replicates the physiological biomaterial-dentin-pulp interface within the oral environment. To further expand her research program, Dr. Franca also worked on an NIDCR-funded project aimed at fabricating and optimizing pericyte-supported capillary on-a-chip to understand the vascular changes observed in the stiffer cancer tumoral microenvironment, offering valuable insights into the role of perivascular cells in maintaining a pro-tumorigenic milieu. Currently, Dr. Franca is funded by a K01 award, which supports her work in engineering an immunomodulatory material for dental pulp regeneration. Her objectives include utilizing tissue engineering tools to harness the body’s innate healing capacity, gaining fresh insights into how the extracellular matrix regulates cell and tissue function, developing innovative organs-on-a-chip platforms tailored for oral and craniofacial research, and nurturing the next generation of scientists and clinicians within a lab culture founded on principles of excellence, innovation, integrity, diversity, cooperation, and respect.
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