Inspiring visit of doc. Anamaria Balic: Revolutionary perspectives on tooth development and regeneration

The research group of doc. Jan Křivánek from the Institute of Histology and Embryology is researching stem cells in teeth and their potential in regenerative dentistry. They have been collaborating for a long time with Associate Professor Anamaria Balic from the University of Zurich on discovering the natural behaviour of stem cells. During May, Assoc. Prof. Balic visited the MU Faculty of Medicine for these research teams to discuss their joint scientific projects. Students and other researchers from this research group and the wider Brno scientific community joined the discussions in an informal setting.

Apart from the scientific activities, doc. Balic gave an expert lecture on "Establishment and diversity of dental stem cells during development". This lecture was attended not only by the scientific staff of the field but also by many students of Dentistry. From the reactions we select: "The lecture of the associate professor was very enriching. I was very interested in the methods she is using in her research to create niches for ameloblasts to synthesize tooth enamel in vitro. Her perspective on dental mold differentiation was also fascinating. I take away a more detailed understanding of tooth embryogenesis and believe that research in this field will one day take dentistry to a new level!" Lukáš Krajzl, 2nd year student of Dentistry

The event was funded under the project PPSŘ 7.2 Internationalization.

Professional career and research focus of Assoc. Prof. Anamaria Balic

Since October 2021 she has been Group Leader at the University of Zurich. She received her medical doctor degree from Medical School Split, University of Zagreb. She received her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences at UCONN Health Center, then worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at CNIO, Madrid. She was a Senior Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Helsinki for almost 7 years and another 3,5 years at the same university as Principal Investigator at the Institute of Biotechnology.

Her research interests include mainly the study of dental stem cells and their niche, tooth development, tooth agenesis, tooth regeneration and craniofacial development. Doc. Balic's research focuses on mechanisms regulating homeostasis and repair of adult tissues, which are controlled by stem cells found both within the tissue and recruited from outside the organ. The timing and mechanism of niche formation and stem cell specification are not yet fully understood, as is the regulation of homing and migration of stem cells to the site of injury.

To address these fundamental questions in stem cell biology, Assoc. Balic uses the model of a continuously growing incisor whose continuous growth is supported by the lifelong maintenance of epithelial stem cells and a steady supply of mesenchymal stem cells. It combines modern genomic, cellular and molecular biological approaches to elucidate the mechanisms regulating these stem cell populations during early development and postnatal life.