Jill Helms & John Brunski: The biomechanics of immediate function. An up-to-date analysis of how forces impact living bone around implants.

Implants have undergone a nearly continual transformation, with alterations in geometries, surface textures, and prosthetic attachments leading the way to innovation. Now, regimens are changing to support immediate functional loading. In this lecture the experts will discuss how the rock-solid principles of engineering, together with state-of-the-art biology, can be commandeered to design implants for the future. We all agree that implants must be stable; there is, however, a considerable amount of design space around how this stability can best be achieved. Using innovative imaging tools, molecular and cell biological assays, mechanical testing, and finite element models, the presenters will lead the audience through a short bio-engineer inspired tour of what may lie in the future of implant design. 

Dr. Jill A. Helms (DDS, PhD) is a tenured full Professor in the Department of Surgery at Stanford University’s School of Medicine. Dr. Helms is also cofounder of Ankasa Regenerative Therapeutics, a biotechnology company in Silicon Valley. Jill completed her dental training at the University of Minnesota followed by residency training in periodontics and, simultaneously, PhD training in Developmental Neurobiology at the University of Connecticut Health Sciences Center. She moved to Baylor College of Medicine for a post-doctoral position in biochemistry, then to the University of California, San Francisco, where she became Director of the Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery. In 2004 she moved to Stanford to establish a research program that focuses stem cell biology, Wnt signaling, and regenerative dental medicine. Her work in the field of implant osseointegration is a collaboration with bioengineer John Brunski PhD and numerous highly skilled clinicians and clinician-scientists in the field of implantology. Together the group explores the roles of molecular signals and mechanical stimuli that regulate the process of implant osseointegration.

Professor John B. Brunski received a BS degree from University of Pennsylvania, an MS from Stanford University and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. He was Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is currently Senior Research Engineer in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Stanford University. School of Medicine. His research focus has been the bioengineering of dental implants and the bone-implant interface. He is an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Implants. He has authored numerous publications and given over 200 presentations worldwide. He received the American Academy of Implant Dentistry Isaiah Lew Memorial Research Award, and the Greater NY Academy of Prosthodontics Jerome M. and Dorothy Schweitzer Research Award.