Current Research

As a dentist, I am working on creating oral organs from iPS cells and applying them as grafts for regenerative therapy and as tools for disease modeling.

Major oral organs such as teeth and jawbones originate from a structure called the first pharyngeal arch, which appears temporarily while a baby is still in the womb. Recently, I developed a method to differentiate iPS cells into cells of the first pharyngeal arch and successfully used them to create jawbone tissue (News Release: July 2, 2025).

Building on these findings, I aim to further study jaw-related diseases and work on generating other oral organs, such as teeth and salivary glands.

Research Environment at CiRA

CiRA is equipped with state-of-the-art research instruments and offers robust support programs—all made possible by generous contributions from donors. I am truly privileged to work in an environment where I can immediately put my research ideas into practice.

Personally, the Young Investigator Development Fellowship allowed me to actively pursue research I was passionate about, which led to significant achievements, including receiving the Best Young Investigator Award from the Japanese Society for Tissue Culture, presenting at international conferences, securing external funding, and publishing scientific papers. In particular, the fact that we were able to publish our findings in the highly competitive field of iPS cells before anyone else is a direct result of the support provided for this research.

I will continue to strive to deliver research outcomes that contribute to the advancement of dental medicine and the maintenance of healthy eating habits.

(Translation: Kelvin Hui Ph.D., CiRA Research Promoting Office)