Christopher Nosrat, DDS, PhD
Professor
College of Dental Medicine
Dr. Nosrat received his DDS from the School of Dentistry at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden in 1994. He worked part-time as a general practitioner at Brandbergen Dental Clinic (Stockholm) while pursuing a PhD in Neuroscience from the Medical School at the Karolinska Institutet. Following postdoctoral work in molecular neurobiology, he was recruited to University of Michigan School of Dentistry in 1999. After promotion and tenure at University of Michigan in 2005, he moved to University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, TN. He joined Western University of Health Sciences in 2012, and has a joint appointment in College of Dental Medicine and Graduate College of Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Nosrat has several research interests; oral neurobiology, stem cell biology and oral cancer. In 1995, he discovered that a protein (called Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) that has major fuctions in the central nervous system, also plays a crucial role in connecting the chemical sensors of the oral cavity (taste buds) to the nervous system. His laboratory performed the pioneering biological tissue engineering work with dental pulp stem cells, using models for spinal cord injury (2001) and Parkinson's disease (2004). His work with oral cancer has also emphasized the role of chronic inflammation in development of HPV (Human Papilloma Virus)-negative oral cancers. He has received several major fundings from the National Institutes of Health (NIDCD, NIDCR) and US Army. Complementing his research career, Dr. Nosrat has been a teacher and educator for both dental and medical students, as well as junior faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. He has been directing and teaching courses in anatomy, histology, physiology, embryology, neuroscience, and orthodontics, and has participated in several preclinical/clinical courses in dentistry.