University Clinic of Dentistry
Position: PHD Student
ORCID: 0000-0003-4386-6237
balazs.feher@meduniwien.ac.at
Keywords
Biology; Surgery, Oral
Research group(s)
- Competence Center of Oral Biology
Head: Reinhard Gruber
Research Area: The Competence Center Oral Biology is involved in dental research and training. The work is done in an interdisciplinary team with national and international cooperation, integrating academia and industry.
Members:
Research interests
Balazs Feher is involved in preclinical and clinical research projects at the Departments of Oral Surgery and Oral Biology of the University Clinic of Dentistry with focuses on bone regeneration and implant dentistry. He is currently studying towards a Ph.D. on grants issued by the ITI Foundation and the Osteology Foundation (Supervisor: Prof. Reinhard Gruber). In 2018, he was awarded the European Prize for Research in Implant Dentistry by the European Association for Osseointegration. His research focuses on osteocytic signaling in bone regeneration.
Osteocytes, once thought to be passive cells, are key players in bone modeling/remodeling. Through elaborate signaling mechanisms, osteocytes play a role in bone resorption as well as bone regeneration, predominantly following trauma to the bone. However, the exact role of osteocytic signaling in bone regeneration remains elusive. Apoptotic osteocytes and their consequent expression of RANKL, the key factor of osteoclastogenesis, are responsible for the removal of necrotic bone. Prof. Gruber and Dr. Feher investigate osteocytic signaling using murine Cre/loxP conditional knockout models.
Techniques, methods & infrastructure
The marquee murine Cre/loxP conditional knockout models used in Dr. Feher's research are Casp3fl/fl;Dmp1-Cre and Tnfsf11fl/fl;Dmp1-Cre. In these models, osteocytes feature a disabled apoptotic pathway and disabled RANKL expression, respectively. In all experimental models, micro-computed tomography, histology, and histomorphometry are used in cooperation with the Core Facility Hard Tissue and Biomaterial Research (Head: Dr. Stefan Tangl).
Grants
- Osteocytic RANKL expression in bone graft consolidation (2020)
Source of Funding: Osteology Foundation, Young Researcher Grant
Principal Investigator - Disabling osteocyte apoptosis in mice: Impact on calvarial bone regeneration (2019)
Source of Funding: International Team for Implantology Foundation, Small Research Grant
Principal Investigator
Selected publications
- Feher, B. et al., 2020. An advanced prediction model for postoperative complications and early implant failure. Clinical Oral Implants Research. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/clr.13636.
- Feher, B. et al., 2020. Angular changes in implants placed in the anterior maxillae of adults: a cephalometric pilot study. Clinical Oral Investigations. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00784-020-03445-8.