Dr. Bumann received her B.S. in Anthropology/Zoology and D.D.S. from the University of Michigan in 2004 and 2008, respectfully. She subsequently received her Ph.D. in Oral and Craniofacial Sciences from the University of California, San Francisco in 2013. She conducted post-doctoral training in craniofacial biology and completed her residency and M.S. in pediatric dentistry at the University of Michigan. Part of her Ph.D. and all of her post-doctoral training were funded by a National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIH/NIDCR) K08 and L40 Pediatric Research Loan Repayment Program (LRP). She joined the Department of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences in the University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC) School of Dentistry as an Assistant Professor in September 2017 where she is a member of the Mineralized Tissue Biology. She is a member of the American Dental Association (ADA), the International and American Associations for Dental Research (IADR/AADR), American Dental Education Association (ADEA), International Association of Student Clinicians-American Dental Association (SCADA), American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR), Society for Developmental Biology (SDB), American Association of Anatomists (AAA), and American Association of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD). She currently serves on the Edward H. Hatton Awards Committee for AADR and the Constitution Committee for IADR.
Identified multiple developmental mechanisms that control the size and shape of the jaw skeleton. Our experiments not only reveal that neural crest mesenchyme (NCM) autonomously regulates cell cycle progression and the timing of osteogenic differentiation, but they also indicate that cell cycle and osteogenesis are inexorably linked as a developmental module in vivo as they are in vitro. Our work also uncovered a novel function for bone resorption, which is to help establish species-specific jaw length; and our transplant experiments indicate that the underlying molecular mechanisms stem from the ability of NCM to control the activity of its own derivatives (i.e., osteocytes) and also that of mesoderm-derived osteoclasts. We show the remarkable ability of NCM to maintain spatiotemporal control over the induction, differentiation, deposition, mineralization, and the resorption of bone is what integrates the determinants of jaw length across multiple embryonic stages, and is what empowers NCM with its ability to generate skeletal variation during disease and evolution.
Created a novel strategy for estimating species-specific contributions in chimeras and xenografts. We developed a simple molecular strategy to quantify species-specific contributions in chimeras and xenografts. Many tissue-engineering approaches for repair and regeneration involve transplants between species. Yet a challenge was to distinguish donor versus host effects on gene expression. We designed species-specific primers for reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) by identifying silent mutations in quail, duck, chicken, mouse and human ribosomal protein L19. This strategy enables chimeras and/or xenografts to be screened rapidly at the molecular level.
Demonstrated a molecular mechanism and clinical significance of calciotropic hormones in the regulation of mineralized tissue growth in the craniofacial skeleton. We investigated the role of AP-1 family members in the action of parathyroid hormone related protein (PTHrP) was examined in cementoblasts. PTHrP increased mRNA and protein levels of all Fos members, but only one Jun member (JunB) was increased. Overexpression of JunB in cementoblasts mimicked actions of PTHrP to support osteoclastogenesis and inhibit cementoblast differentiation, suggesting that the actions of PTHrP on mesenchymal cells operate through JunB. Additionally, we observed changes in the oral cavity observed in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT). We found both a decreased cortical density and an increased likelihood of oral tori. The contemporary oral manifestations of primary HPT are different from those previously reported, and health care providers should be aware of newer, more subtle findings that may be present when treating patients with HPT.
