FACULTY Profile: Dr. Darnell Kaigler, Jr

Darnell Kaigler in front of a slide showing stem cells on a biomaterial scaffold before being implanted into a patient.

Faculty Profile

Dr. Darnell Kaigler, Jr. – Mastering Science for the Benefit of Patients

Professor Darnell Kaigler, Jr., isn’t walking the line between conducting scientific research and practicing dentistry. Instead, he is embracing the advantages of being fully immersed in both. As the Major M. Ash Collegiate Professor of Periodontics, Kaigler shares his expertise on many levels at the School of Dentistry. He’s engaged in didactic and clinical teaching for DDS students and residents in the graduate specialties, while leading a federally-funded research group through the complex discovery journey of how to regenerate and engineer oral and maxillofacial tissues, with a particular focus on development of stem cell therapies. The research ranges from fundamental studies at the molecular level to human investigations involving clinic trials. All that taken together leaves Kaigler considering himself “a clinician-scientist-educator.” That’s a career route he didn’t know was possible as he entered Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, in the mid-1990s.The son of a prominent Detroit prosthodontist, Kaigler’s perception of dentistry through early adulthood was all about clinical practice and long hours and he wasn’t sure that was what he wanted. Early in college he had an internship at General Motors, but decided mechanical engineering wasn’t his future. Healthcare remained an option, perhaps medicine, but then an undergraduate research experience in an ecology lab showed Kaigler a new possibility – scientific research. “It introduced me to the culture of science, meaning you ask questions and you spend time trying to answer those questions. I thought it was pretty cool that you could spend a career asking questions and trying to find the answers to them, and that would lead to more questions to generate knowledge. That’s when I began to think: Can this be combined – research with clinical practice? Can you do both?” The answer was yes. His father took him to meet researchers at the National Institutes of Health, where he was impressed by the scope and reach of world-class research. Around the same time, he learned that the U-M School of Dentistry, where his father had earned his master’s degree, was considering a new program that would allow students to earn dual DDS/Ph.D. degrees. Kaigler agreed to be the first person to matriculate through the new dual DDS/Ph.D. program in Oral Health Sciences. He and faculty worked together to map out the seven-year schedule as they went forward, figuring out the timing and right mix of research and clinic time. Kaigler became the first graduate of the dual program, with his DDS in 2002 and his Ph.D. in 2004. Kaigler went on to earn a certificates in operative dentistry and periodontology in 2006 and an MS in clinical research design and statistical analysis in 2007. In 2007, he completed a post-doctoral research fellowship in periodontology and was appointed an assistant research scientist. In 2008, he became an assistant professor in the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine and was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2016, then named the Ash Professor in 2019. He is also an associate professor of Biomedical Engineering at the College of Engineering. The many hats Kaigler wears contribute to a busy, ever-changing schedule that is anchored around one constant – patient care at an interdisciplinary, specialty practice in downtown Detroit. The other days of the week are a constant of teaching dentistry in clinic and classroom, combined with engaging researchers in his lab as they work through plans and problems on the science side. Writing grants and working on scientific papers are also part of the equation. The Kaigler lab’s early research, which drew national notice, focused on bone regeneration. Now it is more focused on oral tissue regeneration. Stem cells have always been a key because they can self-renew and form identical stem cells, and they also have the

“When I’m seeing capacity to differentiate and produce progeny cells that patients, I think of it in are more tissue specific. the context of science. A practical application of the science is finding ways to

And when I’m doing heal oral tissue after procedures like tooth extraction, research, I think of it in which is one of the most common surgical procedures the context of not just in all of medicine and dentistry. If the tissue heals the scientific question faster, and the bone around the site is strengthened, but the clinical it enhances treatment options like placing a dental implications.” implant or other therapies. In recent clinical trials, Kaigler brings his dentistry skills into play in tandem with his science foundation by growing stem cells in an incubator, then applying them to a gelatin sponge that is laid over the empty socket from a tooth extraction. The method has shown promise in regenerating tissue more quickly than the body does normally, but there is still much science and many clinical trials to work through before procedures will make it to the local dentist as a regular treatment option. Ultimately, the patient in the clinic is the reason for the research, the teaching and the quest to better understand the science. In a recent presentation for the Oral Health Sciences program, Kaigler shared with the students and colleagues that he regularly receives emails from people around the country who seek help with their medical conditions, often after initial treatments failed. Kaigler said they probably Googled “stem cell therapy” for their particular condition and they found an article written about his research. They contact him hoping to join his clinical trials. “When you are doing your research,” Kaigler told his audience, “never lose sight of that.” He said it’s easy to fall into the “bubble of academia” where success is measured in metrics like promotions, tenure, grants, published research and national awards. But the real reason for the work is the human element. “Ultimately I do what I'm doing to help patients. They are real, live people with complex clinical issues,” Kaigler said.