This first-ever course at Baylor College of Dentistry on modern methods of mineralized tissue preparation for light and scanning electron microscopy was held on June 15-19, 2009.
Thirty people participated in the course, including students and instructors. Of the 15 students in attendance, three were from outside BCD (Massachusetts, Georgia, Houston). They enjoyed the hands-on experience combined with the lectures on detailed descriptions of how the techniques learned in the lab could be applied to various kinds of experiments. Specific comments at the conclusion of the course included "Great course for all grad students", "Down-to-earth speakers! Very interesting topics. I loved the hands-on instruments plus the PowerPoint presentations...The manual was very organized and impressive." One participant reported after returning to her institution that she gave a presentation to a group there on several of the things she had learned in the course.
The course was co-sponsored by Texas A&M HSC Vice President for Research and Advanced Education and by Ted and Advanced Education and by Ted Pella, Inc.Course Schedule
Monday, June 15
| 9:00 a.m. | Welcome talk (Dr. Kathy Svoboda) |
| 9:30 | Sample Preparation for Scanning and Light Microscopy I (Dr. Robert Spears) |
| 10:45 | Video on lab safety |
| 11:00 | Tour of facility |
| 11:45 | Lunch and Learn: Sample Preparation II (Dr. Robert Spears) |
| 1:30-5:00 p.m. | Methyl methacrylate processing (Mrs. Jo Taylor) |
| 9:00 a.m. | Decalcification and In Situ Hybridization Protocols (Adriana Cavender) |
| 10:15 | Students cut their own methyl methacrylate sections on the Isomet saw |
| 11:45 | Lunch and Learn: Proteins in the Extracellular Matrix of Dentin and Bone (Dr. Chunlin Qin) |
| 1:30-5:00 p.m. | Students continue cutting methyl methacrylate sections and prepare sections on slides (Mrs. Jo Taylor) |
9:00 a.m.
Clinically Oriented Orthodontic Research Involving Mineralized Tissues (Dr. Peter Buschang)
10:15
Description of use of cryostat as alternative method to section tissues (Connie Tillberg)
11:45
Lunch & Learn: Using Undemineralized Tissue in Translational Research (Dr. Lynne Opperman)
1:30-5:00 p.m.
Paraffin processing of hard tissues
Thursday, June 18
| 9:00 a.m. | Microwave Energy and Tissue Processing - Current Thinking (Rick Giberson, Ted Pella representative) |
| 10:15 | Demonstration of the use, maintenance and repair of decalcifier (James Long and Rick Giberson, Ted Pella representatives) |
| 11:45 | Lunch and Learn: Advanced Techniques for Analyzing Mineralized Tissues (Dr. Jerry Feng) |
| 1:30-5:00 p.m. | Image Analysis using Elements (Joe Whatley, Nikon representative); demonstration |
Friday, June 19
| 9:00 a.m. | Introduction to μCT (Dr. Paul Dechow) |
| 10:15 | Demonstration of μCt (Dr. Paul Dechow) and SEM (Dr. Robert Spears) |
| 11:45 | Application of μCT to Mineralized Tissue Evaluation (Dr. Elias Kontogiorgos) (shown above) |
| 1:30-3:00 p.m. | Question and answer session; Trouble-shooting problems (Mrs. Jo Taylor) |
Shown above are the course attendees and instructors - first row (left to right): Lakshmi Gorungantula, Dr. Dobrawa Napierala, Dr. Coralee Tye, Mrs. Jo Taylor (instructor), Anika Voisey, Lilin Xiang; second row (left to right): Albert Yamoah, John Bonds, Dr. Mercedes Gonzalez, Connie Kim (instructor), Dr. Hansen Xu, Edward Palos, and Connie Tillberg. Other course attendees not pictured were Justin Farmer, Monica Prasad, Yao Sun, and Drew Vanderbrook.
