Assistant Investigator
Director of Education
With a background in oral and craniofacial research, Megan Pugach-Gordon is interested in tooth formation, malformation, disease, oral health disparities and STEM education. Dental caries is a major clinical problem worldwide that is associated with significant costs and societal impacts, particularly in underserved communities. Dr. Pugach-Gordon’s research is focused on biomimetic tooth repair strategies, the enamel-microbiome-saliva interface and determining the role of the enamel properties in conferring caries susceptibility. Her long-term vision is that she and her colleagues can develop treatments to prevent severe early childhood caries in underserved populations, and biologically inspired strategies to effectively repair malfunctioning tooth structures.
Dr. Pugach-Gordon has been Director of the Student Scholars Program, a STEM summer internship program that allows local high school students to work with scientist mentors on independent projects, since 2018. Her hands-on experience in directing the Student Scholars Program has led to her passion and commitment to promoting STEM careers to scholars with underserved backgrounds. Dr. Pugach-Gordon’s teaching and duties as Director of the Student Scholars program provides her the opportunity to mentor young scientists and expose the next generation of scientists to laboratory research.
Student Scholars Program
Junior Student Scholars Summer Science Camp
https://soundcloud.com/forsyth-institute/forsyth-institute-profile-dr-4?utm_source=clipboard&utm_campaign=wtshare&utm_medium=widget&utm_content=https%253A%252F%252Fsoundcloud.com%252Fforsyth-institute%252Fforsyth-institute-profile-dr-4
Area of Research Expertise
Exploring the genetic and molecular basis of health and disease
Biomineralization
Enamel Development
Caries
Public Health
Background
University of California, San Francisco, PhD, 2007, Oral and Craniofacial Sciences
University of Pennsylvania, Postdoctoral, 2012, Anatomy and Cell Biology
