Biography
Dr. Christopher Ward is the current clinical Comprehensive Temporomandibular Joint Surgery Fellow in the section of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery and Hospital Dentistry at Michigan Medicine. He attended dental school in Winnipeg Manitoba, at the University of Manitoba College of Dentistry, followed by an internship in oral and maxillofacial surgery & hospital dentistry at Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre. He went on to complete his oral and maxillofacial residency at the University of Toronto with a focus on orthognathic (corrective jaw) surgery, TMJ surgery, dental implants & bone grafting, as well as pathology & reconstruction.
His research interests are focused on biomaterials, stem cell therapies, and the combination of these two fields of study for tissue engineering and development of novel therapeutic modalities. During his undergraduate training, Dr. Ward had the opportunity to work with Dr. Stephanie Willerth at the University of Victoria and explored how bio-scaffolds and functionalized microspheres can be used to direct stem cell differentiation. His interest in this field continued through his DMD training, working with Dr. Rodrigo França at the University of Manitoba on the use of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) as candidates for novel targeted drug delivery systems by using their magnetic properties and external magnetic fields. Most recently, as part of his M.Sc at the University of Toronto, Dr. Ward joined Dr. John Davies and his team to investigate the immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects of stem cells harvested and cultured from the peri-umbilical region of human placentas.
In 2021, his research on the anti-inflammatory effects of mesenchymal stem cells isolated from the peri-umbilical region of human placentas on TMJ inflammation won the American Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons resident research of the year award. He is both a member of the Canadian Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons (CAOMS) and the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS).