Cristiane Miranda Franca, D.D.S., Ph.D. (She/her)

  • Assistant Professor of Department of Oral Rehabilitation & Integrative Biosciences, School of Dentistry
  • Assistant Professor of CEDAR, OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Cristiane Franca is a dentist-scientist with a Ph.D. in Oral Pathology and postdoctoral training in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering. As an Assistant Professor in the Division of Biomaterials and Biomedical Sciences within the Department of Oral Rehabilitation and Biosciences, and affiliated with the Knight Cancer Precision Biofabrication Hub, she integrates engineering and biology in her research. Her work focuses on early cancer biology, cellular responses to changes in the microenvironment, and biomaterials. Leveraging her clinical background as an oral pathologist, along with her expertise in developing microfluidic devices, such as the 'tooth-on-a-chip' and engineered vasculature models, Dr. Franca aims to understand how precancerous lesions progress to invasive cancer, explore biomaterial-immune system interactions, and develop advanced organs-on-a-chip for modeling human diseases. She is passionate about science and mentoring and looks forward to guiding future scientists in a lab committed to excellence, collaboration, innovation, and diversity. 

Education and training

  • Degrees

    • D.D.S., Federal University of Goias
    • Ph.D., University of Sao Paulo

  • Certifications

    • Post-doctoral training (OHSU) - 2017-2021

Memberships and associations:

  • International Association for Dental Research (IADR) & American Association for Dental Research (AADR)
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
  • American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)

Areas of interest

  • cancer biology
  • vasculature
  • microfluidics
  • tissue engineering
  • biomaterials

Additional information

Publications

Selected publications

  • Rodrigues NS*, França CM*, Tahayeri A, Ren Z, Saboia VPA, Smith AJ, Ferracane JL, Koo H, Bertassoni LE. Biomaterial and Biofilm Interactions with the Pulp-Dentin Complex-on-a-Chip. J Dent Res. 2021 May 26:220345211016429.
  • Twohig C, Helsinga M, Mansoorifar A, Athirasala A, Tahayeri A, França CM, Pajares SA, Abdelmoniem R, Scherrer S, Durual S, Ferracane J, Bertassoni LE. A dual-ink 3D printing strategy to engineer pre-vascularized bone scaffolds in-vitro. Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl. 2021 Apr;123:111976.
  • Fernandes KPS, Ferrari RM, Bussadori SK, Franca CM. Vascular Photobiomodulation. Photobiomodul Photomed Laser Surg. 2021 Mar;39(3):143-144
  • Parthiban SP, He W, Monteiro N, Athirasala A, França CM, Bertassoni LE. Engineering pericyte-supported microvascular capillaries in cell-laden hydrogels using stem cells from the bone marrow, dental pulp and dental apical papilla. Sci Rep. 2020;10(1):21579.
  • Horsophonphong S, Sercia A, França CM, Tahayeri A, Reddy AP, Wilmarth PA, Surarit R, Smith AJ, Ferracane JL, Bertassoni LE. Equivalence of human and bovine dentin matrix molecules for dental pulp regeneration: proteomic analysis and biological function. Arch Oral Biol. 2020;119:104888.
  • Subbiah R, Hipfinger C, Tahayeri A, Athirasala A, Horsophongphong S, Thrivikraman G, Franca CM, Cunha DA, Manssorifar A, Zahariev A, Jones JM, Coelho PG, Witek L, Xie H, Guldberg RE, Bertassoni LE. 3D printing of microgel-loaded modular mirocages as instructive scaffolds for tissue engineering. Adv Materials. 2020 32(36):e2001736.
  • Franca CM*, Tahayeri A*, Rodrigues NS, Ferdosian S, Puppin-Rontani R, Ferracane JL, Bertassoni LE. The tooth on-a-chip: a microphysiologic model system mimicking the biologic interface of the tooth with biomaterials. Lab Chip 2020;20(2):405-413.
  • Franca CM*, Sercia A, Prakash Parthiban S, Bertassoni LE. Current and future applications of 3D bioprinting in endodontic regeneration – a short review. CDA Journal. 2019;47(10): 645-52. 
  • Franca CM*, Riggers R*, Muschler JL, Widbiller M, Lococo PM, Diogenes A, Bertassoni LE. 3D-Imaging of Whole Neuronal and Vascular Networks of the Human Dental Pulp via CLARITY and light sheet microscopy. Sci Rep 2019;9(1):10860
  • Franca CM, Thrivikraman G, Athirasala A, Tahayeri A, Gower L, Bertassoni L. The influence of collagen biomineralization on pericyte differentiation and vascularization of engineered bone scaffolds. J Biom Mat B. 2018;107(5):1522-1532

Publications