Anne Marie Kuijpers-Jagtman PhD

Anne Marie Kuijpers-Jagtman full professor

My main research drive has always been to perform translational research that in the end will enhance our clinical performance. I strongly believe that we only can reach that goal combining basic biological and clinical disciplines, resources, and research methods. Our research has been supported by the Radboudumc and external non-profit funding agencies (estimated 3 million Euro). As head of the orthodontic department in Nijmegen I was in the position having our own lab for Craniofacial Biology, while the Cleft Palate Craniofacial Team was also located within the orthodontic department. I am used to working in close collaboration with scientists in biology, cell biology, molecular biology, biomedical engineering, health technology assessment, and other basic science fields. This combination of basic and clinical facilities provides unique opportunities for research in which always postgraduates and PhD students were involved.

The common thread in my research career is my interest in cleft lip and palate. We perform basic and clinical research to elucidate the effect of wound healing and scars on subsequent maxillofacial growth. There is still a lack of evidence in many fields of cleft lip and palate treatment and good clinical research is scarce.

I am a strong proponent of evidence based orthodontic treatment in which the three components of the concept are balanced: scientific evidence, clinical expertise, and patient preferences. I try to understand what happens when an orthodontic force is applied to a tooth because this is the basics of our profession. It is amazing how little we know about the mechanobiology of orthodontic tooth movement and the complex cascade of biological events after application of an orthodontic force to a tooth. In our research group we concentrated on the effect of force levels on orthodontic tooth movement and we have published extensively about that.

Since 2008, after we got a € 1.7 million grant together with the department of maxillofacial surgery, I am involved in research related to 3D-imaging. I focus now on the application of 3D-stereophotogrammetry and digital dental casts in clinical orthodontics as these techniques are cost-effective and not associated with a radiation risk.

I have been the Promotor (supervisor) of 52 successfully defended PhD theses (44 at Radboud University, 2 at Universitas Indonesia, and 6 at other universities), and there are 6 in the pipeline.