Prof. Jill A. Helms (DDS, PhD)

Prof. Jill A. Helms (DDS, PhD) is a tenured full Professor in the Department of Surgery at Stanford University’s School of Medicine. Prof. Helms is also cofounder of Ankasa Regenerative Therapeutics, a biotechnology company in Silicon Valley. Jill completed her dental training at the University of Minnesota followed by residency training in periodontics and, simultaneously, PhD training in Developmental Neurobiology at the University of Connecticut Health Sciences Center. She moved to Baylor College of Medicine for a post-doctoral position in biochemistry, then to the University of California, San Francisco, where she became Director of the Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery.

In 2004 she moved to Stanford to establish a research program that focuses stem cell biology, Wnt signaling, and regenerative dental medicine. Her work in the field of implant osseointegration is a collaboration with bioengineer John Brunski PhD and numerous highly skilled clinicians and clinician-scientists in the field of implantology. Together the group explores the roles of molecular signals and mechanical stimuli that regulate the process of implant osseointegration.