Dr. James Simmer

Biography

James Patrick Simmer is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. He received his Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree from the University of Michigan in 1980 and completed his PhD in Biochemistry at Wayne State University School of Medicine in 1990. Dr. Simmer underwent post-doctoral training under Dr. Hal Slavkin at the Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, University of Southern California. Prior to his current role, he served as an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. He has a distinguished record of research and teaching, focusing on tooth development, enamel and dentin formation, and the biochemical and molecular biology of amelogenins as well as conditions such as hypophosphatasia and amelogenesis imperfecta. His initial teaching responsibilities included predental basic science curriculum and graduate-level courses that addressed molecular pathogenesis and the genetic basis of oral disease.

Research Interests