Dr. Maisa Seppala

Biography

Maisa Seppala is a Senior Clinical Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Orthodontics at King’s College London, based at Guy’s St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. She completed her PhD under the supervision of Professor Martyn Cobourne and Professor Paul Sharpe, focusing on the regulation of Sonic hedgehog signaling and its implications for craniofacial midline dental development. Her research has demonstrated that the Gas1 gene may be a causative factor in congenital facial midline anomalies, including holoprosencephaly, through an investigation involving a cohort of Brazilian patients. Currently, her work is centered on understanding how Gas1 regulates dental formula and its interactions with Shh, alongside potential novel signaling pathways essential for normal tooth development. Seppala has received funding for various research projects, emphasizing the biological basis of supernumerary tooth formation and the impact of disrupted WNT signaling. She graduated as a dentist from Oulu Dental Institute in Finland and has held an NIHR funded Walport Academic Clinical Fellow position at King's College. Seppala's significant contributions to orthodontic research are reflected in her extensive publication record, addressing key molecular mechanisms in tissue morphogenesis and craniofacial development.

Research Interests

Experience