• Contact Information 
• Educational and Professional Background
• Research/Creative Activities
• Courses Taught
• Professional Memberships and Activities
• Recent Publications

Educational and Professional Background

1981     D.D.S.      Tokyo Dental College, Tokyo, Japan

1986    D.M.Sc.   Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (Ph.D. equivalent)

1986    Certificate Postgraduate Prosthodontics (Board Eligible)

            Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA

1993     D.M.D.     Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA

Nishimura received his dental training at the Tokyo Dental College and the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.  His advanced research education at Harvard resulted in the Doctor of Medical Sciences (DMSc) degree in 1986.  After a postdoctoral research in cellular and molecular biology under Professor Bjorn Olsen at the Harvard Medical School, Nishimura became a principal investigator of tissue regeneration research supported by federal and industry grants.  He has served as Director of the Harvard-MIT Biomaterials Research Training Program (1993-95), Director of Predoctoral Research Program at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (1995-97), and Co-Director of the Harvard-BIDMC Center for Reconstructive Biomedicine and Technology (1996-97).  He joined UCLA in 1997 and established the Jane and Jerry Weintraub Center for Reconstructive Biotechnology, which is supported by the National Center for Research Resources and philanthropic contributions from film and entertainment industry. He is a Professor in the Division of Advanced Prosthodontics, Biomaterials and Hospital Dentistry of the UCLA School of Dentistry, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Biomedical Engineering Program, UCLA School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Research/Creative Activities

Nishimura’s current research addresses the cellular and molecular aspects of the tissue engineering and wound healing and the patient-oriented application of biotechnology for the facial restoration.  His long-term goal is to implement new reconstructive and regenerative treatments for the patients with facial defects and for better wound healing.  Fully differentiated adult tissues contain a small population of less differentiated stem cells.  It has become increasingly clear that these adult stem cells may be redirected to express various useful phenotypes for tissue regeneration.  The current research projects address the new genetic factors responsible for the molecular differentiation mechanism for adult tissue regeneration potential.  A novel therapeutic gene transfer technology has been designed and is currently undergoing the initial validation process for various adult tissues such as peripheral nerves, bone, and skin/mucosa.  The molecular biotechnologies developed in his laboratory will be directly applicable to the better genome-based diagnostic system of chronic and debilitating diseases.  The clinical gene therapy will be further developed for guided wound healing and ultimately for facial tissue engineering.

Courses taught

Complete Denture Course (RT432a: Instructor)

Advanced Prosthodontics (RT413c: Lecturer)

Postdoctoral Core Course in Implant Dentistry (DS300.16DB: Lecturer)

Advanced Oral Biology: Biology of Bone (OB201A: Lecturer)

Oral Biology Graduate Program

Research Management for Young Scientists: Part I (OB210a: Course Director)

Oral Biology Graduate Program

Research Methodology (Lecturer)

Oral Biology Graduate Program

UCLA Biotechnology Forum (CM133-233: Lecturer)

UCLA Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics

Biotechnology and Society (GE Cluster 71A, B, CWSEM 1: Course Director)

UCLA General Education Course for undergraduate freshman class

Bioethics and Regulatory Policy in Biomedical Engineering (Proposed: Course Director)

UCLA School of Engineering and Applied Science for undergraduate class

Professional memberships and activities:

Nishimura has served as a reviewing consultant to National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and British Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.  He received scientific/academic awards including Distinguished Faculty Award (Harvard, 1993), Turner-Newell Award (University of Manchester, UK, 1995), Distinguished Service Award (American Association for Dental Research, 1999), Appreciation of Services (US Department of Health & Human Services, 2000), and Distinguished Scientist Award (International Association for Dental Research, 2004).  He served on the Editorial Board of various professional journals. 

Recent Publications

Ozawa S, Ogawa T, Iida K, Sukotjo C, Hasegawa H, Nishimura RD, Nishimura Ovariectomy hinders the early stage of bone-implant integration: Histomorphometric, biomechanical, and molecular analyses. Bone, 30:137-143, 2002.

Iida K, Nishimura I: Gene expression profiling by DNA microarray technology. Crit Rev Oral Biol Med, 13:35-50, 2002.

Sukotjo C, Abanmy AA, Ogawa T, Nishimura I: Molecular cloning of novel wound induced transcript (wit 3.0) from edentulous oral mucosa undergoing tooth extraction wound healing. J Dent Res, 81:229-235, 2002.

Zhang X, Kuroda S, Carpenter D, Nishimura I, Soo C, Moats R, Iida K, Wisner E, Hu FY, Miao S, Beanes S, Dang C, Vastardis H, Longaker M, Tanizawa K, Kanayama N, Saito N, Ting K: Craniosynostosis in transgenic mice over-expressing NELL-1. J Clin Inv, 110:861-870, 2002.

Soo C, Sayah DN, Zhang X, Beanes SR, Nishimura I, William W, Shaw WW, Freymiller E, Ting K: The identification of novel wound healing genes through differential display. Plastic Reconst Surg, 110:787-797, 2002.

Ogawa T, Sukotjo C, Nishimura I: Bone matrix-related gene expression profile during implant healing: Upregulated gene expression supports enhanced interfacial strength of chemically roughened implants. J Prosthodont, 11:241-247, 2002.

Achong R, Ramachandran H, Nishimura I, Fiorellini J, Howell H, Karimbux NY: MT1-MMP and MMP:-2 expression in ligature-induced periodontitis. J Periodontol, 74:494-500, 2003.

Ogawa T, Nishimura I: Different histological profiles during the tissue-integration establishment of turned and acid-etched implants are associated with modulated expression of selected genes encoding extracellular matrix related molecules. J Maxillofac Implantol, 18:200-210, 2003.

Nishimura I, Garrell R, Hedrick M, Iida K, Osher S, Wu B: Precursor tissue analogs as a tissue engineering strategy. Tissue Eng, 9:S77-89, 2003.

Nishimura I, Drake TA, Lusis AJ, Lyons K, Nedau JH, Zernik J: ENU large-scale mutagenesis and quantitative trait linkage (QTL) analysis in mice: novel technologies for searching polygenetic determinants of craniofacial abnormalities. Crit Rev Oral Biol Med, 14:320-330, 2003.

Soo C, Beanes SR, Hu FY, Zhang X, Dang C, Chang G, Wang Y, Nishimura I, Freymiller E, Longaker MT , Lorenz HP, Ting K: Ontogenetic transition in fetal wound transforming growth factor-beta regulation correlates with collagen organization, Am J Path, 163:2459-2576, 2003.

Sukotjo C, Lin A, Song K, Wu B, Ogawa T, Nishimura I: Oral fibroblast expression of wound inducible transcript-3.0 (wit3.0) accelerates the collagen gel contraction in vitro. J Biol Chem, 278: 51527-51534, 2003.