Temporomandibular Joint and Airway Disorders

G. Gary Demerjian , DDS, graduated from the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry, San Francisco, in 1990 and undertook various postgraduate studies. For more than two decades he has run a private practice with a focus on the treatment of temporomandibular joint disorders and sleep disordered breathing/sleep apnea. In 2014, Dr. Demerjian was awarded the position of Project Scientist, Department of Oral Biology, UCLA School of Dentistry and a position as a sleep physician at Fontana Kaiser Sleep Centr to treat obstructive sleep apnea with oral orthotics. Dr. Demerjian is a Diplomate of American Board of Craniofacial Pain, American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine, American Board of Craniofacial Dental Sleep Medicine, American Academy of Integrative Pain Management, American Board of Forensic Dentistry, American College of Forensic Examiners. A Fellow of the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain and the International College of Craniomandibular Orthopedics. Is certified as a RPSGT - Registered Polysomnographic Technologist. He has been an active member of the Evidence Based Decisions-Practice-Based Research Network since 2010. Furthermore, he has given many presentations on topics concerning the temporomandibular joint at national and international meetings. He has several publications related to his research and clinical expertise.

Andre Barkhordarian , M.S., Ph.D.; is a Project Scientist and a Lecturer in the Division of Oral Biology and Medicine at the UCLA School of Dentistry. He chairs an advanced course in Osteoimmunology and teaches courses in Immunology, Bone Biology, Biostatistics (research design, methodology, data analysis), Evidence Based Medicine and Dentistry. He is the faculty lecturer for the UCLA Pre-College Science Education Program, the STEM pipeline programs at UCLA School of Dentistry, and was the faculty consultant at the UCLA Graduate Division collaborating with internaland external stakeholders to increase fellowship resources. He has conducted translational research in the domain of Cell Biology, Osteoimmunology/Immunology for the pursuit of proteomic biomarkers of temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD), and related comorbid neurological pathologies. His research includes translational effectiveness, research synthesis methodology and data analysis (acceptable sampling analysis, meta-analysis, individual patient data analysis), and its implications and applications in Evidence-Based Medicine and Dentistry and its related areas of study. He is the Chief Executive Officer of the Evidence Based Decisions-Practice-Based Research Network and has published several articles and book chapters related to his research.

Francesco Chiappelli , PhD; Dr. Endo (h.c.), is a Professor in the Division of Oral Biology and Medicine and jointly the Division of Associated Clinical Specialties, UCLA School of Dentistry, LosAngeles, California. Among also holds a faculty position in the Department of the Health Sciences at the California State University, Northridge, and hold a Conjoint Professor position at the University of Newcastle, Australia. He is recognized as a Fellow of the America Association for the Advancement of Science, and an Overseas Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine for his contribution to the field of translational research and effectiveness in health care. He is a Champion of Evidence-Based Dentistry for the American Dental Association, and the Honorary President of the Brazilian Society of EBD/CER. He served as a Fulbright Specialist in Evidence-Based Medicine/Dentistry in Brazil. He is the founder and director of the Evidence Based Decisions-Practice-Based Research Network. He has authored over 200 peer-reviewed research papers, reviews and editorials; over 50 book chapters, edited or co-edited half a dozen books, and written half a dozen monographs in his fields of scientific specialty, fundamental and clinical psychoneuroimmunology and translational research and effectiveness in health care.