Welcome! The Nicholas Lab is housed within UIC’s College of Dentistry, and is a multidisciplinary team investigating factors, both genetic and environmental, which influence craniofacial growth and development. We employ deep phenotyping techniques such as geometric morphometrics to study complex shape, working extensively with 3D data such as CT scans and 3D surface models. We address a wide range of questions, from the anthropological (“At what age to patterns of facial growth diverge across populations?”), to forensics (“What methods allow us to best estimate someone’s age from their teeth?”), to clinical (“How much more growth can we expect at the back of the jaw of an 11-year-old female patient? What are the odds she’ll have enough space to fit all of her molars without extraction?”).
| Associate Professor | Orthodontics
DENTAGE
A Novel Dental Age Estimation Tool. We are building a large, prospectively recruited sample of radiographs and intraoral scans from children and adolescents in the United States. This data will be used to develop improved dental age estimation methods. Funded by the National Institute of Justice.
Childhood Obesity and Dentofacial Growth
Our lab investigates the relationship between childhood obesity and differences in rate, timing, and direction of craniofacial growth. We have demonstrated that children with obesity show accelerated dental development, and likely also accelerated facial skeletal development. We are also interested in the impact of childhood obesity on oral health more broadly, such as gingival health and plaque accumulation. Funded by the American Association of Orthodontists Foundation and the UIC Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences.
Evolution of Craniofacial Growth
Differences in adult facial shape reflect differential growth patterns. A key question in evolutionary anatomy is at what point in development these differences emerge, as this may inform when and how selection has acted upon traits.
Genotype-phenotype studies
Through collaborations (Reed Lab, Atsawasuwan Lab, Naba Lab, and others) we examine relationships between genes and skeletal phenotypes. Our lab houses extensive expertise in geometric morphometrics and other deep phenotyping techniques.
Clinical Orthodontics
We seek to answer clinical orthodontic questions, particularly those related to growth prediction. Prior work in this area has included a longitudinal study of retromolar space growth, a survey of patient impressions regarding direct to consumer clear aligners, and research on dental crowding in children with high BMI.
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