“Title To Come”
Speaker: Timothy Cox, PhD
Endowed Professor in Dental & Musculoskeletal Tissue Research, UMKC
Date: July 22, 2025, noon-1 p.m.
Location: Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health Building, Atkins Family Seminar Room
Register Here
About the Speaker
Dr. Cox earned his BSc (majors: Biochemistry & Immunology) (’89), BSc [Honors] in Biochemistry (’90)
and PhD in Molecular Genetics (’94) from the University of Adelaide, Australia. Following his PhD, Dr Cox had a brief stint in an Australian biotechnology company using ES cell technologies to address the challenges associated with organ rejection following xenotransplantation. He was then awarded consecutive prestigious Australian Medical Research Fellowships to undertake postdoctoral training overseas at both Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (Texas) and the Telethon Institute of Genetics in Medicine (TIGEM) in Milan (Italy) and then at the University of Queensland (Australia). He then returned to his alma mater, the University of Adelaide, to head his own research group where he formed strong research ties with The Australian Craniofacial Unit (an International Centre of Excellence for the management of craniofacial deformity). After 8 years, he accepted a tenured position at Monash University and became the co-director of MouseWorks the highly regarded mouse genetic modification facility. In 2006, Timothy was recruited to the University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Research Institute in Seattle, where he rose to full professor in pediatrics and the inaugural holder of the Laurel Endowed Chair in Pediatric Craniofacial Research. Dr Cox joined the UMKC School of Dentistry faculty in 2018 as the Endowed Chair in Mineralized Tissue Research in the Department of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences and in 2019 he received a joint appointment in the School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics.
Dr Cox’s research interests are in both basic and translation sciences. His research focus is in the understanding of genetic and epigenetic contributions to craniofacial development and factors influencing susceptibility to, and presentation of, common craniofacial conditions, such as cleft lip, midface hypoplasia and craniofacial microsomia. Dr Cox’s research uses both the mouse and chick as model systems and quantitative high-resolution 3D tomographic imaging to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the impact of genetic mutations and maternal diet on early facial morphogenesis and its postnatal consequences. Part of his lab is also focused on providing new insight into the genetic basis of the aforementioned human conditions by employing the latest genomic sequencing tools on relevant patient cohorts in partnership with local, national and international collaborators.
About the Discovery Series
The NextGen Precision Health Discovery Series provides learning opportunities for UM System faculty and staff across disciplines, the statewide community and our other partners to learn about the scope of precision health research and identify potential collaborative opportunities. The series consists of monthly lectures geared toward a broad multidisciplinary audience so all can participate and appreciate the spectrum of precision health efforts.
For questions about this event or any others in the Discovery Series, please reach out to Mackenzie Lynch.