Dr. Laura Jacox, DMD, PhD, MS is an Assistant Professor of Research and an Orthodontic Clinician-Scientist dedicated to clinical and translational research in dentistry at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She enrolled at Harvard School of Dental Medicine and MIT in a DMD-PhD program through the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program, to train as both a scientist and dentist. Through Dr. Jacox’s graduate work in the Sive Lab at MIT’s Whitehead Institute, she discovered a novel craniofacial organizer, known as the Extreme Anterior Domain, which is required for mouth formation and migration of cranial neural crest in Xenopus. Her love of craniofacial development and patient care guided her to orthodontics.  She then moved to the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry to train in their world-renowned Orthodontic Residency program with Dr. William Proffit and Dr. Ching-Chang Ko. After residency, Dr. Jacox was recruited to become a faculty member at the UNC Adams School of Dentistry, where she established a lab and independent research program, mentoring graduate students, undergraduates, residents and dental students. In her free time, Dr. Jacox loves trail running, traveling, and playing violin in the Duke Medical Orchestra. 
 

   Education

1. American Board of Orthodontics, Certification, 2019 

2. MS, Orthodontics, UNC Adams School of Dentistry, 2019 

3. DMD, Harvard University School of Dental Medicine, Harvard Graduate School of the Arts and Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology, 2016 

4. PhD, Harvard University School of Dental Medicine, Harvard Graduate School of the Arts and the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST) Program, 2015 

5. BS, Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 2008 

6. BS, Earth, Atmosphere and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 2008