Dr. Irfan Saadi has always been interested in understanding the etiology of congenital malformations. He received his B.Sc. (Hon.) and M.Sc. degrees in Biology from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where he began his research career in Dr. Rima Rozen’s laboratory working on genotype-phenotype correlation in patients with congenital renal disease. He then earned his Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of Iowa in Dr. Andrew Russo’s laboratory studying the molecular consequences of disease-causing mutations in Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome, which primarily affects craniofacial and ocular development. His postdoctoral training at Harvard was in developmental genetic analyses of palate and tooth development with Dr. Richard Maas, a preeminent scholar of craniofacial morphogenesis. Dr. Saadi joined the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of Kansas Medical Center in 2011 as an Assistant Professor. He is currently an Associate Professor with Tenure. His research is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the dynamics of embryonic morphogenesis and how changes in these dynamics can lead to congenital anomalies of the craniofacial region.
