Richard J. Sherwood, PhD, Fellow AAAS

Richard J. Sherwood is a craniofacial scientist and researcher with a specialty in human craniofacial biology, growth and development, and quantitative genetics. He is a professor in the Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences and is the Director of the Craniofacial Research Center. His current NIH-funded research focuses on development of individualized predictive models of craniofacial growth designed to assist clinicians in identification of optimal treatment timing.

Dr. Sherwood currently leads the Craniofacial Growth Consortium Study (CGCS), a large multi-site effort to establish novel methods of growth prediction in the human craniofacial complex. This study is the world’s largest longitudinal study of normal craniofacial growth. The CGCS combines records from eight of the largest historical growth studies from North America with the earliest dating back as far as 1917. Each study collected longitudinal head radiographs (lateral cephalographs) over the childhood and adolescent periods. The CGCS now includes records from over 2,000 individuals and close to 18,000 cephalographs. With a median of nine cephalographs per individual, the study provides an unparalleled opportunity to not only model craniofacial growth but to develop predictive models, providing a toolkit to clinicians to assist in decisions regarding the timing of treatments.