茄子直播

Bones expert Bruce Pynn helps paleontology students pursue their dreams (Photo courtesy of Bruce Pynn)

Good bones - from fossils to maxillofacial surgery

Alumnus helps paleontology students in need

When Bruce Pynn took Professor Robert Reisz鈥檚 paleontology course in 1980, he had no idea what he would do after graduating. 

But Reisz instilled in him a love of bones that eventually led Pynn, step by step, to a successful career repairing broken teeth and fractured bones as a maxillofacial dental surgeon in Thunder Bay. 

Now, Pynn wants to give back to 茄子直播 Mississauga with the Pynn Family Paleontology Award.  Beginning this year, the award will provide student support for undergraduates in financial need who are pursuing paleontology, the study of fossilized plants and animals.

鈥淚 set up research courses every year for students so that they can work in my lab, and financial assistance for them would be very helpful,鈥 Reisz said. 

Pynn鈥檚 support for students is an excellent example of the creativity and generosity of alumni as the university鈥檚 continues, said David Palmer, vice-president, advancement.

鈥淰isionary donors such as Bruce Pynn help us attract the very best and brightest students,鈥 Palmer said. 鈥淭heir generosity strengthens our efforts to ensure that all qualified candidates, regardless of their financial means, can pursue their academic dreams here.鈥

Pynn launched his senior thesis with Reisz over 30 years ago, digging for ancient pelycosaur fossils in a cow pasture in Kansas.  That summer, he became lifelong friends with Reisz and Chuck Hardesty, the landowner of the fossil site. 

鈥淯ntil he passed away six years ago, my monthly chats with Chuck in Kansas were the equivalent to Mitch Albom鈥檚 Tuesdays with Morrie 鈥 I loved that book and thought of Chuck as I read it,鈥 Pynn said.

His work with Reisz helped hone his fine motor skills while his science background led to his first job in a microsurgery lab on 茄子直播鈥檚 St. George campus. Further education followed 鈥 a master鈥檚 degree in muscle physiology and microsurgery, and then dental school.

鈥淪pecializing in maxillofacial surgery seemed to be a perfect match with the hand skill set I developed in the fossil work and the microsurgical technique I learned in the lab,鈥 he said.

Pynn now reconstructs faces shattered by car wrecks and other trauma.

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 be in my current occupation had it not been for the course work in anthropology and paleontology offered at UTM,鈥 he said.

Reisz and Pynn joined forces last year on a research project exploring the world鈥檚 oldest known tooth infection.

鈥淧aleontology,鈥 said Reisz, 鈥渋s an influential field because it鈥檚 the only scientific endeavor that gives us a deep time perspective.鈥

With the aid of a CT scan, they found evidence of a massive infection in a 275-million-year-old reptilian jaw. 

鈥淭he results suggest that we have to be careful when battling bacteria because they鈥檝e been around with us for a long time and quick fixes, such as antibiotics, will not work in the long run because bacteria adapt very quickly,鈥 Reisz said.

鈥淭he paper was our second publication together, 29 years after we published the results of my senior thesis. Now, it鈥檚 gratifying to look back at those academic experiences and lasting friendships which represent some of my finest memories.鈥

 

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