Dr. Ignelzi earned his D.D.S., Certificate in Pediatric Dentistry and Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1987, Dr. Ignelzi received a Dentist-Scientist Fellowship from the National Institute of Dental Research. From 1992 - 1995, Dr. Ignelzi was Clinical Instructor, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, and Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology (School of Dentistry) and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (School of Medicine) at the University of Southern California. This post-doctoral fellowship was devoted to the study of human birth defects at the molecular and cellular levels.

Since 1995, Dr. Ignelzi has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. Dr. Ignelzi teaches in the pre-doctoral and graduate clinics and treats patients in the faculty practice. Dr. Ignelzi lectures to pre-doctoral and graduate students on the following topics: diagnosis and treatment of anomalies and pathology in children, child psychology, behavior management, and the genetic basis of normal and abnormal craniofacial development. Dr. Ignelzi has lectured nationally and internationally to dentists, dental hygienists and dental assistants on the following topics: behavior management; child development and child psychology; developmental anomalies and oral pathology; and how recent advances in genetics are affecting how we practice and how we live. Dr. Ignelzi is funded by National Institutes of Health to study the molecular genetic basis of craniofacial birth defects.