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Distinguished Professor
Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine
My specialty lies in the area of materials surfaces and interfaces. I am particularly interested in the concept of the
materials genome where complementary theoretical models are used to design materials with novel surface
properties. I am interested in the protein/materials interface which we believe is the source of
biocompatibility and control of cellular function and self-assembly in tissue engineering design. For 15 years I
was involved with the NSF-MRSEC program, where I collaborated with faculty in multiple disciplines using
materials design for control of biomechanics, dermal organization, dental pulp stem cell differentiation,
biomineralization, and control of materials induced thrombogenicity. In order to validate DISC as a medical
diagnostic of muscular enervation equivalent to a non-contact EMG, I collaborated with Alexander Dagum,
MD, chair of plastic surgery, on the application of DISC imaging for quantifying effectiveness, determination of
dosage, and prediction of injection sites for Botox, with Drs. Raphael Davis, MD, chair of neurosurgery on an
injectable nucleus pulposus replacement, with Dr. Dennis Galanakis, former director of the Stony Brook
Hospital Blood Bank, and Katherine Vorvolakos of the FDA, on design of non-thrombogenic materials, and
with Dr. Richard Clark on design of electrospun scaffolds for control of dermal cell organization.