Biomaterials and Advanced Materials group

Research in my group has been focused on revealing and explaining the fundamental interactions that underlie inorganic material formation in nature, a process known as biomineralization. We particularly make use of our expertise in solid-state NMR spectroscopy to analyze the rudimentary processes of biogenic material formation in atomic/molecular level. Unveiling the structure/activity relations in these specialized biomolecules involved in regulation of solid biomaterial formation has been particularly elusive. Using these findings, we develop new biomaterials for hard tissue applications based on rationale guidelines. We implement NMR characterization in materials research to understand interfaces between nanomaterials at great detail and employ molecular insights to design concept materials that are more environment friendly.