Biomaterials can be classified as synthetic or natural materials intended to either augment, direct, replace, repair or regenerate organs, tissues, or cells. The field of biomaterials employs the combination of concepts and experimental techniques used in materials science and engineering, as well as the biological sciences, to address the structure-property-performance relationships of biomaterials and the devices that employ them. Biomaterials origins stem from the use of synthetic materials (metals, polymer & ceramics) in diverse applications as vascular graphs, artificial hips and dental restorations. More recently the scope of the field has broadened to include studies of natural tissues, cellular structures, and biomacromolecules, sometimes collectively referred to as biological materials. The biomaterials field has rapidly expanded to incorporate additional interdisciplinary elements of the biomedical and physical sciences. Biointerfaces, bio-microdevices, controlled drug delivery, tissue engineering, and efforts to apply knowledge from cell and molecular biology to regenerate tissues and organs are now at the leading edge of biomaterials research.
Biomaterials faculty in the graduate group:
Tamara Alliston, UCSFDouglas Clark, UCB
Irina Conboy, UCB
Tejal A. Desai, UCSF
Robert Full, UCB
Teresa Head-Gordon, UCB
Kevin Healy, UCB
Jay Keasling, UCB
Sanjay Kumar, UCB
Patricia Leake, UCSF
Seung-Wuk Lee, UCB
Luke Lee, UCB
Song Li, UCB
Gerard Marriott, UCB
Niren Murthy, UCB
Lisa Pruitt, UCB
Francis Szoka, Jr., UCSF