Research Assistant Professor, Lab Manager

Dr. Michael Weir graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a BS  in Polymer Science and continued his education at the University of Connecticut with a PhD in Polymer Science in 2000. After graduation, he was awarded a National Research Council (NRC) post-doctoral associateship to perform research in the Polymers Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD, where his research interests included synthesis and characterization of novel monomers for dental composite and adhesive applications, examination of the cellular response to tissue engineered scaffolds constructed from natural and synthetic polymers, and investigation of the dynamics of nanomolar concentrations of growth factors in a model extracellular matrices using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.

Dr. Weir then joined the American Dental Association Paffenbarger Research Center (PRC) where his research focused on the design and characterization of calcium phosphate-based biomaterials for dental and craniofacial repair as well as the development of calcium and phosphate-based nanocomposite restorative materials for caries inhibition. Since his arrival at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, his research has focused on three major areas: 1) The development and evaluation of anti-microbial, nano-structured materials for dental repair, 2) Investigation of the cellular response to novel combination materials containing cells, growth factors and biomaterials used for tissue engineering and orthopedic applications as well as their mechanical/physical properties and 3) Quantification of the release of proteins and growth factors from biomaterials to promote a therapeutic response.  Dr. Weir is a member of the International Association for Dental Research, the American Chemical Society and the Society for Biomaterials.