Name: Alex Almarza
Title: Research Associate





Educational Background:
Rice University, May 2005, Ph.D. Bioengineering
Florida State University, May 2001, B.S. Chemical Engineering

MSRC Research Group:
Mechanobiology Laboratory, Co-Director

Lab Contact Info:
Musculoskeletal Research Center
405 Center for Bioengineering
300 Technology Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Phone: 412-648-9242
Fax: 412-648-2001
aja19@pitt.edu

Research Interests:
  • Functional tissue engineering techniques involving the use of small intestinal submucosa (SIS) to improve the healing of injured ligaments
  • Development of novel bioreactors to further enhance healing potential of bioscaffolds
  • Identifying appropriate cell sources for ligament tissue engineering approaches amongst newly discovered stem cell sources such as bone marrow, muscle, fat
  • Genetic manipulation of cells seeded on scaffold to promote faster healing and regeneration


Publication:
  1. Woo SLY, ALMARZA AJ, Abramowitch SD, “Functional Tissue Engineering of Ligaments and Tendons,” as section for a Tissue Engineering position paper. Submitted, June 2006.
  2. ALMARZA AJ, Athanasiou KA, Effects of Hydrostatic Pressure on TMJ Disc Cells,” Tissue Engineering, 12(5): 1285-94.
  3. ALMARZA AJ, Athanasiou KA, “Evaluation of three growth factors in combinations of two for TMJ disc tissue engineering,” Archives of Oral Biology, 51(3): 215-221, 2006.
  4. ALMARZA AJ, Bean AC, Baggett LS, Athanasiou KA, “Biochemical content and distribution in the porcine temporomandibular joint disc,” British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 44(2): 124-128, 2006.
  5. ALMARZA AJ, Athanasiou KA, “Effects of initial cell seeding density for the tissue engineering of the temporomandibular joint disc,” Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 33(7): 943-50, 2005.
  6. ALMARZA AJ, Athanasiou KA, “Seeding techniques and scaffolding choice for the tissue engineering of the temporomandibular joint disc,” Tissue Engineering, 10 (11-12), 2004.
  7. ALMARZA AJ, Athanasiou KA, “Design characteristics for the tissue engineering of cartilaginous tissues,” Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 32 (1): 2-17, 2004.
  8. ALMARZA AJ, Detamore MS, Allen KD, Athanasiou KA, “The TMJ disc: Tissue engineering concerns and current efforts,” TMJ Science, 2004 (http://www.tmj.org/TMJdisc_tissue_eng.rtf)
  9. Bean, A.C., ALMARZA, A.J., and Athanasiou, K.A. Effects of Ascorbic Acid Concentration for the Tissue Engineering of the Temporomandibular Joint Disc. J Eng Med, Accepted, November 2005.
  10. Detamore MS, Orfanos JG, ALMARZA AJ, French MM, Wong ME, Athanasiou KA, “Quantitative analysis and comparative regional investigation of the extracellular matrix of the porcine temporomandibular joint disc,” Matrix Biology, 24 (1): 45-57, 2005
  11. Detamore MS, Hegde JN, Wagle RR, ALMARZA AJ, Montufar-Solis D, Duke PJ, Athanasiou KA, “Cell type and distribution in the porcine temporomandibular joint disc,” Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 64(2): 243-248, 2006
  12. Allen KD, Detamore MS, ALMARZA AJ, Wong ME, Athanasiou KA, “The temporomandibular joint disc,” Wiley Encyclopedia of Biomedical Engineering, Accepted, October 2004 (Invited Review)


Personal Information:
Dr. Almarza is now getting situated to the post-doctoral life in Pittsburgh. He has made many friends in the short time he has been here, and has also taken part in a myriad of social activities (Shown in pictures). More importantly, Dr. Almarza is developing the leadership skills that he will need in his professional life in academics under the mentorship of Dr. Woo. Dr. Almarza is proud and honored to have the opportunity to lead such a talented group of fellows, graduate students, and technicians in the mechanobiology group.

Family:(Pet Plant) Matilda

Personal album:


Family Picture



Friends from Rice at BMES 2005



Group picture after first grant submission



Preparing to go out


Hobbies:Weight lifting, running, learning tennis

Home Country: Venezuela