Rate My Professor Azam Ali

Professor Azam Ali holds the position of Professor in the Department of Oral Rehabilitation within the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Otago. He also directs the Bioengineering Academic Program and leads biomaterials research at the Centre for Bioengineering and Nanomedicine. His academic qualifications include a BSc (Hons) and MSc from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and a PhD in Polymer, Biomaterials Science and Engineering from Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2000. Ali commenced his professional career as a scientist at the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission. He subsequently undertook postdoctoral research at Pohang University of Science and Technology in South Korea and served as a Research Fellow at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the USA. In 2003, he relocated to New Zealand, contributing as a scientist at the Wool Research Institute and advancing to senior scientist and science leader at AgResearch until April 2013. Joining the University of Otago as a Senior Lecturer in May 2013, he spearheaded the Bioengineering program, earned promotion to Associate Professor in 2018, and attained full professorship in 2025.

Professor Ali's research interests encompass biomaterials and biomedical engineering, with a focus on biofabrication, medical devices, tissue engineering, and regeneration of soft and hard tissues such as dental pulp, skin, bone substitutes, intervertebral discs, heart valves, and neural tissues. He has led over 30 major research projects, attracting nearly NZ$13 million in funding, supervised more than 68 postgraduate students to completion, and authored over 190 peer-reviewed publications alongside 12 book chapters. His innovations include 24 granted patents, notably for wool keratin wound care products (US Patent 7732574), biocomposite biomaterials (US 7767756), and bone void fillers (US 8142807), with six medical devices commercialized in 23 countries. Recognized with awards such as Bayer Innovator of the Year in 2010, University of Otago Supervisor of the Year in 2018 and 2024, and honors from the Pierre Fauchard Academy, Ali delivered his Inaugural Professorial Lecture, "Journey of wool: From concept to clinic," in October 2025. He edits the Journal of Materials Science and Engineering, serves on editorial boards, reviews for journals and funding agencies, and holds memberships in Medtech CoRE, New Zealand Controlled Release Society, International Association for Dental Research, and Australasian Society for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering.