Professor Colin Dunstan is a Professor in the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering at the University of Sydney. He holds a BSc from the University of Sydney, an MSc from the University of New South Wales, and a PhD from the University of Sydney in bone and calcium metabolism. With over 25 years of experience in clinical and basic research on bone metabolism, Dunstan has worked in both academic and industry settings, including at Amgen Inc. His early research included investigations into aluminum toxicity in Australian patients with renal failure on chronic haemodialysis, which led to changes in dialysis protocols and water treatment practices. He also discovered the periosteal anabolic effects of fibroblast growth factors in vivo and contributed to characterizing the role of osteocalcin through studies on gene knockout mice, resulting in a publication in Nature.

Dunstan was a key member of the team that identified osteoprotegerin, RANK ligand, and RANK as central regulators of bone resorption, with findings published in two papers in Cell and one in Nature. These discoveries paved the way for denosumab, a therapy approved worldwide for osteoporosis and metastatic bone disease. His research interests encompass local regulation of bone remodelling, interactions between bone cell activity and cancer cells, bone metastasis processes, and synthetic materials for repairing bone defects. Current work focuses on 3D-printed bioceramic scaffolds such as Sr-HT-Gahnite and Baghdadite for bone tissue engineering and regeneration, including studies on osteogenesis influenced by pore and channel geometries, elemental exchange at scaffold-bone interfaces, and functional ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene composites for ligament reconstructions. He has authored 284 publications with over 43,000 citations, serves on the editorial boards of Endocrinology and the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, and teaches introductory biomedical engineering courses. Dunstan holds patents leading to novel products in preclinical evaluation for bone repair to replace autografts.

Professional Email: colin.dunstan@sydney.edu.au