Rate My Professor George Dias

Professor George Dias serves as a Professor in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Otago, within the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences. He earned his BDS from Sri Lanka, MS in Dental Surgery, PhD from the University of Otago, and certification as a Specialist in Dental Surgery from PGIM Colombo. Initially trained as a dental surgeon with specialization in oral and maxillofacial surgery, his research interests have broadened significantly to encompass biomaterials, clinical anatomy, and forensic science. Key research areas include the development of biocompatible, biodegradable bone graft substitutes from reconstituted keratin, metal alloys, and cellulose; creation of composite surgical appliances combining keratin with materials like titanium for dental, maxillofacial, and orthopedic applications; assessment of sintered bovine bone ceramics (True Bone Ceramics); osteological studies examining skeletal responses to pathological and environmental factors in contemporary and archaeological material; detailed investigations of head and neck anatomy such as the auriculotemporal nerve and lateral pterygoid muscle; and advancements in forensic facial reconstruction methods. He pioneered bone-graft substitutes derived from wool protein and developed efficient methods for extracting high-quality dietary protein from wool with potential applications in 3D printing and functional foods. His collaborative efforts involve partners like Canesis Network Ltd, Dr Mark Staiger at the University of Canterbury, and Dr Michael Mucalo at the University of Waikato. In 2019, Professor Dias delivered his Inaugural Professorial Lecture entitled 'Anatomical adventures with making faces, bone building, woolly foods, and corroding plates,' highlighting innovations in resorbable metal implants for fracture treatment.

Professor Dias's scholarly contributions include highly cited works such as 'Substituted hydroxyapatites for bone regeneration: A review of current trends' (Ratnayake, Mucalo, & Dias, 2017, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B) and 'Development and characterization of a biocomposite material from chitosan and New Zealand-sourced bovine-derived hydroxyapatite for bone regeneration' (Huang, Ratnayake, Ramesh, & Dias, 2020, ACS Omega). Other notable publications are 'Morphological alterations of the cornea following Crosslinking Treatment (CXL)' (Subasinghe et al., 2021, Clinical Anatomy), 'Animal model with structural similarity to human corneal collagen fibrillar arrangement' (Subasinghe et al., 2021, Anatomical Science International), 'Calcium-based ceramic biomaterials' (Ramesh, Ratnayake, & Dias, 2021, book chapter), and 'Effect of chitosan infiltration on hydroxyapatite scaffolds derived from New Zealand bovine cancellous bones for bone regeneration' (Ramesh, Ratnayake, Moratti, & Dias, 2020, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules). His research has amassed over 12,000 citations on Google Scholar. Among his recognitions is the BMS Commercialisation Researcher Award received in 2017.