Conrado Aparicio
Professor Aparicio is a materials scientist and engineer by training. His PhD studies focused on the surface modification of dental implants to accelerate bone growth and dental implant fixation. After starting his academic career at the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) he moved to the University of Minnesota where he spent 12+ years, achieved the rank of Full Professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences, and was the Deputy Director of the Minnesota Dental Research Center in Biomaterials and Biomechanics. This year Professor Aparicio has returned to his hometown, Barcelona, to join the Faculty of Dentistry at UIC Barcelona.
He has now more than 20 years of experience doing research on understanding and directing the biological response of bone, oral mucosa and bacteria on the surface of dental implants and other dental and orthopedic biomaterials.
He has published 100+ research papers and has lectured around the World on dental implants and bioactivation of synthetic biomaterials. He is co-inventor of 12 patents, one of them licensed and marketed by a dental implant company. His research has been funded by the US National Institutes of Health, the US Department of Defense, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education, and several research foundations and companies that manufacture dental biomaterials and implants.
He teaches Dental and Advanced Biomaterialsin graduate and master programs in dentistry and biomedical engineering.
Professor Aparicio has won multiple awards, such as the European Award in Basic Science in Dentistry. He has been invited as Visiting Professor at Universities in four continents. He was named the 2019 Century Club Professor of the Year at the University of Minnesota; the highest faculty honor. This year he was elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).