Vinoy Thomas Editor

Chandra P. Sharma iChandra P. Sharma is Adjunct Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal University, and Hon. Emeritus Professor, College of Biomedical Engineering & Applied Sciences, Purbanchal University, Nepal. He was formerly Senior Scientist, G and Head, Biomedical Technology Wing, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Trivandrum and has been Head, Biosurface Technology Division, SCTIMST, Trivandrum. He has also been Associate Head, Biomedical Technology Wing, and Associate Dean, SCTIMST Trivandrum. He has been recognized with various awards and honors such as MRSI medal (1994) and MRSI-ICSC Superconductivity & Materials Science Annual Prize Award 2009 - Materials Research Society of India, Distinguished Scientist award - Society for Biomaterials and Artificial Organs, India (SBAOI) and shares Whitaker and National Science Foundation Award - International Society for Artificial Organs (ISAO) USA. Dr. Thomas Chandy is a biomaterial expert with unique combination of medical device and technical knowledge. He has strong academic credentials in human physiology and bio-compatible materials with test methods and model development. Dr. Chandy has published over 80 scientific papers in international Journals and 3 patents in the medical device and drug delivery area. Reviewer to 7+ international journals of repute in Drug delivery and Biomedical Research. Twenty-Five years of experience as a project lead in medical device and technology development. Strong experience with broad range of medical products including polymeric and tissue-based implantable, site specific drug delivery, medical diagnostics and combination devices. Product/process development skills with demonstrated success from concept through commercialization involving selection of materials, characterization, biological evaluation of materials, bench, feasibility tests and pre-clinical (animal) testing. Dr. Vinoy Thomas is an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. training spans from Chemistry/Polymers to Materials Science and Nanotechnology with specific training and expertise in Polymers and Biomaterials. He also holds secondary appointments at the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Environmental Science & Health. He is also a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Nanoscale Materials and Biointegration. After his PhD in Biomaterials & Technology he completed postdoctoral training at Friedrich-Schiller University, Germany, and at the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST). His research focuses on biomaterials processing-property relationships, nanomaterials for tissue engineering, and nanodiamonds for joint-implants. Dr. Finosh Thankam is an assistant professor and researcher in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, in the Department of Translational Research, at the Western University of Health Sciences, in Pomona, CA. His undergraduate studies were in Biochemistry, before completing his post-graduate degree in Medical Biochemistry from Mahatma Gandhi University, in India. As a research fellow he was exposed to the new world of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine and published many original articles on various aspects of cardiac tissue engineering. His current research interests include investigating the pathogenesis of various musculoskeletal disorders, and cardiovascular diseases, and applying the knowledge and principles of tissue engineering to develop artificial tissue constructs to improve the care for the sufferers.