Technical Consultants

Richard W. Bianco, Animal Studies Consultant

Associate Professor Richard W. Bianco is Director of Experimental Surgery and Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Minnesota. He has 30+ years of experience in the management of Experimental Surgical projects and has authored numerous refereed journal articles and book chapters on the topics of animal model development and the assessment of new or modified medical devices with a major emphasis in the area of cardiovascular prostheses. His particular research interest is in the development of accurate and humane animal models that predict safe clinical performance and efficacy. The Experimental Surgery Services department at the University of Minnesota is one of the premier GLP facilities in the world and is recognized both domestically and internationally as a leading facility conducting pre-clinical safety evaluations. Professor Bianco has served on various committees of the International Standards Organization (ISO) and is currently is expert member of several working groups and sub-committees including Animal Welfare, Cardiac Valves, and Vascular Grafts (Co-Chair). Richard Bianco recently stepped down from a long time role as Associate Vice President for Research and Regulatory Affairs at the University of Minnesota. In that role he served as Institutional Official for Subject Protection and managed the oversight of Financial Conflict of Interest and other regulations governing the conduct of research. Finally, Professor Bianco has been a national leader in promoting the humane use of animals in medical research and has served on the Boards of both the National Organization for Biomedical Research (NABR, Americans for Medical Progress (AMP), and States United for Biomedical Research (SUBR). TOP

Robert Baier, Ph.D., Biomaterials Consultant

Dr. Baier is Professor of Biomaterials at SUNY, Buffalo. He serves as Executive Director of the National Science Foundation’s Industrial/University Center for Biosurfaces at SUNY, Buffalo. He is a founding fellow of American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, is on the editorial board for the Journal of Adhesion and has previously served as President of the Society for Biomaterials. Dr. Baier has published extensively in the biosurface physics as it relates to medical implant technology. He was instrumental in formulating the anti-fibrotic coatings strategy in one of our Phase I SBIR grants and the new Phase II award. Dr. Baier earned his Ph.D. in Biophysics at University of Buffalo, SUNY and performed post-doctoral research in surface science at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. TOP