Members
M. Ali Saghiri, D.Eng, MS, PhD
(Principle Investigator and Director)
Dr. Saghiri has a Ph.D. in Dental Material and is the Director of Lab of Biomaterial at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine (RSDM). He has broad expertise in the field of dental material with more than 100 publications in areas such as dental biomaterials, endodontic cements, restorative materials, oral biology, and angiogenesis. He is the inventor of Nano White Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (NWMTA), which is a US patented novel endodontic cement used as root canal filling biomaterial.
In addition, Dr. Saghiri is the only researcher in the dental clinic in the East Coast to receive the Denbur Award Tech. Dr. Saghiri was nominated because he is a Clinician, Researcher and an Entrepreneur. He has worked with high-tech companies including RooTogen and Philips Oral Healthcare. He has close to a 100 articles indexed in PubMed, 61 of which he is the first author for, a number of patents, and diverse collaborations.
AFSAR LAB is currently working on the expandable Endodontics sealer project. This project was patented and has been made possible by Research to Prevent Blindness to the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences; the Retina Research Foundation; and National Institutes of Health grants. Commonly used endodontic sealers used to fill the root canal space have two main limitations: shrinkage, which results in detachment of filling materials from the root canal walls, soluble, and/or “washing-out” of endodontic sealers. Both shrinkage and washing-out of sealers can cause gap formation inside and between the filling material and root canal walls. This gap formation can result in microbial colonization and reinfection of tooth root canal space, which in turns can lead to the failure of the treatment. This sealer is an innovation on the sealers on the market because it has a unique ability to expand instead of shrink. This would eliminate the cause of most endodontic failure. Thus, creating a safer, easier, quicker, and more affordable procedure that can be performed by more providers to a wider range of patients.
Ex- Philips Oral Health Care , Costco and UMICH
Visiting Professor, Digital Dentistry Collaborator
Ali Mohammad Saghiri, PhD
Visiting Assistant Professor
Project: Computer Engineering
BS: Computer Engineering
MS: Computer Engineering
PHD: Computer Engineering
Visiting Professor, Orthodontic and Craniofacial Research
Fatereh Samadi DDS, MS
Visiting Assistant Professor
Project: Orthodontic Biomaterials
DDS
MS: Orthodontic Biomaterials
Google Scholar
Pubmed
Lab Manager
Devyani Nath
Lab Manager
Major: Biomedical Engineering
MS: Buffalo University
BS
Clinical Coordinator and Strategist
Julia Vakhonvesteky, BS
Major: Biological Sciences (Pre-dental)
Project: Artificial Intelligence in Dentistry
BS: Rutgers University
Adjunct Instructor
Hamed Kazerani, BS, MS. PhD
Major: 3D printing and Material Characterization
Project: Material Characterization
BS: Rutgers University
Graduates:
Amir Fakharzadeh, DMD
Adjunct Researcher
Project: Gingivitis and the Role of Angiogenesis
BS/MS: TBA
Ali Obeidi, DMD, DDS, MS
Adjunct Researcher
Project: Restoration and Bonding in Dentistry
BS/MS/PHD: TBA
Ali Baghalian, DDS, M.S.c
Pediatric Dentistry Resident
Project: Clinical Pediatric implications
BS: Shahed Dental School, Tehran
MS: Tehran University of Medical Sciences
Peter Freag, DDS
Visiting Clinician
Project: Implant and its complications in maxillofacial dentistry
BS: TBA
Mahsa Amanabi, DDS
Dentist
Project: Innovation in Oral Devices
BS: Tabriz University of Medical Science
Eli Samadi, DDS
Project: Innovation in Oral Devices
DDS: Mazandaran university
Kasra Karamifar, DDS, MS
Adjunct Researcher
Project: Dentin Mineralization
DDS: Shiraz Uni
MS/PHD: New Jersey Institute of Technology
Armen Asatourian, DDS
Research Resident
Major: Dental Surgery
Project: Advance Biomaterials
DDS: Rutgers School of Dental Medicine
Jawwad Hussain
Major: Dentistry
Project: Teledentistry
BS: TBA
Abraham Lee, BS
Major: Biobehavioral Health
Project: Application of Technology in Dentistry
BS: Penn State University
MS: Rutgers University
Omar Shahid, DDS
Prosthodontic Resident
Major: Dental Surgery
Project: Digital Dentistry and 3D Rendering
BS: Hamdard University Karachi
Azam Kowalczyk, BS
Major: Electrical Engineering
Project: Diabetes detection using machine learning/deep learning algorithms and speech processing
BS: Shahid Chamran
MS: Sahand University
Abdor Rahman Ahmed, BS
Major: Biological Science (Pre-dental)
Project: TBA
BS: Rutgers University
Denis Wykoff, BS
Major: TBA (Pre-Med)
Project: Legal and Role of CODA in dental Education
Harkanwal Kanwal
Major: Dentistry
Project: Scale up of dental biomaterials
BS: TBA
Anna Vakhnovetsky, BS
Major: Molecular and Cellular Biology (Pre-Med)
Project: Diabetes and the Voice
BS: Johns Hopkins University
Undergraduates:
Jordan Tang, BS
Major: TBA (Visiting Researcher)
Project: App and GUI in dental application
BS: Rutgers University
Marina Ghobrial, BS
Major: Chemical Engineering (Pre-dental)
Project: Digital Dentistry and Intraoral Camera
BS: New Jersey Institute of Technology
Mohammad Ali Reza
Major: TBA (Pre-Med)
Project: Diabetics in Ophthalmology
and dentistry
BS: Rutgers University
Nareman Nahnooch, BS
Major: Psychology
Project: Dental Devices
BS: Rutgers University
Luke Jia, BS
Major: Pharmacology
Project: Innovation in Oral Devices
BS: University of California, Santa Barbara
Alumni:
Pre-doctoral Students:
Jessica Eid, BS ( Postgradute student)
Dental Students:
Kimia Raimi ( Dental Student )
Steven Lebowitz, BS ( Dental Student )
Mona Momeni Moghadam, DDS( Dental Student )
Onyeka Oguagha, BS ( Dental Student )
Graduates:
Amir Reza Moayer (Periodontist)
Elahe Behrouz (Prosthodontist, Canada )
Zeynab Azizi (Radiology, Iran)
Mansor Malekzadeh ( Dentist)
Zahra Nematolahi ( Dentist)
Maryam Atashi ( Dentist)
Maryam Maleki ( Dentist)
Reza Neghahdar (Ophthalmologist)
Beni Mohammadi (Ophthalmologist)
Amir Pasha Mahmudzadeh ( Data Engineering)
Kaveh Mosavi ( Dentist)
Amir Ali Ghododsi ( Dentist)
Houtan Zand ( Dentist)
Shabnam Maleki ( Dentist)
Iman Barati ( Dentist)
Sonya Dadfar ( Dentist)
Samad Rezaie ( Dentist)
Amir Ahadi ( Dentist)
Samaneh Danesh ( Dentist)
Kasra Karamifar (Endodontist, Iran)