Michael Detamore
Associate Professor
4132B Learned Hall
1530 W 15th St
Lawrence, KS 66045
Phone: (785) 864-4943
Fax: (785) 864-4967
E-mail: detamore@ku.edu
Education
- BS Chemical Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, 2000
- PhD, Bioengineering, Rice University, 2004
Research Interests
The temporomandibular joint (TMJ), which is the jaw joint, is the central theme of our research. We are interested in understanding the biomechanical behavior of the TMJ, from the standpoints of both tissue biomechanics and joint motion biomechanics. However, tissue engineering is the primary objective of our group, and the focus of our tissue engineering efforts is the condyle of the mandible.
We are interested in examining the effects of chemical signals, including chondrogenic agents and osteogenic agents, on cells from the mandibular condyle. Furthermore, we are interested in understanding how these different cell types influence each other at the osteochondral interface in engineered constructs. Tissue engineering efforts are also focused on scaffold selection, comparing natural and synthetic polymers, and on development of a direct-perfusion bioreactor for larger-scale constructs, where passive diffusion of nutrients and waste products becomes a limiting factor.
Our focus is to elucidate the anisotropic and viscoelastic nature of condylar cartilage under tension and compression. This work will provide a tool for us to help find a place for this cartilage in the cartilage spectrum, which spans from the elastic cartilages of the ear and nose to the fibrocartilaginous TMJ disc and knee meniscus to hyaline cartilage of the knee and hip. Biomechanical testing of condylar cartilage will be performed under both compression and tension. In addition, we are interested in the compressive behavior of the condyle bone tissue.
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