Dr. Habelitz is a Professor in the Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, with a background in chemistry and materials engineering. For over 25 years, he has investigated the structure-properties relationships in teeth and other mineralized tissues, publishing over 85 papers. His research centers on understanding the molecular and nanometer-scale mechanisms that control biomineralization in dental tissues, with a focus on the physical-chemical and biochemical parameters that influence protein self-assembly and protein-mineral interactions in dentin and enamel. He has successfully applied the Polymer-Induced Liquid Precursor (PILP) technique to collagen and dentin matrix mineralization and discovered that the enamel protein amelogenin can guide mineral formation when exposed to PILP droplets. He has continuously been funded by the NIH/NIDCR since 2002, securing numerous research grants on biomineralization and the biomechanics of enamel, dentin, and the dentin-enamel junction. In collaboration with other at the SOD, he is running clinical trial to translate the PILP technology into the dental clinic.