Investiture Ceremony to Award Tao Lowe, PhD
The Frederick G. Smith, MS, DDS and Venice K. Paterakis, DDS
Endowed Professorship in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
About Dr. Lowe
Tao Lowe, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD) and the Fischell Department of Bioengineering in the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is the inaugural recipient of the Frederick G. Smith, MS, DDS, and Venice K. Paterakis, DDS, Endowed Professorship — the first endowed professorship established at the School of Dentistry. In this role, Dr. Lowe leads translational research within UMSOD’s Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in addition to providing leadership in education, outreach, and service.
Dr. Lowe previously was an associate professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center; associate professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Thomas Jefferson University; and assistant professor of Surgery, Bioengineering, and Materials Science and Engineering, and co-director of the Integrated Graduate Degree Molecular Toxicology Program at Pennsylvania State University. She received her PhD eximia cum laude from the University of Helsinki, Finland, and conducted two years of postdoctoral research in the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr. Lowe’s research interests include the design and development of novel, multifunctional biomaterials for targeted and sustained drug, gene, and stem cell delivery for tissue engineering and disease therapy. Her work has focused on nanotechnology for overcoming the biological barriers, sustained drug delivery approaches to treat diabetes; cancers; diseases in the eye, brain, ear, and face; COVID-19; and regeneration of bone, cartilage, and nerve. She has made unique and significant contributions in advancing biomaterials for innovative translational research and education at the interface of materials, chemistry, physics, engineering, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, clinical care, and business.
The author of more than 250 scholarly articles and presentations, she holds eight and two pending U.S. and international patents. She has garnered more than $14 million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health and other public and private agencies and foundations. Dr. Lowe has presented more than 90 invited talks around the world and is a frequent grant reviewer for government funding agencies in the U.S. and other countries. She also has served in leadership roles in professional societies including the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Society for Biomaterials, Controlled Release Society, and Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. In her lab, she has trained more than 130 individuals who have become successful scientists, engineers, dentist-scientists, physician-scientists, pharmacists, and educators. Dr. Lowe has achieved numerous honors including as a recipient of an Early Career Award in Translational Research from the Coulter Foundation, member of the University of Maryland ADVANCE Leadership Fellows Program, and fellow of the AAPS.