Dongbo Wang

Research Interests

I am interested in non-classical mineralization processes that are responsible for forming organized hierarchical structures in calcium phosphate biomaterials. Currently, we are interested in polymer based strategies for directing calcium phosphate nucleation and subsequent assembly.

Ph.D. Thesis

The majority of my dissertation work was to understand the role of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) in calcite mineralization. Specifically, I investigated how magnesium uptake is regulated by biomolecules in ACC and calcite.

Awards/Honors

NIST/NRC-ARRA Post-Doctoral Research Associateship Award (2010)

Invited Speaker, "Investigating an amorphous precursor pathway to calcification: implications for high-Mg carbonates", Geological Society of America Meeting (2010)

Mineralogical Society of America Grant for Student Research in Mineralogy – "Investigating a new pathway to carbonate mineralization and implications for Mg:Ca paleoenvironmental signatures" (2009)

NSF IGERT, Virginia Tech EIGER fellow (2005-2010)

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, Honorable Mention (2004)

Publications

D. Wang, A.F. Wallace, J.J. De Yoreo, P.M. Dove. (2009) Carboxylated molecules regulate magnesium content of amorphous calcium carbonates during calcification. Proceedings of the National Academies of Science U.S.A. 106. 21511-21516. D.

Wang, L.M. Hamm, R.J. Bodnar, P.M. Dove (in prep) Raman spectroscopic characterization of the magnesium content of amorphous calcium carbonate based on spectra properties of the CO32- Raman υ1 stretch. for The Journal of Raman Spectroscopy

J.R.I. Lee, T.Y.J. Han, T.M. Willey, D.Wang, R.W. Meulenberg, J. Nilsson, P.M. Dove, L.J. Terminello, T. van Buuren, J.J. De Yoreo. (2007) Structural development of mercaptophenol self-assembled monolayers and the overlying mineral phase template CaCO3 crystallization from a transient amorphous film. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 129. 10370-10381.

T.M. Willey, J.R.I. Lee, J.D. Fabbri, D. Wang, M.H. Nielsen, J.C. Randel, P.R. Schreiner, A.A. Fokin, B.A. Tkachenko, N.A. Fokina, J.E.P. Dahl, R.M.K. Carlson, L.J. Terminello, N.A. Melosh, T. van Buuren. (2009) Determining oreintational structure of diamondoid thiols attached to silver using near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and Related Phenomena.  172. 69-77. 

A.F. Wallace, D. Wang, L.M. Hamm, P.M. Dove, (accepted) Eukaryotic skeletal formation, Fundamental of Geobiology, eds. A.H. Knoll, D. Canfield, K. Konhauser (Invited book chapter)