Mark W. Grinstaff

Grinstaff was born on May 23, 1965 in Texas and was the elder of two sons.[1][2] Grinstaff attended Redlands High School in Redlands, California, and then Occidental College. During his first year at OC, he worked at the hummingbird section of a museum, at the same time studying studied the kinetics of Friedel-Crafts chloromethylation reactions in the laboratory of Franklin DeHaan who was also his mentor there. He then became teaching assistant in a chemistry lab class. During his junior year at the Occidental College he finally made up his mind and decided to pursue chemistry over medicine.[2] He obtained a degree in that field in 1987.[3]

In 1992, Grinstaff got his doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign[3] , under the mentorship of Kenneth S. Suslick. While at UIUC he studied sonochemistry and reported one of the first synthetic methods to metal nanoparticles. His thesis was on the use of sound waves to make amorphous iron and protein-microsphere compounds. For his postdoctoral work, he joined Harry B. Gray's laboratory at the California Institute of Technology where he conducted research on electron transfer chemistry in proteins and the mechanism of alkane hydroxylation using iron porphyrins and oxygen.[1]

Grinstaff was a member of the Biological Chemistry program at Duke University from 1996 to 2002, and from 1997 to 2002 was a member of its Pharmacology Training Grant Program. In 1997, he joined the faculty of Duke's Center for Cellular and Biosurface Engineering, and since 1999 has served as an assistant professor of ophthalmology at Duke University Hospital. At Duke, he was also assistant professor of chemistry at the College of Arts and Sciences beginning in 1996, and from 2001 to 2003 was assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Duke's School of Engineering.[2]

In 2003, Grinstaff relocated to Boston University as part of the recruitment activities associated with the Whitaker Foundation Leadership Award granted to the Department of Biomedical Engineering at BU. He joined Boston University College of Arts and Sciences as associate professor of chemistry, with joint appointments at both Boston University School of Medicine and the Boston University College of Engineering. In 2004, he became a faculty member of the Boston University Center for Nanoscience and Nanobiotechnology, and later became its director in 2014.[2]

In 2015, Gristaff had obtained a grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with which he developed which became known as self-lubricating condoms.[4] Under his watch, as many as four biotech companies emerged and prospered: AcuityBio, Affinergy, Articular Biosciences and HyperBranch Medical Technology.[5] He is also a co-founder of five companies and an inventor of four products by the Adherus Surgical Sealants and OcuSeal.[6]

Grinstaff serves on an advisory board of the Syracuse Biomaterials Institute.[7]

In 2001, Grinstaff have written Proceedings from the Workshop on Nanoscience for the Soldier of which he was also principal investigator.[8]

• Nobel Laureate Signature Award from the American Chemical Society (1994)[9]
• PEW Award (1999)[10]
• Edward M. Kennedy Award for Healthcare Innovation (2008)[11]
• Fellow of the AIMBE (2010)[12]
• Charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (2012)[13]
• Charles DeLisi Award and Lecture (2015)[14]

• Mark W. Grinstaff publications indexed by Google Scholar