Research is in dental/craniofacial and orthopedic biomaterials. Areas include evaluation and characterization of corrosion/degradation and surface properties of biomaterials, in vitro and in vivo responses to materials and degradation products, surface modification and coatings, chitosan-based materials, bone cell biomechanics, tissue regenerative medicine and drug delivery. 

B.S. with Honors in Biology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, April 1984 
B.S. Materials Engineering, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, December 1988 
M.S. Biomedical Engineering, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, June 1989 
PhD, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, August 1994 
J. William Fulbright Fellowship, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board/ US & Sweden, Department of Dental Materials Science, Faculty of Odontology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden, 1993-1994 

Dr. Bumgardner and team are focused on developing and evaluating biomaterials for a wide range of biomedical implant and tissue engineering/regenerative medicine applications in the orthopedic, dental/craniofacial and wound healing areas. Work involves characterizations of biomaterial properties including surface, corrosion/degradation, and mechanical properties, as well as in vitro and in vivo evaluations of cell/tissue responses for establishing material-biological performance relationships. Current work is focused on design and development of chitosan-based materials/composites for dental/orthopedic implant coatings, bone grafting/tissue engineering, nano- and micro- particles for drug delivery/tissue engineering, and electrospinning of fibers/membranes for guided bone regeneration and other tissue engineering applications. He has over 110 journal articles, 17 book chapters, 6 patent disclosures (2 licensed for infection abatement therapies using chitosan materials) and 215+ presOutstandingentations and invited lectures. He is a co-editor of a recent two volume book series on chitosan-based materials. He has mentored over 60 students; 9 of which have received NSF and or Whitaker graduate fellowships, 4 Fulbright Fellowships, and more than 18 students accepted to medical, dental or law school. He is active in several professional organizations such as American Association for Dental Research, the Society for Biomaterials (SFB) and American Institute of Medical & Biological Engineering (AIMBE). He has held numerous leadership positions in SFB including program chair of the 2005 Annual Meeting, and President (2012-2013). He also has held leadership positions in AIMBE including serving as Chair of the AIMBE Bylaws committee (2011-2015) and Chair of the Council of Societies (2016-2018). He is a regular reviewer for the NIH, NSF and DoD and many biomaterials related journals and serves as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Biomaterial Materials Research: Part B.  

2017 Award for Research, Herff College of Engineering, University of Memphis 
2017 Award for Outstanding Service & Leadership, Society for Biomaterials. 
Elected, Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering, International College of Fellows of the International Union of Societies of Biomaterials and Engineering, 2016 
Memphis Area Joint Engineering Council, Achievement Award & Featured Engineer, Memphis, TN, 2015 
Faculty Inventor Recognition Award, University of Memphis, February 2014 
H. Herff College of Engineering Outstanding Instructor Award, University of Memphis, 2012 
40 Engineers Making a Difference, UAB Engineering School 40th Anniversary Outstanding Alumni, 2011 
Elected Fellow of American Institute of Medical & Biological Engineering, 2011 
2003 MAFES Publication Award for Scientific Merit, MS State University