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November 2013
Jeffrey O. Hollinger, DDS, PhD
BA '69
Q & A:
- What was your favorite class, who was your favorite professor, or what is your fondest memory of Hofstra?
I can’t pinpoint my favorite class or professor, but my fondest memory was receiving a music scholarship. - What was your first job after graduating from Hofstra, and what was the most valuable thing you learned there?
My first job was as a dormitory guard. I quickly learned that I could do something better. - What is your field of specialty, and how did you come to work in the industry?
My field of specialty is bone tissue engineering. I actually came to work in the industry by accident, and with some planning. - What advice would you give current Hofstra students?
Work hard, take the lessons your parents taught you seriously; be good citizens; do something special for your country; make this world a better place. - In one word, how would you describe Hofstra?
Memory. - How do you balance work and life?
Easily. Perspective. - What is the single most rewarding/exciting experience in your career thus far?
None, it’s impossible to dissect. - Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I’m really not sure. - Where do you see your career in research progressing to in the future?
Hopefully, winding down.
Jeffrey O. Hollinger, DDS, PhD (B.A. ’69) is the director for the Bone Tissue Engineering Center at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). He has been a tenured professor there in the departments of biomedical engineering and biological sciences since 2000. From 1993-2000 he was a tenured professor at Oregon Health Sciences University in the departments of surgery and developmental biology and he directed the Northwest Wound Healing Center.
Dr. Hollinger retired in 1993 from the United States Army as a colonel after serving 20 years of active duty. During that period he was the director of the Army’s Bone Program, as well as the director for the departments of physiology and biochemistry at the United States Army Institute of Dental Research at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. He now has more than 35 years of experience in bone regeneration using biological factors, biomaterials and pre-clinical animal models. He has received numerous federal grants as the principal investigator (National Institute of Health, National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, and National Institute of Standards and Technology) focusing on applied and fundamental sciences for bone regeneration.
Dr. Hollinger has several patents and has licensed technology developed in his lab. He received the prestigious Clemson Award in Biomaterials in 2008, and has written more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, abstracts, book chapters and books.
Dr. Hollinger graduated from Hofstra University in 1969, and received a DDS and Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in 1973 and 1981, respectively. In addition, he completed a dental residency program and craniofacial fellowship in the United States Army Dental Corps.