Associate Professor Michael Mucalo
Position: Associate Professor, Chemistry and Applied Physics, University of Waikato. Field: Inorganic and organic materials chemistry.
Associate Professor Michael Mucalo was initially interested in economics and languages, but in terms of looking ahead for secure employment, he chose to specialise in chemistry while studying at The University of Auckland.
Associate Professor Michael Mucalo
Associate Professor Michael Mucalo is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry, University of Waikato. His research interests include bioceramics, nanoparticles and controlled release drug delivery.
After completing his PhD at the University of Auckland, he undertook a postdoctoral fellowship at the DSIR in Lower Hutt (now IRL) investigating the deposition of ceramic coatings on substrate materials. From there, Michael travelled to Nagoya in Japan to carry out research in bioceramics and calcium phosphate chemistry.
After a very fruitful 2 years of research, study and travel, Michael returned to New Zealand to take up a lectureship in chemistry at the University of Waikato. His main interests are in bioceramics, nanoparticles and controlled-release drug delivery.
Cow bone research
When diseased bone is surgically removed from a person’s body, it is normally replaced with a substitute, which is most often harvested from the hip bone of that person. University of Waikato’s Dr Michael Mucalo has been conducting research into the possibility of using cow bone as a suitable bone substitute. In this video, Michael gives the rationale for his research and explains how the body can colonise and absorb the bone substitute into healthy bone tissue.
Contribution to society
Michael enjoys his role as a senior lecturer in chemistry. “It keeps you stimulated, it keeps you on your toes, there is always something new, there is always a new challenge.”
Dr Michael Mucalo and Dougal Laird
Dr Michael Mucalo with PhD student Dougal Laird at work in the lab. Samples of bovine hydroxyapatite are being prepared for use as replacements for damaged or diseased bone.
He believes that there is a great responsibility attached to doing research.
The information you provide – if profound and fundamental enough – will, in the goodness of time, make its way into general reading publications that reach the populace at large. In that way, you have the opportunity to contribute to general knowledge, which ultimately benefits the community.
Related content
Find out more about Michael's areas of research in these articles:
Useful link
For more infomation see his profile on the University of Waikato website.
This article is based on information current in 2010 and updated in 2018.
