Alexis Mari Pietak

Expertise

Theoretical Biology	Bioelectromagnetics assembly and biological pattern formation
Tissue Engineering, Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine	Development of bioactive biomaterials and coatings Tissue culture of osteoclast, osteoblast, chondrocyte, nucleus pulposus, and mesenchymal stem cells Various assays of cell growth, development and performance
Materials Science	Various material characterization techniques (AFM, FE-SEM, EDS, XRD, GA-XRD, XPS)
Scientific Communication	Writing and editing scientific manuscripts Communication of scientific ideas to the general public

Education

Ph.D. (2004)

Queen’s University

Kingston, Ontario

Biophysics

Investigation of the role of silicon in the calcium phosphate ceramic system to elucidate the novel bioactive properties of a silicon substituted calcium phosphate based bioceramic.

B.Sc. Eng (2000)

Queen’s University

Kingston, Ontario

Engineering Physics

Solid State Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Electrodynamics, Microfabrication and Nanotechnology.

B.Sc. (2001)

Queen’s University

Kingston, Ontario

Biochemistry

Molecular Biology, Metabolism, Organic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry

Work Experience

Presently	Independent Scientist Theoretical and experimental explorations of endogenous electromagnetic fields in plant morphogenesis and pattern formation.
June 2008-present Medjaden Biomedical Hong Kong	Scientific Editor Freelance proofreading, editing and re-writing of biomedical scientific papers written by non-English speaking authors.
Sept 2009-April 2011 Supervisors: Dr. George Dias, Prof Mark Stringer, and Dr. Ruth Napper University of Otago Dunedin, New Zealand	Post Doctoral Fellow Development of coatings to slow corrosion of degradable magnesium metal biomaterials. Assistant supervision of post-graduate students. Preparation of research studies for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
October 2007-June 2008 Supervisor: Prof Alison Downard University of Canterbury Christchurch, New Zealand	Post Doctoral Fellow Use of functionalized carbon nanotubes as nano-wires to interface the metabolic centers of living cells with a macroscopic electrical circuit.
October 2006-August 2007 Supervisor: Prof Steve Waldman Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario Canada	Post Doctoral Fellow Tissue Engineering of cartilage, ligament and intervertebral disk. Design of living biomaterial constructs for regenerative medicine. Production of ordered, engineered tissues. Mechanical stimulation of cell cultures.
July 2006-October 2006 Supervisors: Prof. Stott and Jason Hendry Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario Canada	Post Doctoral Fellow Investigation of in situ reactivity of calcium phosphate material. Preparation of review paper on the biological effects of Si substitution in calcium phosphate systems.
April 2005-June 2006 Supervisor: Dr. Mark Staiger University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand	Post Doctoral Fellow Development of biomimetic coatings for metal implants. Development of Mg as a biomaterial. Application of atomic force microscopy techniques in imaging and analysis of natural fibre based composites.
October 2004 – January 2005 Supervisor: Jason Hendry Millenium Biologix Corp Kingston, Ontario Canada	Research Scientist Development of a novel orthopaedic ceramic for biomedical applications.
2000-2003 Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario Canada	Teaching Assistant 4^th and 1^st Year undergraduate Engineering Physics laboratories.
May-June 1999 Supervisor: Prof. David Atherton Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario Canada	Engineer in Training Finite element modelling for electromagnetic non-destructive testing of defects in pipeline.

Additional Experience and Skills

Technical Skills	XPS, TOF-SIMS, and EDX surface characterisation Microscopy (AFM, FE-SEM, confocal) Powder and thin-film XRD. Electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) Immunohistochemistry Spectroscopy (AA, ICP-AES, FTIR) Photolithography and soft lithography
Computer Skills	Ansys HFSS, Comsol Multiphysics, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Flash, Microsoft Office, MATLAB
Mathematical Modeling	Finite element analysis, bioelectromagnetics, phase transformations
Arts	Creative writing Fine art painting Music and song writing
Socially Conscious Activities	Volunteer assistant to occupational therapists working with patients with brain injuries (Useful People Program, Burwood Hospital, Christchurch, New Zealand, 2006) Live in support and recreational activities with special needs children (Camp Trillium, Bloomfield, Canada, 1998) Recreational activities for hospitalized children (Child Life Program, Hotel Dieu Hospital, Kingston Ontario, 1996-1998)
Personal Recreation	Bicycle touring (New Zealand, Australia, Canada) Hiking, wilderness camping Windsurfing

Awards

2007 Canadian Institute of Health Research Post Doctoral Fellowship
2003, 2004: Materials and Manufacturing Ontario W.H. Miller Scholarship
2001,2002: Carl Reinhardt Fellowship
1996: Reverend Peter J. Ambrosie Memorial Scholarship
1996: W.M. Pluard Trust Award

Books

Life as Energy: Opening the Mind to a New Science of Life, published by Floris Books, Edinburgh, February 24^th, 2011.

Academic Publications

(refereed)

Pietak A. Structural Evidence for Electromagnetic Resonance in Plant Morphogenesis. BioSystems. 2012; In press.
Pietak A. Electromagnetic Resonance in Biological Form: A Role for Fields in Morphogenesis. J Phys Conf Series. 2011; 329: 012012.
Pietak A. Endogenous Electromagnetic Fields in Plant Leaves: A New Hypothesis for Vascular Pattern Formation. Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine. 2011;30:93-107.
Pietak A. Describing long-range patterns in leaf vasculature by metaphoric fields. J Theoretical Biology. 2009; 261:279-289.
Pietak A and Waldman S. Seeing tissue as a "phase of matter". Physical Biology. 2008; 5:016007.
Pietak A, McGregor A, Gauthier A, Oleschuk R, and Waldman S. Are micropatterned substrates for directed cell organization an effective method to create 3D tissue constructs? 2008;2:450-453.
Pietak A, Reid J, Stott M, Sayer M.Silicon in the calcium phosphate bioceramics: A review. Biomaterials. 2007; 28:4023-4032.
Pietak A, Mahoney P,Dias G,Staiger M.Bone-like matrix formation on magnesium and magnesium alloys. J Mater Sci: Mater Med. 2008;19:407-415.
Pietak A, Tan E, Downard A,Staiger M. Atomic force microscopy characterization of the surface wettability of natural fibers. Applied Surface Science. 2007; 253:3627-3635
Staiger M, Pietak A, Huadmai J, Dias G. Magnesium and its alloys as orthopedic biomaterials: A review. Biomaterials. 2006;27:1728-1734.
Pietak A. Role of silicon in the bioactivity of skelite bioceramic: A material and biological characterization of Si-TCP based bioceramics. PhD Thesis. 2004. Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. 232 pages.
Pietak A, Stott M, Sayer M. Functional atomic force microscopy investigation of osteopontin affinity for silicon stabilized tricalcium phosphate surfaces. Biomaterials. 2006;27:3-14.
Pietak A and Sayer M. Electron spin resonance in Si substituted hydroxyapatite and tricalcium phosphate. Biomaterials. 2005;24:3819-3830.
Pietak A, Sindrey D, Sayer M. Evaluating osteoclast response to Si-TCP bioceramic using functional atomic force microscopy. Oral Presentation at World Biomaterials Congress, Sidney, Australia, May 2004.
Pietak A and Sayer M. Thermoluminescence in Si substituted hydroxyapatite and tricalcium phosphate. J Material Science. J Mater Sci 2006; 41:5025-5028.
Pietak A and Sayer M. Crystallization kinetics of Si-TCP bioceramic. J Mater Sci. 2004;39: 2443-2449.
Waterman J, Pietak A, Birbilis N, Woodfield T, Dias G, Staiger MP. Corrosion resistance of biomimetic calcium phosphate coating on magnesium due to varying pre-treatment times. Mater Sci Eng B. 2011;176:1756:1760.
Reid J, Pietak A, Sayer M, Dunfield D and Smith TJS. Phase formation and evolution in the silicon substituted tri-calcium phosphate/apatite system. Biomaterials. 2005;26:2887-2897.
Tuck L, Sayer M, Dunfield D, Mackenzie M, Hadermann J, Pietak A, Reid J, Stratilatov AS. Composition and crystal structure of resorbable calcium phosphate thin films. J Mater Sci. 2006;41.4273-4284.

(not refereed)

Pietak A. A Critical Look at Aerial-Dropped, Poison-Laced Food in New Zealand’s Forest Ecosystems. March 2010. Published online at www.omecha.org.
Piao H, Duchemin B, Dean S, Schrecker S, Pietak A, Gomtomski P and Staiger M.Bacterial cellulose-reinforced polylactide eco-Composites. 3rd International Conference on Eco-Composites, Stockholm, Sweden May 2005.
Pietak A, Sindrey D, Sayer M. Biological characterization of resorbable Si-TCP ceramic. Materials and Manufacturing Ontario Partnerships. Toronto, Ontario, June, 2003.
Pietak A and Sayer M. Crystallization kinetics of Si-TCP bioceramic. Poster presentation at Canadian Ceramic Society Conference. Toronto, Ontario, Canada, September 2001.