He is the Director of Undergraduate Internship Programs in the Department of Bioengineering as well as the Faculty Advisor of the Student Research Group in the School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Almarza graduated with a PhD in Bioengineering from Rice University after obtaining a BS in Chemical Engineering from Florida State University. He joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in 2005. His research interests lie in the areas of theoretical and experimental bioengineering with a focus on: