Season 1|Penn: Hyun (Michel) Koo on the Need for Innovation in Oral Health

Hyun (Michel) Koo, DDS, MS, PhD obtained his DDS from The Sao Paulo State University, Brazil, and later obtained his MS in Food Engineering and PhD in Oral Biology from The University of Campinas, Brazil as well as the University of Rochester Medical Center. Michel joined the faculty at Penn in 2013, where he has led interdisciplinary research integrating oral, biomedical and engineering sciences, culminating with the launch of the Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry (CiPD), uniting the dental and engineering schools at Penn. Michel has been recognized as an outstanding leader for his pioneering work on understanding and modulating the oral biofilms for better health.

In this episode of Behind Biotech, we discussed:

1. Michel’s unique upbringing as a German-born Korean-Brazilian who immigrated to the United States, and how that unusual background informs his approach as a mentor and an inventor.
2. The need to find more effective and affordable approaches to tackle the global burden of oral disease, which disproportionately affects vulnerable populations.
3. His work as the Director of the Penn Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry, including driving initiatives to develop advanced functional materials for craniofacial tissue restoration and teeth protection, using AI to understand oral diseases, and studying the use of robotics, nanomaterials and biotechnology to diagnose, treat, and prevent oral diseases more effectively.