Research References

REIER Group

Title: Associate Professor of Medicine
University: UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine
Bio: Diana Márquez-Garbán, MD, is a molecular oncologist with over 25 years of experience developing novel breast and lung cancer therapies. Her research focuses on estrogen and growth factor receptor signaling in cancer cell models, and she pioneered work on rapid non-genomic estrogen effects in breast cancer and unanticipated hormonal actions in non-small cell lung cancer. She has led two completed clinical trials testing anti-hormonal therapy for advanced lung cancer and now investigates repurposed compounds, including Manuka honey, combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors against triple-negative and ER-positive breast cancer. She was recently honored with the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award for her mentorship.

Title: Robert W. Schaefer Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
University: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Bio: Brendan Harley, Sc.D. (MIT), is a Harvard- and MIT-trained bioengineer who leads the Regenerative Biology & Tissue Engineering theme at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. His lab designs dynamic, spatially patterned biomaterials—including mineralized collagen scaffolds infused with Manuka honey—that instruct stem cell behavior for bone, cartilage, and tumor-microenvironment applications. A childhood leukemia survivor, he channels that experience into cancer-focused tissue engineering, notably glioblastoma research. He has authored over 140 peer-reviewed papers, co-founded Orthomimetics Ltd. in Cambridge, UK, and holds fellowships in AIMBE, AAAS, and the Biomedical Engineering Society

Title: Researcher, Microbiology
University: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Bio: Alan J. Collins contributed to the University of Illinois team's investigation of Manuka honey-infused mineralized collagen scaffolds, co-authoring work with Brendan Harley's group on bacterial attachment resistance and mesenchymal stem cell osteogenesis. His research examines how honey incorporation techniques—direct fabrication versus post-fabrication soaking—alter scaffold microarchitecture, affecting both antimicrobial performance and stem cell attachment signaling relevant to infected bone-defect healing. Limited independent biographical detail is publicly available beyond his Google Scholar record, which lists a microbiology research focus with a cross-listed affiliation to the University of Bath. His most citable contribution remains the 2023 collaborative Biomaterials-adjacent osteogenesis study.

Title: Titular Professor (Habilitation 2006, Professor title 2012); Honorary Professor, Sir John Walsh Research Institute
University: University of Zurich, with honorary affiliation to the University of Otago, New Zealand
Bio: Patrick R. Schmidlin, born in Zurich in 1973, studied at the University of Zurich (1993–1998) and completed postgraduate training in restorative dentistry and periodontology there. He has taught restorative dentistry, periodontology, and peri-implantology since 2001 and has authored or co-authored 245 PubMed-indexed articles and multiple book chapters. His clinical and research focus centers on prevention and minimally invasive dental therapies, including studies on Manuka honey's antimicrobial activity against plaque-associated oral bacteria and its pH-dependent effects on tooth demineralization. He currently leads periodontology and peri-implant disease research at UZH's Center for Dental Medicine.