Orlando Lopez, Ph.D.

Dr. Orlando Lopez is the Director of the NIDCR Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial (DOC) Biomaterials, Devices, and Clinical Technologies Program within the Division of Extramural Research. Dr. Lopez contributes to programmatic efforts to strengthen NIDCR’s biomaterials portfolio in basic science and translational research dedicated to restoration and repair of dental and craniofacial tissues. Additionally, he oversees an interagency agreement with the National Institute of Standards and Technology dedicated to establishing performance standards for dental materials and serves on various NIH and interagency committees focused on new enabling technologies, regenerative medicine, and computational modeling.

Prior to NIDCR, he served as lead regulatory reviewer at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Devices and Radiological Health, where he led medical device approvals in imaging, cardiovascular, and digital health technologies. He is an alumnus of the prestigious FDA Commissioner’s Fellowship and the NIH Postdoctoral Intramural Research Training Award Fellowship. Dr. Lopez received his Ph.D. from the Mayo Clinic and a B.S. from Boston University, both in Biomedical Engineering.