Dr. Mason Dean
Mason Dean is a Biologist and Professor at the Department of Infectious Deseases and Public Health at the City University of Hong Kong. Before he worked in the Department of Biomaterials at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, with degrees in Marine Biology and Zoology, and a deep curiosity in »form-function« relationships, how an animal’s anatomy shapes its interactions with its environment.
His current work in the structure, mechanics and materials of fish bone and cartilage allows him to combine his background in Zoology and Comparative Anatomy with his interests in illustration and 3D digital visualization.
He is an Associate Investigator in the Project Material Form Function, collaborating closely with John Nyakatura and others within the »Tessellated Materials Systems« setting.
Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces
Department of Biomaterials
Research Campus Golm
Am Muehlenberg 1
14424 Potsdam
@MasonDeanLab
Articles
Eigen, L., Baum, D., Dean, M. N., Werner, D., Wölfer, J., Nyakatura, J. A. 2022. »Ontogeny of a tessellated surface: Carapace growth of the longhorn cowfish Lactoria cornuta.« Journal of Anatomy, 241 (3): 565-580.
https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.13692
Kolmann, M. A., Marques, F. P. L., Weaver, J. C., Dean, M. N., Fontenelle, J. P., Lovejoy, N. R. 2022. »Ecological and phenotypic diversification after a continental invasion in neotropical freshwater stingrays.« Integrative and Comparative Biology. icac019.
https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icac019
Surapaneni, V. A., Schindler, M., Ziege, R., de Faria, L. C., Wölfer, J., Bidan, C. M., Mollen, F. H., Amini, S., Hanna, S., Dean, M. N. 2022. »Groovy and gnarly: Surface wrinkles as a multifunctional motif for terrestrial and marine environments.« Integrative and Comparative Biology. icac079.
https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icac079
Tang, T., Landis, W., Raguin, E., Werner, P., Bertinetti, L., Dean, M., Wagermaier, W., Fratzl, P. 2022. »A 3D network of nanochannels for possible ion and molecule transit in mineralizing bone and cartilage.« Advanced NanoBiomed Research. 2100162.
https://doi.org/10.1002/anbr.202100162
Chaumel, J., Marsal, M., Gómez-Sánchez, A., Blumer, M., Gualda, E. J., de Juan, A., Loza-Alvarez, P., Dean, M. N. 2021. »Autofluorescence of stingray skeletal cartilage: hyperspectral imaging as a tool for histological characterization.« Discover Materials, 1 (16): 1-28.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s43939-021-00015-x
Chiou, A. E., Liu, C., Moreno-Jiménez, I., Tang, T., Wagermaier, W., Dean, M. N., Fischbach, C., Fratzl, P. 2021. »Breast cancer–secreted factors perturb murine bone growth in regions prone to metastasis.« Science Advances, 7 (12): eabf2283.
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abf2283
Amini, S., Razi, H., Seidel, R., Werner, D., White, W. T., Weaver, J. C., Dean, M. N., Fratzl, P. 2020. »Shape-preserving erosion controlled by the graded microarchitecture of shark tooth enameloid.« Nature Communications, 11 (1)
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19739-0
Chaumel, J., Schotte, M., Bizzarro, J. J., Zaslansky, P., Fratzl, P., Baum, D., Dean, M. N. 2020. »Co-aligned chondrocytes: Zonal morphological variation and structured arrangement of cell lacunae in tessellated cartilage.« Bone, 134: 115264.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bone.2020.115264
Jayasankar, A., Seidel, R., Hosny, A., Weaver, J., Fratzl, P., Chen, J., Dean, M. 2020. »Multi-scale modeling and mechanical performance characterization of stingray skeleton-inspired tessellations.« Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 138: 103906.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmps.2020.103906
Schotte, M., Chaumel, J., Dean, M. N., Baum, D. 2020. »Image analysis pipeline for segmentation of a biological porosity network, the lacuno-canalicular system in stingray tesserae.« MethodsX, 7: 100905.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2020.100905
Seidel, R., Blumer, M., Chaumel, J., Amini, S., Dean, M. N. 2020. »Endoskeletal mineralization in chimaera and a comparative guide to tessellated cartilage in chondrichthyan fishes (sharks, rays and chimaera).« Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 17 (171): 20200474.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2020.0474
Seidel, R., Jayasankar, A. K., Dean, M. N. 2020. »The multiscale architecture of tessellated cartilage and its relation to function.« Journal of Fish Biology, 98 (4): 942-955.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14444
Baum, D., Weaver, J. C., Zlotnikov, I., Knötel, D., Tomholt, L., Dean, M. N. 2019. »High-Throughput Segmentation of Tiled Biological Structures using Random-Walk Distance Transforms.« Integrative and Comparative Biology, 59 (6): 1700-1712.
https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icz117
Campbell, R. A., Dean, M. N. 2019. »Adaptation and Evolution of Biological Materials.« Integrative and Comparative Biology, 59 (6): 1629-1635.
https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icz134
Connors, M., Yang, T., Hosny, A., Deng, Z., Yazdandoost, F., Massaadi, H., Eernisse, D., Mirzaeifar, R., Dean, M. N., Weaver, J. C., Ortiz, C., Li, L. 2019. »Bioinspired design of flexible armor based on chiton scales.« Nature Communications, 10 (1)
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13215-0
Hosny, A., Dilley, J. D., Kelil, T., Mathur, M., Dean, M. N., Weaver, J. C., Ripley, B. 2019. »Pre-procedural fit-testing of TAVR valves using parametric modeling and 3D printing.« Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, 13 (1): 21-30.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcct.2018.09.007
Ofer, L., Dean, M. N., Zaslansky, P., Kult, S., Shwartz, Y., Zaretsky, J., Griess-Fishheimer, S., Monsonego-Ornan, E., Zelzer, E., Shahar, R. 2019. »A novel nonosteocytic regulatory mechanism of bone modeling.« PLOS Biology, 17 (2): e3000140.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000140
Seidel, R., Roschger, A., Li, L., Bizzarro, J. J., Zhang, Q., Yin, J., Yang, T., Weaver, J. C., Fratzl, P., Roschger, P., Dean, M. N. 2019. »Mechanical properties of stingray tesserae: High-resolution correlative analysis of mineral density and indentation moduli in tessellated cartilage.« Acta Biomaterialia, 96: 421-435.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2019.06.038
Hosny, A., Keating, S. J., Dilley, J. D., Ripley, B., Kelil, T., Pieper, S., Kolb, D., Bader, C., Pobloth, A., Griffin, M., Nezafat, R., Duda, G., Chiocca, E. A., Stone, J. R., Michaelson, J. S., Dean, M. N., Oxman, N., Weaver, J. C. 2018. »From Improved Diagnostics to Presurgical Planning: High-Resolution Functionally Graded Multimaterial 3D Printing of Biomedical Tomographic Data Sets.« 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing, 5 (2): 103-113.
https://doi.org/10.1089/3dp.2017.0140
Jayasankar, A., Seidel, R., Naumann, J., Guiducci, L., Hosny, A., Fratzl, P., Weaver, J., Dunlop, J., Dean, M. 2017. »Mechanical behavior of idealized, stingray-skeleton-inspired tiled composites as a function of geometry and material properties.« Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 73: 86-101.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmbbm.2017.02.028
Others
Dean, M., Dierichs, K., Eigen, L., Nyakatura, J. A., Rasehorn, F., Mareis, C., Banz, C. 2022. TESSELLATED MATERIAL SYSTEMS (TMS). Material Legacies - Design Lab #13, 12 - 13.
https://www.matters-of-activity.de/files/Material_Legacies_booklet.pdf
Design Projects
Rasehorn, F., Ciecierska-Holmes, J., Rosenthal N., Dean, M., Eigen, L., Nyakatura, J., Le, M.-L. V., Yang, B. 2022. The Tessellation Archive. Design Project. weißensee school of art and design berlin, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin: Comparative Zoology, Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity«. Since 1 June 2022, Virtual.
https://tessellated-materials.mpikg.mpg.de
Exhibitions
Büsse, M. (curator), de Visscher, E. (curator), Banz, C., Dean, M., Dierichs, K., Eder, M., Eigen, L., Guiducci, L., Hehemeyer-Cürten, J., Jalkh, H., Kycia, A., Mareis, C., Nyakatura, J. A., Rasehorn, F., Rešetar, I., Ribault, P., Sauer, C., Sauer, I., Schneider, M., Stock, R., Shone, J., Wenig, C. Design Lab #13. Material Legacies. Exhibition. Cluster of Excellence Matters of Activity, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Museum of Decorative Arts. Kunstgewerbemuseum. 3 November 2022 - 26 February 2023.
https://www.smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/kunstgewerbemuseum/exhibitions/detail/design-lab-13/
Highlighted by TAZ, 15.11.2022.
Talks & Presentations
Dean, M. N. Architectured marine biomaterials: From growth to multifunctionality. Invited lecture, Zürich. Virtual. 18 May 2022.
Dean, M. N. Architectured Marine Biomaterials: From Growth to Multifunctionality. Talk at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Mechanical Engineering Webinar Series, Hong Kong. Virtual. 20 January 2022.
https://www.polyu.edu.hk/me/news-and-events/events/2022/1/0120-me-webinar-series/
Dean, M. N. Tales of tiled tissue trade-offs: Biological tessellations as architectural balance acts of growth and mechanics. Keynote at the Society of Experimental Biology Annual Meeting, Montpellier, France. Hybrid. 6 July 2022.
Dean, M. N., Dierichs, K. Tessellated Material Systems. Talk at the Designing Matter Series. Cluster of Excellence Matters of Activity, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Virtual. 21 September 2021.
Dean, M. N., Yang, B., Fratzl, P. Mechanical Behavior of Tessellations. Talk at the Interdependence of Structure & Function in Biological Materials. Cluster of Excellence Matters of Activity, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Virtual. 22 June 2021.
https://www.matters-of-activity.de/en/activities/4383/interdependence-of-structure-and-function-in-biological-materials
Events & Workshops
De Visscher, E., Dean, M., Beyer, B., Cruz, M. Matters of Activity Lecture Series UCL London. UCL London. Virtual. 11 December 2020 - 12 January 2021.
Teaching & Courses
Dierichs, K., Farmer, J., Rasehorn, F., Stoll, M., Bonavia, E., Dean, M., Eder, M., Hehemeyer-Cürten, J., Wenig, C., Yang, B., Nyakatura, J. A. Designing Matter 2 - From Tile to Tessellation. Seminar, MoA Design Research Studio, weißensee school of art and design berlin, HU Berlin, MPI of Colloids and Interfaces. 18 October 2021 - 15 February 2022.
https://www.matters-of-activity.de/en/activities/7442/designing-matter-2-from-tile-to-tesselation
Dierichs, K., Farmer, J., Rasehorn, F., Stoll, M., Bonavia, E., Dean, M., Eder, M., Hehemeyer-Cürten, J., Wenig, C., Yang, B., Nyakatura, J. A. Designing Matter 2 - From Tile to Tessellation. Seminar. MoA Design Research Studio, weißensee school of art and design berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces. 18 October 2021 - 15 February 2022.
Sauer, C., Guiducci, L., Razghandi, K., Kycia, A. Scaling Nature (2) – Fibers, Muscles & Bones. MoA Design Research Studio, With contributions by Fratzl, P., Dean, M., Nyakatura, J., Rešetar, I. and Stoll, M. weißensee school of art and design berlin. 15 October 2019 - 11 February 2020.
https://www.matters-of-activity.de/en/activities/1142/moa-design-studio-scaling-nature-2-fibers-muscles-bones, https://kh-berlin.de/projekt-detail/Project/detail/scaling-nature-2-fibers-muscles-bones-3102.html
Prizes & Competition Awards
Dean, M. N. 2021. International Winner, Research as Art competition. Science-as-art image award. »Hook, line, sinker.« Swansea University.
https://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/research-environment/research-as-art/2021-winners-and-runners-up/
Baum, D., Dean, M. N. 2020. Visual Computing for Biology & Medicine (VCBM) Best Image Award. Science-as-art image award. »Dissecting a digital starfish.« Visual Computing for Biology & Medicine (VCBM).
https://www.zib.de/node/4727
Hosting of Guest Researchers at the Cluster
Skoury, L., Rosenthal, N., Dean, M., Eder, M., Dierichs, K. Agent-based frameworks for fibrous and tessellated material systems. Hosting Lior Skoury. from Institute for Computational Design and Construction, University of Stuttgart. 1 June 2022 - 31 August 2022.
Podcasts & Videos
Rasehorn, F., Zwick, C., Petruschat, J., Dean, M., Yang, B., Rosenthal, N., Nyakatura, J. A., Van Le, M.-L. Tessellated Material Systems - A workflow towards designing surfaces with distinct kinematic properties. Video. 4 minutes, 24 February 2021.
https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/524787023