Molecular Biology Lab Post-Doctorial Scholars
Director: Ralph Marcucio, PhD, Assistant Professor

Post-Doctoral Scholar: Zhiqing Xing

Zhiqing Xing was born in China and received his medical degree from Beijing Medical University in 1994. He then enrolled in the 6-year residency training and Ph.D. program in orthopaedic surgery at Peking University in 1994. Upon completion of that program in 2000, Dr. Xing became an attending orthopaedic surgeon at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital. As a visiting fellow in Fukuoka Orthopaedic Hospital, Dr. Xing received additional training in sports medicine and joint surgery in 2001.

During his training at Peking University, Dr. Xing carried out clinical research on bone tumors and basic research on aseptic loosening of orthopaedic implants. In 2002, Dr. Xing came to the United States to take a postdoctoral research fellowship in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Tennessee-Campbell Clinic. He completed several projects, including the role of endotoxin in particle-induced osteolysis, the effects of pamidronate on the osteolysis, and bone loss in hyperaldosteronism. In 2005, Dr. Xing joined the Molecular and Cellular Biology Research Laboratory in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. His current research focuses on the inflammatory response during skeletal repair.

Post-Doctoral Scholar: Silvia Foppiano

Silvia Foppiano was born and raised in Genova, Italy, a city located in the heart of the Italian "Riviera". During her studies at the "Universita' degli studi di Genova" (Genova University) she became interested in biomaterials and earned a combined M.S. degree in Inorganic Chemistry and Metallurgy, studying the microstructure, tarnishing, and corrosion resistance of noble metal alloys used in dentistry.

After moving to California in 1996, Silvia joined the laboratory for Advanced Ceramics of Dr. Antoni P. Tomsia at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. While there, she broadened her knowledge of materials by studying methods to modify the wetting properties of metals on ceramics, in order to improve the seal between these different materials. Her work contributed to a publication in Applied Science and Manufacturing entitled: "Synthesis and processing of ceramic-metal composites by reactive metal penetration".

In September 1998 Silvia joined the graduate program in Oral and Craniofacial Sciences at UCSF. Silvia completed her dissertation in the laboratory of Dr. Sally J. Marshall in the Division of Biomaterials and Bioengineering studying the in vitro biocompatibility of novel bioactive glasses and their coatings on titanium. In her Ph.D. studies Silvia addressed two fundamental questions: How does the in vitro cellular environment affect a material's reactivity? How do cells respond to the material's reaction products at a cellular and molecular level? As a graduate student she presented her research progress at numerous national and international conferences. In 2001, at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Dental Materials, Silvia won the Paffenbarger Award for outstanding Presentation. Silvia published parts of her graduate thesis in the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research and Acta Biomaterialia.

After graduating in 2004, Silvia joined the laboratory of Dr. Ralph Marcucio in the Orthopaedic Surgery Department at UCSF where she has been studying the role of Bone morphogenetic proteins (Bmps) during craniofacial development.

In her free time she enjoys the outdoors with her husband; together they camp, backpack and take long bicycle rides.

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