David L. Safranski is the Director of Basic Research at MedShape, Inc., an Atlanta-based orthopaedic device company. Dr. Safranski received his Ph.D. in 2010 from the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech, where his work focused on understanding the thermo-mechanical properties of biodegradable polymers for medical applications.

Dr. Safranski’s current research focuses on both the basic science and translational aspects of designing smart, mechanically active polymers, textiles, and metals for use in medical applications and for additive manufacturing. The polymer and textile research ranges from synthesis to characterization of thermo-mechanical properties to device design and evaluation in vivo. A specific area of interest is the use of micro-computed tomography to evaluate the deformation of shape-memory nonwovens in situ. These smart polymer devices are used to apply forces in vivo to soft tissue for pediatric applications. Another research focus is evaluating structure-property relationships of additively manufactured porous metals and polymers to enhance the design process for load-bearing orthopaedic devices in the foot and ankle.