Mason Dean is a marine biologist, zoologist and anatomist, studying skeletal development, structure and function in vertebrate animals, but with a particular focus on (and affection for) sharks and rays.
In addition to his work at CityU, he is a Guest Scientist at in the Department of Biomaterials, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (where he led a research workgroup prior to moving to Hong Kong) and an Associate Investigator in the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin’s Excellence Cluster ‘Matters of Activity’, collaborating with designers, engineers and architects to study anatomy. His work on “form-function” relationships in animal skeletons allows him to combine Zoology and Comparative Anatomy with illustration and 3D digital visualization.
- Mechanics and structural properties of biological materials, especially of skeletal tissues
- Functional anatomy/morphology and evolution of feeding in vertebrates, particularly fishes
- Collaborative multi-disciplinary approaches integrating science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics
- Linking science, hands-on experience, and digital technology for teaching and presentation
(† = student first author)
†Robles-Malagamba MJ, GJ Sánchez-Contreras, J Wölfer & MN Dean (2025) A comparative study of portable ultrasound devices in the evaluation of Atlantic bottlenose dolphin mammary gland morphology. Biology Letters. 21 (10): 20250230. (10.1098/rsbl.2025.0230)
†Ciecierska-Holmes J, N Rosenthal, J Wölfer, F Rasehorn, B Yang, M-L Van Le, L Eigen, JA Nyakatura & MN Dean (2025) Tiled Material Systems: Exploring the biodiversity and multi-functionality of a universal motif. PNAS Nexus. 4(11): pgaf046. (10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf046)
Li T, M Schindler, M Paskin, AV Surapaneni, E Scott, S Hauert, N Payne, DE Cade, JA Goldbogen, FH Mollen, D Baum, S Hanna & MN Dean (2025). Functional models from limited data: A parametric and multimodal approach to anatomy and 3D kinematics of feeding in basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus). The Anatomical Record. 309(9), 2262–2285. (10.1002/ar.25693)
Surapaneni VA, B Flaum, K Hayat, M Schindler, J Wölfer, D Baum, R Hu, TF Kong, M Doube & MN Dean (2025) The helmeted hornbill casque is reinforced by a bundle of exceptionally thick, rod-like trabeculae. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 15254: 78–91 (10.1111/nyas.15254).
†Yang B, D Knötel, J Ciecierska-Holmes, J Wölfer, J Chaumel, P Zaslansky, D Baum, P Fratzl, MN Dean (2024) Growth of a tessellation: Geometric rules for the development of stingray skeletal patterns. Advanced Science. 11(48): 2407641 (10.1002/advs.202407641).
Surapaneni VA, M Blumer, K Tadayon, A McIvor, S Redl, H-R Honis, FH Mollen, S Amini & MN Dean (2024) Ribbontail stingray skin employs a core-shell photonic glass ultrastructure to make blue structural color. Advanced Optical Materials. 12(12): 2301909. (10.1002/adom.202301909)