Dr. Maia is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Cariology, Restorative Sciences, and Endodontics at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. He received his DDS degree from Gama Filho University - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1994. After graduation, Dr. Maia served in the Brazilian Air Force as Captain (1995 – 2012) and he worked for 17 years as a part-time private practitioner in Rio de Janeiro. He holds a Certificate in Operative Dentistry (1998) and in Periodontology (2005) from the Brazilian Air Force. He earned an M.S. (2004) and Ph.D (2008) in Restorative Dentistry from the Rio de Janeiro State University, Brazil. In 2010, he completed his postdoctoral training at the UIOWA - Dows Institute of Dental Research and he returned to Brazil when was appointed as a Director of the Operative Dentistry graduate program at the Brazilian Air Force. In 2012, he joined the Department of Operative Dentistry at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics as a Visiting Assistant Professor, and in 2013 became an Assistant Professor. From July 2015 to January 2020 he served as a Co-Director of the Advanced Education Program in Operative Dentistry at the UIOWA. As a clinician and a scientist his research goal is to blend basic science and cutting-edge technology to expand interdisciplinary collaborations aiming to enhance the knowledge in the area of light interaction in dental tissues/biomaterials and seek for new standards to allow clinicians to achieve restorations with light properties that closely replicate the natural appearance of dental tissues.