Plenary Speaker

Prof. John A. Rogers

Professor John A. Rogers began his career at Bell Laboratories as a Member of Technical Staff in the Condensed Matter Physics Research Department in 1997, and served as Director from the end of 2000 to 2002. He then spent thirteen years at the University of Illinois, as the Swanlund Chair Professor and Director of the Seitz Materials Research Laboratory. In 2016, he joined Northwestern University as the Simpson/Querrey Professor, where he is also Director of the Institute for Bioelectronics. He has co-authored nearly 1000 papers and he is co-inventor on more than 100 patents. His research has been recognized by many awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship (2009), the Lemelson-MIT Prize (2011), the Smithsonian Award for American Ingenuity in the Physical Sciences (2013), the Benjamin Franklin Medal (2019), a Guggenheim Fellowship (2021), the James Prize from the NAS (2022) and the IEEE Biomedical Engineering Award (2024). He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. María Rosa Aguilar

Dr. María Rosa Aguilar received her PhD in chemistry from Universidad Complutense de Madrid in 2002 working on polymeric biomaterials. She has been postdoc at University of Brighton and performed scientific stays at UCL (UK), University of Washington (USA) and ESRF (France). She is Scientific Researcher of the CSIC at the Institute of Polymer Science and Technology (ICTP-CSIC), where she currently carries out her research activity. Her group works in two main research lines: synthesis and characterization of advanced delivery systems; and polymeric scaffolds for tissue engineering. Her work is strongly translational, bridging fundamental polymer science with clinical needs through close collaboration with medical device and pharmaceutical companies.
Dr. Aguilar has published more than 100 research papers and is editor of the two editions of the book “Smart Polymers and their Applications”.
Moreover, she is member of the Governing Board and Treasurer of the Specialized Group of Polymers (GEP) from the Spanish Royal Society of Physics and Chemistry (RSEFQ); Deputy Scientific Director of CIBER-BBN; and member of the Governing Board of the Interdisciplinary Platform of CSIC for Sustainable Plastics towards a Circular Economy (SUSPLAST+).

Dr. Matt Baker

Dr. Matthew (Matt) Baker is an Associate Professor at Maastricht University and leads the BioMatt Group. A chemist turned biomaterials researcher, his group takes a molecular approach to materials design. They develop dynamic, responsive materials that bridge chemistry, biology, and engineering.
Their work spans applications in tissue engineering, biomedical systems, cellular agriculture, and living materials.

Dr. Bikramjit Basu

Dr. Bikramjit Basu is Director of CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, Kolkata, on deputation from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. An Engineering Scientist, he is an elected Fellow of all national academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine in India, including INSA, IAS, INAE, NAMS, and NASI. He has received the Abdul Kalam National Innovation Fellowship (2019–25) and J. C. Bose National Fellowship (2025– ). Internationally, he is the only ceramic scientist from India elected to all major ceramic societies and academies, including the World Academy of Ceramics, European Ceramic Society, and American Ceramic Society. A leading biomaterials scientist, he is also a Fellow of the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering, IAMBE, and AIMBE. His honors include India’s Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize (2013), the Humboldt Research Award (2022), and the International Richard Brook Award (2022). He advises global universities, agencies, and corporates.

Dr. Sandra Camarero-Espinosa

Dr Camarero-Espinosa is an Ikerbasque Associate Professor, Ramón y Cajal Fellow and Group Leader of the BioSmarTE group at POLYMAT. Her research focuses on the regeneration of complex tissues through the design of smart scaffolds and the development of cellular models of disease. This encompasses the design of stimulus-responsive systems, the exploitation of techniques such as 3D/4D (bio)printing, and the understanding of stem cell biology and cell-biomaterial interactions.

Dr. Oscar Castaño Linares

Oscar Castaño Linares has a Ph.D. in Materials Chemistry from the Institute for Materials Science of Barcelona ICMAB-CSIC, working on nanometric thin-films, followed by R+D at NEXANS Superconductors in Germany. He completed postdoctoral positions at the Polytechnic Institute of Grenoble and Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris. In 2007, he joined the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia as a Ramon y Cajal Researcher under Prof. Josep Antoni Planell, establishing a research group in biomaterials and tissue engineering. His work on bioactive calcium and phosphate nanoparticles for bone regeneration led to patent licenses and established benchmarks in orthopaedic biomaterials. He joined the University of Barcelona in 2017 and is a close collaborator of the group led by Prof. Elisabeth Engel at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia. As Principal Investigator on multiple Spanish national projects, he has advanced bone regeneration and organ-on-a-chip technologies. His research spans biomimetic materials design, micro- and nanofabrication, and tissue engineering for musculoskeletal, skin, brain, and cardiac applications. International collaborations across more than ten countries and recent publications on organ-on-a-chip platforms, wound healing, vascularization, and Alzheimer’s research demonstrate his commitment to translational science.

Prof. Miguel Castilho

Miguel Castilho is an Associate Prof. at Eindhoven University of Technology, NL. His group focuses on biomaterial engineering and biofabrication to address unmet medical needs, particularly in musculoskeletal tissues, with a strong drive toward translation. His contributions have been recognized by various awards including the 2023 Jean Leray award and the 2024 Robert Brown Award. In addition to research, he spearheads a Master’s program in regenerative medicine.

Prof. Maria Chatzinikolaidou

Dr. Maria Chatzinikolaidou (FBSE, FTERM, FIAMBE) is a Professor of Biomaterials in Bioengineering at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Crete, and affiliated faculty member at the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas FORTH. Her research activities focus on the development of biomaterials and scaffolds, and on the biofabrication of complex constructs and pathophysiological models for tissue engineering.

Prof. Paul Dalton

Paul Dalton is a futurist, inventor, and educator specializing in 3D printing, tissue engineering, and biofabrication. He pioneered and developed melt electrowriting, establishing it as a distinct manufacturing class within 3D printing. Today, this groundbreaking technology is utilized by over 100 laboratories worldwide. Dr. Dalton has an interdisciplinary and global perspective to the biomaterial’s community, having lived and conducted research in Australia, Canada, China, the UK, and Germany before joining the University of Oregon. His work focuses on reimagining the future of advanced manufacturing and its translation into biomedical applications.

Prof. Patricia Dankers

PhD, is professor in Biomedical Materials & Chemistry at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). She studied chemistry in Nijmegen and performed her PhD studies in supramolecular chemistry at TU/e. Her second PhD thesis work was performed in medical sciences on kidney regenerative medicine at the university of Groningen. She is co-founder of two spin-off companies UPyTher and VivArt-X, and the start-up company Helmond Biotech-materials Hub (HBH). She is the CEO of CRO synthesis company, SyMO-Chem. She is elected member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts & Sciences (KNAW).

Prof. Catharina De Schauwer

Dr. De Schauwer is head of the Veterinary Stem Cell Research Unit. Her current work explores bovine mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for cultured meat production and equine MSCs for treating orthopedic injuries using biomimetic in vitro models. With experience across species and cell sources, she combines her veterinary background with interdisciplinary collaborations in biomaterials, tissue engineering, and clinical orthopedics to advance MSC-based therapies from bench to bedside.

Prof. Patricia Diaz Rodriguez

Patricia Diaz-Rodriguez is a researcher at iMATUS and Associate Professor at the University of Santiago de Compostela. Her research is focused on smart biomaterials and drug delivery systems for regenerative medicine in age-related diseases. She has authored over 45 publications in Q1 JCR-indexed journals and several book chapters. She also serves as vice secretary of the SPLC-CRS, fostering collaboration in controlled release technologies.

Prof. Maria Farsari

Dr. Maria Farsari is a Research Director at the Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL), Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), Greece. She earned her B.Sc. in Physics from the University of Crete in 1992 and her Ph.D. from the University of Durham, UK, in 1997. After research positions in the UK and Ireland, she joined IESL-FORTH in 2003. She is an international leader in laser-based 3D micro- and nanofabrication, with pioneering work in multiphoton polymerization, hybrid materials, and bioprinting.

Prof. Dr. Jay Henderson

Prof. Dr. James (Jay) H. Henderson, Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering, is the Director of the BioInspired Institute at Syracuse University, USA. His research focuses on shape-memory polymers (SMPs) for biomedical applications, including tissue engineering, mechanobiology, and biofilm prevention. His group has recently led the development of the “Programming via Printing” methodology for 4D printing of SMPs.

Prof. Richard Hoogenboom

Prof. Richard Hoogenboom is full professor at Ghent University. His research focuses on development of poly(2-oxazoline)s as biomaterials, dynamic supramolecular materials and responsive polymers, resulting in >550 scientific articles (>32,000 citations). He holds 25 patent families and is cofounder of Avroxa BV. Prof. Hoogenboom is editor-in-chief of European Polymer Journal and received several awards, including the ACS Carl S. Marvel Award (2021) and the ACS POLY (2022) and PMSE (2025) fellows awards.

Prof. Christine Jérôme

Christine Jérôme is currently Full Professor in the Chemistry Department of the Sciences Faculty at the University of Liege (Belgium) and Director of the Center for Education and Research on Macromolecules (CERM). Holding a PhD in Sciences (Polymer chemistry), her research focuses on the development of degradable polymer biomaterials, specifically designed for applications in drug delivery systems and tissue engineering.

Prof. Petra Kluger

Petra Kluger studied Technical Biology at the University of Stuttgart, where she also obtained her doctorate. Over the years, she and her team have explored various aspects of tissue engineering, biomaterials and biofabrication, with a particular focus on soft tissue research in recent years. Beyond biomedical applications, her research also extends to cultured meat. The group investigates various issues such as media development, differentiation, biofabrication, 3D cell culture, bioink development and scale-up.
Since June 2025, she is Director of the Institute for Interfacial Process Engineering and Plasma Technology (IGVP) at the University of Stuttgart and as Director at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology. At both institutions, she will further strengthen biofabrication as a key research focus, facilitating the transition from fundamental research to applied science and pilotscale implementation. She is actively involved in mentoring young scientists and serves on various professional committees, including as Deputy Chair of the German Society for Biomaterials.

Prof. Riccardo Levato

Riccardo Levato is Associate Professor at Utrecht University, at the University Medical Center Utrecht, and at the Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht (Netherlands). As principal investigator in the Living Matter Engineering and Biofabrication laboratory, his research focuses on developing lab-made tissues and designer organoids for personalized therapies and regenerative medicine, and as advanced in vitro models for drug discovery. His team develops advanced additive manufacturing and bioprinting technologies, particularly light-based printing techniques and high-throughput volumetric printing, in combination with smart biomaterials, and synthetic biology strategies. Key applications include pancreas, liver, musculoskeletal, and vascular tissue engineering. He co-authored >90 papers and several patents, and supervised 25 PhD students and 6 postdocs. He is an ERC laureate, and recipient of the the Jean Leray (ESB) and Robert Brown (TERMIS) awards, and of the and the Mid-career Award from the International Society for Biofabrication (ISBF). He is member of the Young Academy of Europe, and he serves on the board of directors of ISBF.

Prof. Catherine Levisage

Catherine Le Visage is the Deputy Director of the Regenerative Medicine and Skeleton lab in Nantes, France (www.rmes.univ-nantes.fr). Her most recent works as a group leader have focused on innovative hydrogels as i) carriers of cells or bioactive molecules in the context of intervertebral disc disease and osteoarthritis, and ii) biofabrication tools for developing advanced in vitro models.

She is Chair-Elect of TERMIS-EU, an International Fellow of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (FTERM), and a member of the French Academy of Pharmacy.

Prof. Khoon S. Lim

Associate Professor Khoon Lim is currently an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and the Co-Director of the Sydney Biomanufacturing Incubator at the University of Sydney, Australia. His research focuses on using light-activated macromolecular chemistry to design dynamic biomaterials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications. These include musculoskeletal regeneration, cardiovascular health, chronic wounds and in vitro tissue models (cancer and aging). He has generated >100 journal publications and raised a total of >$13 Million research grant funding ($8 Million as CIA). He is the Past-President of the Australasian Society for Biomaterials & Tissue Engineering, Board of Directors of the International Society for Biofabrication and Committee Member of Standards Australia (HE-012 Surgical Implants). He has won >20 competitive national/international awards, included in the World’s Top 2% Scientist List by Stanford University for 2022 – 2025. He currently serves on the Editorial Board of Biofabrication, Advanced NanoBiomed Research, Tissue Engineering Part B, RSC Biomaterials Science, Macromolecular Bioscience and Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine. His research has also led to commercialisation of biomaterials licensed to a US-based company and commercial contracts with industry partners.

Prof. Robert Luxenhofer

Robert Luxenhofer completed his PhD in 2007 at the TU München in polymer
chemistry developing a novel polymer functionalization approach since developed further by Serina Therapeutics to introduce the first-in-human poly(2-oxazoline)-drug conjugates. As a postdoc with Alexander V. Kabanov at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, he discovered ultra-high loaded drug formulations, now pursued for clinical development by DelAQUA Pharmceuticals.

Returning to Germany in 2009, he started to investigate polysarcosine and pioneered polypeptoids as biomaterials at the TU Dresden and the Julius-Maximilians Universität Würzburg and expanded his research toward biofabrication and melt electrowriting. Since 2019, he is Full Professor at the University of Helsinki. He was awarded 12 patents and is co-founder of two companies.

Prof. Diego Mantovani

Diego Mantovani is the Director of Laboratory for Biomaterials and Bioengineering at Laval University, in Canada. His works focus on bioactive materials, including surface modifications by plasma, thin polymer functional films, cell-materials interactions, degradable metals, scaffolds and bioreactors for the regeneration of tissue.

He is Fellow of the World Biomaterials Science and Engineering (FBSE, 2012), the American Society for Materials Intl. (FASM, 2016), the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (FAIMBE, 2019), the Canadian Academy of Engineering (FCAE, 2020), and Distinguished Scientists of Thermec (2023). In May 2024, he was elected member of the FBSE Steering Committee of the International College of Biomaterials Science and Engineering.

Prof. Michiya Matsuaki

Michiya Matsusaki was born in Kagoshima, Japan in 1976. He received his Ph.D. degree in 2003 from Kagoshima University. In 2006, he joined the Department of Applied Chemistry in the Graduate School of Engineering at Osaka University as an Assistant Professor and then promoted to Associate Professor in 2015 and full Professor in 2019 in the same University. He was awarded 22 awards and his research interest is biomaterials and tissue engineering.

Prof. Yuichi Ohya

Yuichi Ohya (Ph.D) graduated from the Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto Univ. in 1989. He became an assistant professor of Faculty of Engineering, Kansai Univ. In 2008, he became a full professor of the Faculty of Chemistry, Materials and Bioengineering, Kansai Univ. He received the JSB Award (2017) and the SPSJ Mitsubishi Chemical Award (2018). He has been a Fellow of ICF-BSE since 2020.

Prof. Chiara Schiraldi

Chiara Schiraldi is full professor in Biochemistry at the University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli” in Naples, Italy. She holds a Master in Chemical Engineering, University “Federico II” of Naples. PhD in Biomedical Sciences also gaining the European Doctorate in Biotechnology. She attended courses at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has been visiting fellow at TU-HH, Hamburg and at the University of Munster.
Elected member in the Council of the Italian Society of Biochemistry. Board of the Campania Bioscience Technological District. Principal Investigators of many funded research projects, also in collaboration with industry. She has authored over 180 research papers, and she is co-inventor of more than 5 granted international patents.

Prof. Christine Selhuber-Unkel

Christine Selhuber-Unkel is a full professor for Molecular Systems Engineering at Heidelberg University (Germany). She received her Ph.D. degree in physics at Heidelberg University  (Germany) in 2006. Her main research interest is controlling the interaction of biological systems with materials. C. Selhuber-Unkel has been awarded with ERC Grants, is co-spokesperson of the Cluster of Excellence “3D Matter Made to Order” and is a member of the German National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech).

Prof. Huengsoo Shin

He earned his Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Rice University, USA (2004). After postdoctoral research at Georgia Tech, he joined the Department of Bioengineering in Hanyang University, Korea, in 2006 and is now a full professor. His research focuses on bio-functional materials for tissue engineering, including surface modification, 3D spheroid engineering, and immunomodulatory nano biomaterials, leading to over 170 publications. He demonstrated robust leadership within the international biomaterials and tissue engineering community and possesses Fellow titles in TERM and FBSE. He presently serves as co-editor-in-chief of Tissue Engineering Part B: Reviews.

Prof. Heli Skottman

Dr. Heli Skottman is a Professor at Tampere University, Finland, specializing in human pluripotent stem cells and ocular regenerative medicine, currently focusing on corneal cell therapy and tissue engineering using innovative bioinks and 3D bioprinting. She leads the MSc in Cell Technology program, has co-founded two fully operational biotech companies—StemSight and LifeGlue Technologies—and authored over 140 publications and 10 patents. Her work has earned multiple awards for scientific innovation and impact.

Prof. Izabela-Cristina Stancu

Izabela-Cristina Stancu is Professor in Biomaterials-Tissue Interface Phenomena and Biofunctionalization, Vice Dean at the Faculty of Medical Engineering and Team leader within the Advanced Polymer Materials Group at the National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest. Her research aimed the engineering of bioinspired cell-instructive scaffolds and surfaces based on hydrogels and nanomaterials for tissue repair and regeneration, with a main interest in bone and antimicrobial formulations, in a strong collaboration with national and European partners.

Prof. Hayden Taylor

Hayden Taylor’s research in the Mechanical Engineering department at UC Berkeley spans the invention, modeling and simulation of manufacturing processes, with the aim of reducing materials and energy usage to support industrial decarbonization. Current research activities have the following themes: (A) processing of materials for sustainable construction, (B) multi-scale volumetric additive manufacturing, and (C) contact mechanics in semiconductor manufacturing. He holds B.A. and M.Eng. degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Cambridge University and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT.

Dr. Catalina Vallejo-Giraldo

Dr Catalina Vallejo-Giraldo is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Advanced Therapies at the University of Galway. She has extensive international experience across academia, industry, and clinical settings, including Imperial College London, Neurent Medical, and the Mayo Clinic. She leads the CVG Lab, investigating how spatial and geometrical cues regulate cell–cell communication and brain responses to inform biomaterial design. She has authored over 28 peer-reviewed publications and received major distinctions, including the Donegan Medal from the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland. She holds an ERC Starting Grant developing novel biomaterial therapies for glioblastoma and serves on the editorial boards of The FASEB Journal and Journal of Tissue Engineering.

Prof. Tina Vermonden

Tina Vermonden earned her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Wageningen University and joined Utrecht University in 2005, focusing on hydrogels for tissue engineering. After a research exchange at the University of Minnesota in 2008, she became Assistant Professor in 2009 and Full Professor in 2020. She has supervised 22 PhD students and participated in multiple national and international collaborations. Her work has been recognized with VIDI, Aspasia, and VICI grants. Since 2022, she serves as Associate Editor for Biomacromolecules.

Prof. Giovanni Vozzi

Giovanni Vozzi was graduated in Electronic Engineering at University of Pisa and he got the PhD in Bioengineering at Politecnico of Milan. Actually, he is full professor in Bioengineering at University of Pisa. His research interests are development of Biofabrication systems and of 3d tissue models in physio-pathological conditions. He has published more than 200 refereed papers in international journals, 13 books chapters and he has developed 24 patents.

Prof. Małgorzata (Gosia) Włodarczyk-Biegun

Małgorzata (Gosia) Włodarczyk-Biegun leads an international biofabrication group based at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and the Silesian University of Technology in Poland. Her interdisciplinary research develops dynamic bioinks and hierarchical, multimaterial bioprinting strategies that enable biologically relevant tissue models with controlled structural and functional evolution, advancing regenerative medicine and in vitro disease modelling. Her scientific and mentoring impact has been recognised through multiple international awards, including the ISBF Inspiring Leadership Award, the TERMIS-EU Robert Brown Early Career Principal Investigator Award, and the Researcher Star Award for the internationalisation of Polish universities.

Prof. Tim Woodfield

Tim Woodfield is Professor of Regenerative Medicine at University of Otago Christchurch, New Zealand, and Director of the University of Otago Centre for Bioengineering & Translational Health Technologies. His transdisciplinary research involves development of photo-crosslinkable bioinks and bioresins, 3D biofabrication and spheroid bioassembly platforms applied to regenerative medicine and disease modelling. He has >155 publications (h-index: 58) and obtained >NZ$30M in competitive research funding.
He is recipient of the Royal Society of New Zealand Rutherford Discovery Fellowship; University of Otago Research Gold Medal; 2020 Australasian Society for Biomaterials & Tissue Engineering (ASBTE) Research Excellence Award, and was awarded Fellow in Biomaterials Science & Engineering (FBSE).
He is President of the International Society for Biofabrication (ISBF) and a former President of the ASBTE, and Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society Asia Pacific (TERMIS-AP) Council Member. He is an Executive Editorial Board member for Biofabrication journal, as well as Editorial Board Member for Advanced Healthcare Materials, APL Bioengineering and Frontiers in Bioengineering & Biotechnology.

Prof. Marcy Zenobi-Wong

Marcy Zenobi-Wong is a Full Professor of Tissue Engineering and Biofabrication at ETH Zürich in Switzerland. She is a Mechanical Engineer by training, and received her Bachelor degree from MIT, and Master/PhD from Stanford University. She leads a multidisciplinary team with strong focus on biofabrication technologies including light-based bioprinting and on the development of advanced biomaterials for tissue regeneration.
She currently serves on the editorial board of Advanced Healthcare Materials and on the Executive Editorial Board of Biofabrication.