Prof. Małgorzata Włodarczyk-Biegun
Polymer Science
Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials
University of Groningen
Groningen, The Netherlands
Biotechnology Centre
The Silesian University of Technology
Gliwice, Poland
Plenary Lecture: 3D Printing for the Reconstruction of Functional Tissue Gradients
Gosia (Małgorzata) Włodarczyk-Biegun is an Associate Professor at the Silesian University of Technology, in Gliwice, Poland, and an Assistant Professor at The University of Groningen, The Netherlands. She is a leader of Biofabrication and Bio-inspired Materials group joining both labs. Her research is focused on applying 3D (bio)printing techniques to generate complex hierarchical scaffolds of polymeric materials for advanced tissue regeneration. She is also interested in the rational design and development of novel polymer-based bioinks with tunable properties allowing to induce a specific cellular response, to produce systems with bio-instructive properties.
She has earned her Master degree in Poland, in Psychology, and in Biomedical Engineering. For her PhD, she decided to continue in the field of Biomedical Engineering. She obtained the title in January 2016, at Wageningen University and Research Center in the Netherlands, working on recombinant proteins for biomedical applications. In the years 2016-2020, she was employed at INM-Leibniz Institute for New Materials, in Germany as a postdoctoral researcher working on biofabrication. In 2017, she was awarded a UNESCO-L’Oréal for Women in Science Prize in recognition of her research qualities and ability to combine excellence in science with being a mother. Since 2020, she has received 3 prestigious grants from NWO (Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research) to conduct her work in the Netherlands. She was awarded NAWA Polish returns grant (2019) to set-up her own research group in Poland, and in the following years two Polish NCN Opus grants to further support her research there. The received funding allows to pursue international collaborative work in biofabrication field.
Prof. Sachiro Kakinoki
Department of Chemistry and Materials Engineering
Kansai University
Osaka, Japan
Plenary Lecture: Peptide Immobilization to Create Bioactive and Bioinert Surfaces for Blood-Compatible Medical Devices
Sachiro Kakinoki is a Professor of Department of Chemistry and Materials Engineering at Kansai University. He earned his Ph.D. in peptide science from Osaka Prefecture University in Japan in 2005. Following his doctoral studies, he underwent postdoctoral training at the Biomaterial Center, National Institute of Materials Science (NIMS: Ibaraki, Japan), and the National Cerebral Cardiovascular Center Institute (NCVC: Osaka, Japan). Subsequently, he worked as a researcher at NCVC focusing on biofunctional surfaces from 2010 to 2015. In 2015, he transitioned to Kansai University as an associate professor and was later promoted to full professor in 2022. He has been honored with several awards, including the Yoshimi Memorial T.M.P Grant Award from the Japanese Society for Artificial Organs in 2011 and the Young Investigator’s Award from the Japanese Society for Regenerative Medicine in 2013. He has published about 50 scientific papers in international peer-reviewed journals. Additionally, he serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Artificial Organs and the Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine.
Prof. Miguel Oliveira
3B’s Research Group, I3Bs—Research Institute on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics
Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
University of Minho
AvePark, Zona Industrial da Gandra, 4805-017 Barco
Guimarães, Portugal
Plenary Lecture: Engineering Biomaterials for Biofabrication and 3D in vitro Models
J. Miguel Oliveira BSc, Ph.D. (Portuguese, M, 46 years old) is a Principal Investigator with Habilitation at the 3B's Research Group, member of the PT Government Associate Laboratory ICVS/3B's and Institute 3Bs (I3Bs), University of Minho (Portugal). He is the Vice President of I3Bs and President Elect of the Scientific Council of I3Bs. In addition, he is a member of the National Ethics Committee for Clinical Trials from Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS) (PORTUGAL). Over the years he has focused his work on the field of biomaterials for tissue engineering, nanomedicine, stem cells, and cell/drug delivery. He also set up a new research line within the ICVS/3B's on 3D in vitro models for cancer research. As a result of his proficiency, he has published so far more than 450 scientific contributions in scientific journals with the referee. Dr. Oliveira has approved 22 patents (filled & submitted), published 12 books (plus 3 in preparation), 18 special issues/topic collections in scientific journals, and more than 130 book chapters in books with international circulation. He has participated in more than 700 communications in national/international conferences and has been invited/keynote speaker in more than 100 plenary sessions and seminars. He has an h-index of 72, i10 of 262 and received ~ 18900 citations. He has been awarded several prizes including the prestigious "Investigador FCT 2012 and Investigador FCT 2015" attributed by FCT (Portugal), and Jean Leray Award 2015 from the European Society for Biomaterials for Young Scientists for Outstanding Contributions within the field of Biomaterials. In November 2023, Dr. Oliveira was appointed Fellow Biomaterials Science and Engineering (FBSE) for the excellent professional standing and high achievements in the field of biomaterials science and engineering. He is the Editor-in-chief of the In vitro Models Journal (Springer Nature). He is one of the Editors of the Book Series on Biomaterials, Bioengineering and Sustainability (Springer). In 2020-21, he was listed among the TOP50 worldwide experts in tissue engineering and cartilage by EXPERTSCAPE, and has been listed in the World TOP2% (Career) most cited researchers (2021 and 2022). In 2022 he was listed in the TOP1% (Yearly) most cited researchers.
