Hak Soo Choi　
(Harvard Medical School, USA)

Dr. Hak Soo Choi is a Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Bioengineering & Nanomedicine Program at Mass General Hospital. He received his Ph.D. in Nanomedicine from Japan Advanced Science and Technology in 2004 and pursued postdoctoral training in the fields of Gene and Drug Delivery, as well as Molecular Imaging at Harvard. Since 2008, Dr. Choi’s research laboratory has been dedicated to the development of theranostic agents for tissue-specific targeting, imaging, and therapy. His innovative work focuses on diagnosing and treating human cancer by visualizing target tissues via “Structure-Inherent Targeting,” while minimizing nonspecific uptake in normal background tissues. Dr. Choi’s expertise in nanomedicine and molecular imaging holds great promise for advancing the field of cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.

Heemin Kang
(Korea University, Korea, Republic of)

Heemin Kang received his M.S. at Stanford University and Ph.D. at UC San Diego. Currently, he is an Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (joint: College of Medicine) and the Director of the Dynamic Nanobioengineering Laboratory at Korea University in Seoul. His research is focused on developing novel nanomaterials that can be remotely controllable by magnetic field, light, self-assembly, and ultrasound for stem cell therapy, immunoengineering, and cancer therapy.

Hung-Yin Lin
(National University of Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei)

Hung-Yin Lin earned his PhD from Columbia University in the City of New York in 2003. He joined National University of Kaohsiung (Taiwan) in 2005, and is currently distinguished professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed papers, and been elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) and Royal Society of Biology (FRSB) in 2015 and 2023, respectively. His expertise is in the field of translational biomedical engineering, and he is now an Associate Editor of Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology.

Kunwoo Lee
(GenEdit, USA)

Dr. Kunwoo Lee is the CEO and Co-Founder of GenEdit, pioneering transformative gene editing and delivery technologies for genetic medicine. He is the inventor of dozens of delivery technologies and gene editing. A graduate of UC Berkeley's Department of Bioengineering, he has been recognized as a Forbes 30 Under 30 and a Siebel Scholar for his groundbreaking contributions to the field.

Kunwoo Lee
(GenEdit, USA)

Dr. Kunwoo Lee is the CEO and Co-Founder of GenEdit, pioneering transformative gene editing and delivery technologies for genetic medicine. He is the inventor of dozens of delivery technologies and gene editing. A graduate of UC Berkeley's Department of Bioengineering, he has been recognized as a Forbes 30 Under 30 and a Siebel Scholar for his groundbreaking contributions to the field.

Jordan J. Green
(Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA)

Dr. Jordan J. Green is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Ophthalmology, Neurosurgery, Oncology, Materials Science & Engineering, and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is the Vice Chair for Research and Translation in Biomedical Engineering and is the former Director of the Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Program at JHU. Dr. Green is also the founding Associate Director of the Translational Tissue Engineering Center and the founding Associate Director of Translational Immunoengineering Center at JHU. Dr. Green received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering and in Biomedical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 2003 and completed his Ph.D. in Biological Engineering from MIT. Subsequently, Dr. Green was a postdoctoral associate at MIT from 2007-2008. Dr. Green was the founding CEO of the biotech company AsclepiX Therapeutics and currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors. He also co-founded and/or serves on the board of five other biotechnology companies. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the Biomedical Engineering Society, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the Controlled Release Society. He is also an Associate Editor at Science Advances and a standing member of the NIH Drug and Biologic Therapeutic Delivery (DBTD) study section. His work has resulted in the publication of over 175 scientific papers, 86 issued or pending patents, and 130 invited talks, and he has received numerous awards including the AIChE Colburn Award, the BMES Rita Schaffer Award, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, Popular Science’s Brilliant Ten, and was a National Academy of Medicine Emerging Leader Scholar in Health & Medicine. Dr. Green and his lab are innovating biomaterials, gene therapies, immunotherapies, and cell therapies to advance medicine.

Michael Keogh
(RCSI Bahrain, Bahrain)

Michael B. Keogh is Associate Professor in Human Biology in the School of Medicine and the Director of the research laboratories at the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland-Medical University Bahrain.
Prof. Michael leads a regenerative medicine research group (TERG Bahrain) with focuses on developing gene activated biomaterials to treat soft tissue wound healing. This research is an affiliation with the well-established TERG group at RCSI Dublin but focuses more specifically on developing collagen based biomaterials with pro-angiogenic, pro-neurogenic and rejuvenating properties to stimulate primary and stem cells for the treatment of chronic wounds such as diabetic foot ulcerations.
Prof. Michael is a member of the council for the Arabian Scientific Council Stem Cell research (GCC region) and is a Member of the National Clinical trials committee Bahrain. He was also scientific advisor with the National Health regulatory body (NHRA) to develop regulations for Stem cell clinical trials in the Kingdom of Bahrain (2017/2018)

Hyuk Sang Yoo
(Kangwon National University, Korea, Republic of)

He received a B.S. degree (1996), a M.S. degree (1998), and a Ph.D. degree (2002, Advisor: Professor Tae Gwan Park) at Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. After a post-doctoral fellow at Department of Biomedical Engineering, the Johns Hopkins University (2004, Advisor: Professor Kam W. Leong), he joined the Kangwon National University as an assistant professor (2005). He is now a tenured professor of Biomedical Materials Engineering. He was also a visiting scholar for the Johns Hopkins University (2005) and the Northwestern University (2010). His research is focused on nano-biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering employing multifunctional nanofibers and nanoparticles.

Sing Yian Chew
(Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)

Dr. Sing Yian CHEW is a Professor at the School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine and the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She is known for her contributions in designing biomimetic scaffolds to understand and control cell fate. Dr. Chew’s most significant contribution is in the field of scaffold-mediated delivery of gene-silencing and biomimicking physical signals for neural tissue regeneration and remyelination. Specifically, her lab engineers bio-functional platforms for long-term delivery of biologics. These scaffolding constructs may be used for understanding and directing neural tissue regeneration after traumatic injuries, stem cell fate and host-implant integration. Since joining NTU, Dr. Chew has continued to embark on scientific learning and exchanges by serving as visiting scholar/professor at Johns Hopkins University, University of Edinburgh, INSERM (U698 and U791); University of Paris 13; University of Nantes; Jinan University in Guangzhou, China; Wyss Institute at Harvard. She is an Associate Editor at ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. She also serves as the editorial board member of Biomaterials, Experimental Neurology, Tissue Engineering, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Part A, Drug Delivery and Translational Research, Journal of Tissue Engineering.

Hyuk Sang Yoo
(Kangwon National University, Korea, Republic of)

He received a B.S. degree (1996), a M.S. degree (1998), and a Ph.D. degree (2002, Advisor: Professor Tae Gwan Park) at Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. After a post-doctoral fellow at Department of Biomedical Engineering, the Johns Hopkins University (2004, Advisor: Professor Kam W. Leong), he joined the Kangwon National University as an assistant professor (2005). He is now a tenured professor of Biomedical Materials Engineering. He was also a visiting scholar for the Johns Hopkins University (2005) and the Northwestern University (2010). His research is focused on nano-biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering employing multifunctional nanofibers and nanoparticles.

Jianjun Cheng
(Westlake University, China)

Jianjun Cheng obtained a B.S. degree in Chemistry at Nankai University in 1993, a M.S. degree in Chemistry at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1996, and a Ph.D. degree in Materials Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2001 with Professor Timothy Deming. He was a Senior Scientist at Insert Therapeutics, Inc. from 2001 to 2004, and a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at MIT with Professor Robert Langer from 2004 to 2005. He joined the faculty of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in 2005, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2011 and Full Professor in 2015 (distinguished promotion). In 2016, he was appointed as Hans Thurnauer Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at UIUC. He joined the Westlake University as Chair Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Dean of School of Engineering in August, 2021.

Cheng is the co-inventor of 41 issued patents and co-authored over 200 publications. Cheng is Editor-in-Chief of Biomaterials Science, Royal Society of Chemistry, UK. He is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2015), a Fellow of American Chemical Society-Division of Polymer Chemistry (2015), a Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (2016), and a Fellow of National Academy of Inventors (2020). He was selected as the New Cornerstone Investigator in October, 2023.

Pamela Nylund
(AO Research Institute, Switzerland)

Pamela Nylund was born in Finland on December 27,1991. She graduated from
Åbo Akademi (Turku, Finland) in 2017. During the course of her undergraduate studies, she
undertook her first research experience in the organic chemistry group under the supervision of
Prof. Leif Kronholm. The project focused on identifying and quantifying amoxicillin and
sulfamethizole and their oxidation products by LC-MS (liquid chromatography-mass
spectrometry). She completed her M.Sc. research detailing the synthesis and application of
triazolylidene iridium(III) Cp* complexes in C–H activation and C–C bond formation under
the supervision of Prof. Martin Albrecht in 2017 (Universität Bern, Switzerland).

In 2017, she did a short industrial internship in Mirka Ltd. (Finland) during which she
developed a new analysis method for the abrasives, using an X-ray diffractometer. In 2018 she
returned to Switzerland to commence her Ph.D. studies under the supervision of Prof. Martin
Albrecht. Her Ph.D. research involved the development of new first row transition metal
complexes with imidazolylidene and triazolylidene ligands and their application in various
catalytic applications. Results arising from her Ph.D. work has been presented at national and
international conferences and symposia, including the 2021 EuCOMC (online meeting), the
2021 SCS Fall Meeting, the 2019 ISOC (Camerino, Italy) and the 2019 NoNoMeCat
Symposium 2019 (Basel, Switzerland).

After obtaining her degree in 2022 she joined the biomedical materials group in the AO Research Institute in Davos, Switzerland. There she is currently working on a development project of a hydrogel intended for antimicrobial delivery to fracture wounds presenting high risk of infection. Her work consists of characterization of the gel, bringing the gel to maturity for production for pre-clinical and clinical trials. A great part of the work also consists of collaboration with regulatory consultants and university hospitals in preparation of clinical trials.

Zhen Gu
(Zhejiang University, China)

Dr. Zhen Gu is a Qiushi Distinguished Chair Professor and Dean of College of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Zhejiang University. He also serves as the Director of the National Key Laboratory of the Advanced Drug Delivery and Release Systems. Dr. Gu received his B.S. degree in Chemistry and M.S. degree in Polymer Chemistry and Physics from Nanjing University. In 2010, he obtained Ph.D. from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UCLA. He was a Postdoctoral Associate working with Dr. Robert Langer at MIT and Harvard Medical School during 2010 to 2012. Before he moved to Zhejiang University in 2020, he was a Full Professor in the Department of Bioengineering and Director of the NIH Biotechnology Training in Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Program at UCLA. From 2012 to 2018, he was working in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, where he had been appointed as a Jackson Family Distinguished Professor. Dr. Gu's group studies controlled drug delivery, biomaterials and cell therapy. He has published over 240 research papers and applied over 150 patents. He is the recipient of the Felix Franks Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2020), Young Investigator Award of Controlled Release Society (2017), Sloan Research Fellowship (2016) and Pathway Award of the American Diabetes Association (2015). MIT Technology Review listed him in 2015 as one of the top innovators under the age of 35. He was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) in 2019 and the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering (IAMBE) in 2021. Dr. Gu serves as an Associate Editor for Science Advances, Nano Research and Regenerative Biomaterials .

Zhen Gu
(Zhejiang University, China)

Dr. Zhen Gu is a Qiushi Distinguished Chair Professor and Dean of College of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Zhejiang University. He also serves as the Director of the National Key Laboratory of the Advanced Drug Delivery and Release Systems. Dr. Gu received his B.S. degree in Chemistry and M.S. degree in Polymer Chemistry and Physics from Nanjing University. In 2010, he obtained Ph.D. from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UCLA. He was a Postdoctoral Associate working with Dr. Robert Langer at MIT and Harvard Medical School during 2010 to 2012. Before he moved to Zhejiang University in 2020, he was a Full Professor in the Department of Bioengineering and Director of the NIH Biotechnology Training in Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Program at UCLA. From 2012 to 2018, he was working in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, where he had been appointed as a Jackson Family Distinguished Professor. Dr. Gu's group studies controlled drug delivery, biomaterials and cell therapy. He has published over 240 research papers and applied over 150 patents. He is the recipient of the Felix Franks Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2020), Young Investigator Award of Controlled Release Society (2017), Sloan Research Fellowship (2016) and Pathway Award of the American Diabetes Association (2015). MIT Technology Review listed him in 2015 as one of the top innovators under the age of 35. He was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) in 2019 and the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering (IAMBE) in 2021. Dr. Gu serves as an Associate Editor for Science Advances, Nano Research and Regenerative Biomaterials .

Thomas Robinson
(University of Birmingham, United Kingdom)

Dr Thomas Robinson is a biomaterials scientist with a broad interest in developing low-cost interventions for affordable and sustainable global healthcare. He is currently a research fellow within the Healthcare Technologies Institute at the University of Birmingham, UK.

Sudhir Ranganath
(Siddaganga Institute of Technology, India)

Sudhir Ranganath is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Siddaganga Institute of Technology (SIT), Tumkur. He is also the Principal Investigator and founder of the Laboratory for Biomedical Innovations via Engineering & NanoTechnology (Bio-INvENT Lab) at SIT. He was the INSA Visiting Scientist at IIT Bombay in 2022 and the Roche Collaborative Research Fellow at the Indiana University School of Optometry, USA during 2021. His current research interests are ocular pharmacology and biosensing, cell engineering, cell-based targeted drug delivery, cancer immunotherapy, nanomedicine and mathematical modeling of transport in biological systems. He has published about 25 high-impact research articles in top international peer-reviewed journals including Cell Stem Cell, Biomaterials, Nature Scientific Reports, Stem Cell Reports, AIChE Journal, Nanoscale Advances and PLoS One. He has received over ₹5.0 crores of extramural funding DBT, SERB, DST-Lockheed Martin-Tata Trusts, and ARVO (USA), and BRNS and about ₹65 lacs of intramural funding for research in five years. Recently, his research proposal on immunotherapy against brain tumor has been recommended for funding (₹3.5 crores) from DBT (Govt. of India) to establish a network research center with NIMHANS Bangalore.

He received his B.E., in Chemical Engineering from Bangalore University, M.S., & Ph.D., in Chemical Engineering from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and postdoctoral experience in Bioengineering at Harvard Medical School and MIT, USA & JNCASR, India. Recently he was elected to the prestigious Sigma Xi in the USA, which is world's largest scientific research society.

Selected awards and honors:
• Membership of Sigma Xi (The Scientific Research Honor Society), USA (2022 - 2023)
• INSA Visiting Scientist Fellowship (Host: IIT Bombay) (2022)
• Roche Collaborative Research Fellowship 2020, ARVO, USA (2021)
• Young Investigator, India BioScience Group (2020)
• Finalist at the National Bio Entrepreneurship Competition, C-CAMP, Bangalore (2019)
• India Innovation Growth Program University Challenge 2019 Award and Rs.10 lakhs grant from DST-Lockheed Martin-Tata Trusts (2019)
• Award for Research Publication from VGST, Govt of Karnataka (2019)
• Best Poster Award at the COMSOL Conference, Bangalore (2018)
• Certificate of Innovation from Partners Healthcare, USA (2018)
• DBT Travel Grant Award (2016)
• IUSSTF Postdoctoral Fellowship from India and US Governments (2010 - 2014)
• BMRC Research Fellowship from Biomedical Research Council, Singapore (2009 - 2010)
• NUS Research Scholarship from the National University of Singapore (2006 - 2009)

Dr. Sudhir is a reviewer for prestigious journals including Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, RSC Advances, American Chemical Society, Journal of Materials Chemistry B and Journal of Ocular Pharmacology & Therapeutics. He is a member of ARVO (USA) and CRS (USA) and a life member of Institute of Engineers (India).

Jung Seung Lee
(Sung Kyun Kwan University, Korea, Republic of)

I am a bioengineer having a research goal to identify current therapeutic limitations and to find solutions of them through biomaterials development for translational medicine. I majored in biotechnology and received my PhD in 2017 from the Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea, where I studied under the supervision of Prof. Seung-Woo Cho. My previous works were focused on the development of novel functional biomaterials for improving efficacy of stem cell therapeutics and tissue regeneration.

Sang H. Rhee
(Oakland University, USA)

I completed my B.S. and M.S. degrees in the Department of Molecular Biology at Pusan National University, South Korea, and my Ph.D. training in Biochemistry at Louisiana State University Baton Rouge in August 2001. I then moved forward the postdoctoral training in Dr. Matthew Fenton's lab at Boston University School of Medicine and later in Dr. Harry Charalabos Pothoulakis' lab at Harvard Medical School. In 2007, I moved to Los Angeles, California, to study mucosal immune responses as a research faculty at the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA. In August 2016, I joined the Department of Biological Sciences at Oakland University in Michigan and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. My laboratory has been interrogating the role of PTEN in the gastrointestinal tract, the interaction between gut inflammation and brain function, and Toll-like receptor-regulated microbial recognition in the gut. Through these projects, our research goal is to understand the systemic correlation encompassing gut epithelial cell biology, host-gut microbial interaction, and extra-intestinal impacts of gut inflammation.

Yoosoo Yang
(Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Korea, Republic of)

Yoosoo Yang is currently serving as a Principal Research Scientist at the Medicinal Materials Research Center within the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). Additionally, she holds the position of Associate Professor in the Division for Bio-Medical Science & Technology at UST KIST School. Dr. Yang earned her Ph.D. in Biotechnology and Bioengineering from Sungkyunkwan University in 2012. Following her doctoral studies, she conducted postdoctoral research under the supervision of Professor Yeon-Kyun Shin at the Single-molecule Imaging Lab at KIST and ISU. In 2014, Dr. Yang transitioned to a faculty role at the Center for Theragnosis at KIST. Her primary research focus revolves around the design of bio-inspired materials, particularly exosomes, for the delivery of biologics. She is also actively engaged in exploring the interactions between biomaterials and immune responses.

Sun Hwa Kim
(Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Korea, Republic of)

Dr. Sun Hwa Kim is a principal research scientist and a Dean of Medicinal Materials Research Center, Biomedical Research Institute at Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). She received her B.S. and M.S. degrees from Department of Genetic Engineering at Kyung Pook National University in 2000 and 2002, respectively. She received her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in 2007. After postdoctoral training at the Center for Controlled Chemical Delivery at the University of Utah, she joined KIST in 2012. She currently serves as an editorial board member of the Journal of Controlled Release. She has published 119 peer-reviewed articles with h-index of 46 in the field of gene and cell therapy. Her main research interests include biomaterial applications for nanomedicines, focusing on gene and cell therapy.

Joon-Ha Park
(Chung-Ang University, Korea, Republic of)

Electrochemistry, Optical sensing, Neurotransmitter sensing, Neuronal differentiation

Brian Aguado
(University of California San Diego, USA)

Dr. Brian Aguado (Twitter: @BrianAguado) is currently an Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at UC San Diego, where his laboratory research is focused on studying sex differences in cardiovascular disease using biomaterial technologies. Dr. Aguado completed his BS degree in Biomechanical Engineering from Stanford University and his MS and PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University. He also obtained his certificate in Management for Scientists and Engineers from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. Aguado has received the NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, the American Heart Association Career Development Award, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Science Diversity Leadership Award, and the NIH DP2 New Innovator Award to support his sex differences research. Dr. Aguado currently serves on the editorial advisory boards for the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, GEN Biotechnology, and Frontiers in Bioengineering. Dr. Aguado is also a dedicated science communicator outside of the lab and enages historically excluded and marginalized populations in the sciences. Dr. Aguado co-founded LatinXinBME (Twitter: @LatinXinBME), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive community of Latinx biomedical engineers and scientists to support each other personally and professionally through their careers. For his efforts, he was named one of the 100 Most Inspiring Latinx Scientists in America by Cell Press and received the Biomaterials Diversity Award for Young Investigator from the Biomaterials journal and the GEMINI Faculty Mentor Award from the Institute for Engineering in Medicine.

Jane Grande-Allen
(Rice University, USA)

Dr. Grande-Allen is Professor of Bioengineering and Associate Dean for Faculty Development in the School of Engineering at Rice University.

Jenny Robinson
(University of Washington, USA)

Dr. Jenny Robinson is an Assistant Professor in Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and Mechanical Engineering and Core Faculty in the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine at the University of Washington. There she holds the Endowed Chair in Women’s Sports Medicine and Lifetime Fitness. Jenny received her B.S. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Rice University and Texas A&M University, respectively. Dr. Robinson completed her postdoctoral fellowship in Biomedical Engineering and Craniofacial Biology at Columbia University. Dr. Robinson was previously an Assistant Professor in Chemical Engineering and the Bioengineering Graduate Program at the University of Kansas prior to her move to the University of Washington. Her research has been recognized by a NIH NIGMS R35 MIRA award, a Biomaterials Science Emerging Investigator issue award, a AIChE Futures Journal award, Rosalind Franklin Society/Mary Ann Liebert Award, and delegate to the National Academy of Engineering Frontiers Symposium.

Juan Gnecco
(Tufts University, USA)

Dr. Juan Gnecco is Colombian-American scientist and an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University. He is the principal investigator of the Laboratory of Reproductive Engineering and an associate principal investigator in the Mother Infant Research Institute (MIRI) at Tufts Medical Center. His overarching research vision lies at the interface of women’s health and engineering to understand the immune-endocrine mechanisms driving both reproductive physiology and disease pathogenesis. As a trained reproductive biologist with extensive experience in bioengineering, he merges interdisciplinary approaches to dissect the complex and dynamic nature of the female reproductive tract. Dr. Gnecco first obtained a B.S. in Biotechnology from Rutgers University followed by a Ph.D in Cellular and Molecular Pathology from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). He then conducted his post-doctoral training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he led efforts to transform the human clinical relevance of 3-dimensional (3D) reproductive tract models. He has been awarded three rounds of funding from Gates Foundation (2018-present) for his work building phenotypic screening models of the female reproductive tract. He is the consortium lead for the World Endometriosis Research Foundation (WERF) consortium to unify experimental organoid models, and was selected as a Rising Star in Engineering and Health by Columbia University (2020)

Min Wang
(Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China)

Min Wang earned his BSc (1985) and PhD (1991) degrees in Materials Science and Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, and University of London, U.K., respectively. Dr.Wang is a tenured professor at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) since 2008. He has also been a Guest Professor or Adjunct Professor of several universities in mainland China (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Zhejiang University, Tianjin University, Southwest Jiaotong University, South China University of Technology, etc.). As Programme Director, he led HKU’s interfaculty Medical Engineering Programme in 2013-2018. He is now an elected member of HKU’s Senate. Prior to joining HKU in 2003, Dr.Wang conducted research and teaching in universities in the UK (1991-1997), Singapore (1997-2002) and Hong Kong (2002-2003). For his achievements and contributions, he is elected a fellow of professional societies in the UK, Hong Kong, USA and internationally (FIMMM, 2001; FIMechE, 2007; FHKIE, 2010; FBSE, 2011; FAIMBE, 2012; WAC Academician, 2013; FRSC, 2020). His research interests include biomedical materials, tissue engineering, controlled release, and bionanotechnology. He has authored a large number of publications in peer-reviewed journals, books and conference proceedings. He has given many conference presentations, including over 190 invited talks at international conferences. He and his team have won many awards at international conferences. He has been developing new biomaterials using the composite/hybridization approach since 1991 and has been conducting tissue engineering research since 1999. The seminal research on bioactive bone analogue materials for bone substitution conducted in London by him and his colleagues in the 1990s were widely reported by the press (The Times in the UK, Chinese Science News in China, etc.). He is a leading researcher internationally on biomedical composite research and his work on biomedical composites has been widely cited by researchers in many countries. Dr.Wang and co-workers have also investigated various fabrication technologies for tissue engineering scaffolds, including freeze-drying, electrospinning and 3D printing, and the scaffolds developed are used to regenerate tissues such as bone, osteochondral tissue, blood vessel, peripheral nerve and gastrointestinal tract. His group also develops new materials and mechanisms for 4D printing in tissue engineering. He has authored chapters on 3D printing for authoritative books. Dr.Wang has been the Series Editor of Springer Series in Biomaterials Science and Engineering (http://www.springer.com/series/10955) books since 2012 and Editor or Associate Editor of journals (Progress in Materials Science, Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing, IET Nanobiotechnology, etc.). He served/serves in the Editorial Board of more than 20 international journals, including Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine, Composites Science and Technology, Biomedical Materials, Biomaterials Research, and Journal of Orthopaedic Translation. Dr.Wang has served as Chair/Co-Chair and/or Organizer/Co-Organizer of 29 international conferences/symposia/workshops, including symposium/workshop in four World Biomaterials Congresses. Dr.Wang was/is an elected Council Member of Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, Chinese Society for Biomaterials (CSBM), Asian Biomaterials Federation, World Association for Chinese Biomedical Engineers (WACBE), and International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE). Currently, he is also an elected member of the Steering Committee and Treasurer of IUS-BSE’s International College of Fellows.

Hu-Lin Jiang
(China Pharmaceutical University, China)

Professor Hu-Lin Jiang is the doctoral supervisor of China Pharmaceutical University and Distinguished Professor of Jiangsu province, which is supported by the Outstanding Youth Fund of Jiangsu Province of China. The research interests of Jiang’s group mainly focus on the development of new dosage forms and biopharmaceuticals. Besides, he has made outstanding achievements in the fields of the drug, gene and cell delivery system. He published 150 SCI papers in international journals including Adv Mater, Adv Funct Mater, Sci Adv, Biomaterials, J Controlled Release, ACS Nano, Prog Polym Sci etc. There are 45 patents being applied, six of which is PCT patents, and 17 patents have been authorized for invention patents, one of which has transfer to the company. He has edited 20 books and presided over 10 scientific research projects including the National Natural Science Foundation of China and National Key R&D Program of China.

Hu-Lin Jiang
(China Pharmaceutical University, China)

Professor Hu-Lin Jiang is the doctoral supervisor of China Pharmaceutical University and Distinguished Professor of Jiangsu province, which is supported by the Outstanding Youth Fund of Jiangsu Province of China. The research interests of Jiang’s group mainly focus on the development of new dosage forms and biopharmaceuticals. Besides, he has made outstanding achievements in the fields of the drug, gene and cell delivery system. He published 150 SCI papers in international journals including Adv Mater, Adv Funct Mater, Sci Adv, Biomaterials, J Controlled Release, ACS Nano, Prog Polym Sci etc. There are 45 patents being applied, six of which is PCT patents, and 17 patents have been authorized for invention patents, one of which has transfer to the company. He has edited 20 books and presided over 10 scientific research projects including the National Natural Science Foundation of China and National Key R&D Program of China.

Amit Bandyopadhyay
(Washington State University, USA)

Amit Bandyopadhyay is a Boeing Distinguished Professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and an Affiliate Professor of the College of Medicine at Washington State University (WSU). In 1997, he joined WSU as an Assistant Professor, was promoted to an Associate level in 2001, and the full professor level in 2006. His research expertise focuses on additive manufacturing / 3D Printing, emphasizing bone implants and multi-material structures. He has worked with 24 Ph.D. and 31 MS graduate students, several post-doctoral research associates, visiting faculty members, and over 50 undergraduate students at WSU. He has written over 380 technical articles, edited 11 books, an inventor of 21 issued patents, and is a member of several journals' editorial boards. He received the CAREER award from the National Science Foundation and the Young Investigator Award from the Office of Naval Research. He is a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society, American Society for Materials (ASM), American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), National Academy of Inventors (NAI), Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), and an elected member at the Washington State Academy of Science (WSAS). His work has been cited over 34,500 times, and the current "h" index is 95 (Google Scholar). During the past 25 years at WSU, Prof. Bandyopadhyay received research funding from various federal and state agencies, foundations, and companies over $19.0 million as a PI or Co-PI.

Joel Finbloom
(University of British Columbia, Canada)

Dr. Joel Finbloom is an Assistant Professor within the Nanomedicine and Chemical Biology research theme at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. The Finbloom lab designs bioinspired materials that interface with microbial communities to advance human health. By working at the intersection of chemical biology, nanotechnology, and bioengineering, the Finbloom lab will tackle critical challenges in the pharmaceutical sciences - treating antibiotic resistant bacterial infections and improving the oral delivery of probiotics.

Dr. Finbloom started his scientific career at the NIH in 2008, where he worked for four summers in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under the mentorship of Dr. Kathryn Zoon. Dr. Finbloom received his BA in chemistry in 2013 from Northwestern University, while conducting research in the laboratory of Professor Samuel Stupp. There, Dr. Finbloom developed stimuli-responsive peptide nanomaterials for cancer drug delivery. Dr. Finbloom earned his PhD in chemistry in 2018 from the University of California Berkeley, working in the lab of Professor Matthew Francis to combine the fields of biomaterials and chemical biology for applications in protein modification and nanomedicine. Dr. Finbloom then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Professor Tejal Desai at the University of California San Francisco, where he developed nanomaterials-based strategies for antimicrobial drug delivery and regenerative medicine. In January 2023, Dr. Finbloom joined UBC as an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences. A central theme throughout Dr. Finbloom’s interdisciplinary research is how to better design the physicochemical properties of nanomaterials to direct interactions with biological systems and improve biomedical applications.

Tzu-Wei Wang
(Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, Chinese Taipei)

Tzu-Wei Wang is currently a Professor of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan. He completed his Ph.D. degree from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University. His postdoc training was conducted at Harvard University during 2007-2009. He joined National Tsing Hua University as an Assistant Professor in 2009, and then promoted to Associate Professor in 2013, and Professor in 2018. His research interests are: 1) Development of functionalized smart biomaterials for the applications in tissue engineering and drug delivery; 2) Control of extracellular microenvironment using physical, chemical, and biological approaches for the manipulation of stem cell fate. He has published over 50 scientific peer-reviewed SCI papers (h index 30, i10 index 41) and received several international patents in the past few years. He has been awarded with TERMIS Young Plenary Award, IUMRS Frontier Materials Young Scientists Award, and several Young Investigator Awards in the field of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering. He also received Research Scholar Award and Biomedical Engineering Award for his research studies and contribution in the Biomateials and Controlled Release Society, Taiwan.

James Lai
(Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, USA)

Dr. James Lai currently serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech). Dr. Lai received a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the New York University—Tandon School of Engineering (formerly Polytechnic University) with emphasis in the field of nanomaterials. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and an associated degree from the National Taipei University of Technology (formerly National Taipei Institute of Technology). Prior to joining Taiwan Tech, he served as a Bioengineering Faculty at the University of Washington. As an engineer Dr. Lai wants to remove technological boundaries by applying scientific principles. His research focuses on developing novel nanomaterials and reagents for bioprocessing to enhance biomarker detection/clinical assays, to improve therapeutic biologics manufacturing, and to enable life science research. He has over 15 years of experience as a Principal Investigator leading an independent group to conduct interdisciplinary research in academic and clinical settings. His research has been supported by National Institute of Health, Coulter Foundation, etc. Dr. Lai is also highly passionate about translating the technologies developed in research laboratories to potential clinical applications that benefit the standard of care received by patients. In 2017, he was selected as a fellow of Leaders in Future Trends, supported by Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology to explore technology development, commercialization, and research collaboration in Taiwan. His research work has resulted in two biotech startups.

Kee Woei NG
(School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)

Professor Kee Woei Ng is currently the Associate Chair (Research) at the School of Materials Science and Engineering at NTU, Singapore. He holds the concurrent position of Technology Leader in Nanomaterials and Nanotoxicology at the Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute (NEWRI). He was the Program Director of the NTU-Harvard School of Public Health Initiative on Sustainable Nanotechnology (2016-2022). In addition, Professor Ng serves as a member of the Technical Committee on Nanotechnology within the Chemical Standards Committee commissioned by Enterprise Singapore and a Subject Expert in Nanotechnology, in the SingHealth Institutional Biosafety Committee. Professor Ng’s research is highly interdisciplinary and translational in nature, spanning across disciplines including food & agriculture, biomaterials and nanotechnology. In the area of sustainable nanotechnology, he is interested in understanding the implications of exposure to engineered nanomaterials in various scenarios. Through such understanding, he aims to develop novel and sustainability applications using engineered nanomaterials. In the area of biomaterials development, he is recognized for developing novel, waste-derived platforms for various applications including tissue engineering, urban farming and bioplastics for sustainability. He is the co-Lead Principal Investigator of the Israel-Singapore Urban Farm (iSURF) project funded by CREATE, aiming to develop a data-intensive autonomous intelligent urban farming system for whole-plant yield optimization, including a focus on adopting sustainable templates for sustainable and smart nutrient delivery.

Won-Gun Koh
(Yonsei University, Korea, Republic of)

Prof. Won-Gun Koh is a professor at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, at Yonsei University, South Korea. He received B.S. and M.S degree in Department of Chemical Engineering at Yonsei University, Korea. He received Ph.D. in 2004 from Department of Chemical Engineering at Penn State University, USA. After Ph.D., he was appointed as postdoc scholar at Stanford University School of Medicine. His research interests include biosensors, drug delivery, bioMEMS, and tissue engineering.

Susiana Melanie
(Imperial College London, United Kingdom)

I am a PhD student in the Department of Materials, at Imperial College London. The project title is Chitosan/bioglass nanofibres scaffold for wound healing application. I have a master's degree from MSc Chemical Engineering, The University of Manchester. I am from Indonesia. In Indonesia, I work as a researcher for the government research institution The National Research and Innovation Agency (Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional, BRIN).

Chelsea Magin
(University of Colorado, Denver | Anschutz, USA)

Dr. Chelsea M. Magin, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Bioengineering, Pediatrics and Medicine and the Principal Investigator of the Bio-inspired Pulmonary Engineering Laboratory at the University of Colorado, Denver | Anschutz. Her research focuses on using innovative biomaterials and bioengineering approaches, such as 3D printing, to build in vitro models of lung disease and repair. She is a recipient of an NSF CAREER Award, the American Thoracic Society Recognition of Early Academic Achievement Award, and the University of Florida’s 40 Gators Under 40 Alumni Award. Dr. Magin teaches Regulatory Affairs and Research Methods and was recognized as the Colorado Bioscience Association’s Educator of the Year. Prior to returning to academia, Dr. Magin served as the Director of Product Development for Sharklet Technologies, Inc., where she led a research and development team that designed medical devices. She previously completed an NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Colorado, Boulder in the Anseth Research Group where she developed user-controlled, dynamically tunable biomaterials. Dr. Magin earned her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Florida with Dr. Anthony Brennan. Her doctoral research focused on using new materials and surface topographies to control adhesion of marine fouling organisms and mammalian cells.

Jaehong Key
(Yonsei University Mirae Campus, Korea, Republic of)

- 2023.03 - Present: Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Yonsei University, Wonju, Korea
- 2023.03 - 2025.02: Adjunct Researcher, KIST Gangneung Institute of Natural Products, Gangneung, Korea
- 2022.05 - Present: Deputy Director, Digital Healthcare Cencer in Gangwon Innovation Regional Platform
- 2022.03 - 2024.02: Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Integrative Medicine, Yonsei University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- 2021.03 - 2022.03: Visiting Scholar, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- 2020.07 - 2022.07: Expert Advisor, In-vitro Diagnostics, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Korea
- 2019.06 - 2021.06: Expert Advisor, Medical Equipment, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Korea
- 2019.03 - 2020.02: Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yonsei University, Wonju, Korea
- 2019.01 - Present: Director, Information & Communications, The Korean Society of Medical & Biological Society, Korea
- 2018.03 - 2023.02: Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Yonsei University, Wonju, Korea
- 2017.01 - 2018.12: Director, General Affairs, The Korean Society of Medical & Biological Society, Korea
- 2016.03 - Present: IACUC Committee Member, Yonsei University, Wonju, Korea
- 2015.02 - 2017.02: Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Yonsei University, Wonju, Korea
- 2012.05 - 2015.01: Post-doctor, Methodist Research Institute in Texas Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA
- 2007.09 - 2012.05: Ph.D., Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
- 2004.07 - 2007.06: Researcher, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, KIST, Seoul, Korea

Janette Burgess
(University of Groningen, Netherlands)

Janette Burgess is Professor of Extracellular Matrix in Disease Pathogenesis within the Department of Pathology and Medical Biology, Medical Biology section at University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands. Janette completed her Bachelor of Science (with honours) at the University of Adelaide Australia in 1991 and her PhD at the University of New South Wales in Hematology in 1998. In 1999 she was appointed to a Post-doctoral position at the University of Sydney under the guidance of Prof Judy Black, where she developed her fascination for the respiratory system and the complex structural changes that occur within the lungs in disease. After a number of competitive fellowship positions in Australia, in 2015 she was awarded a Rosalind Franklin Fellowship to join the University Medical Center Groningen, where she is now a tenured Professor.
Janette’s research focusses on the role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in lung pathology. She is intrigued by the changes in the tissue and airway structures of the lungs that occur during disease development and progression and wants to know if these changes are a cause or a consequence of the pathology. Working with primary human lung cells, human lung tissue samples and patient clinical information, the research seeks to characterize the changes in the ECM that occur during disease in the lungs and to understand the mechanisms that underlie these changes. By novel in vitro cell models, ex vivo human lung tissue models and advanced microscopy imaging techniques she is unraveling the complex nature of the regulation of the ECM and exploring its potential as a future target for therapeutic intervention. This research links basic science to the goals of prevention and treatment of human lung diseases that afflict millions of people worldwide.

Chelsea Magin
(University of Colorado, Denver | Anschutz, USA)

Dr. Chelsea M. Magin, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Bioengineering, Pediatrics and Medicine and the Principal Investigator of the Bio-inspired Pulmonary Engineering Laboratory at the University of Colorado, Denver | Anschutz. Her research focuses on using innovative biomaterials and bioengineering approaches, such as 3D printing, to build in vitro models of lung disease and repair. She is a recipient of an NSF CAREER Award, the American Thoracic Society Recognition of Early Academic Achievement Award, and the University of Florida’s 40 Gators Under 40 Alumni Award. Dr. Magin teaches Regulatory Affairs and Research Methods and was recognized as the Colorado Bioscience Association’s Educator of the Year. Prior to returning to academia, Dr. Magin served as the Director of Product Development for Sharklet Technologies, Inc., where she led a research and development team that designed medical devices. She previously completed an NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Colorado, Boulder in the Anseth Research Group where she developed user-controlled, dynamically tunable biomaterials. Dr. Magin earned her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Florida with Dr. Anthony Brennan. Her doctoral research focused on using new materials and surface topographies to control adhesion of marine fouling organisms and mammalian cells.

Elena Ivanova
(RMIT University, Australia)

Elena P. Ivanova is Distinguished Professor at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (Melbourne). Elena received her Doctor of Philosophy from the Institute of Microbiology and Virology, Ukraine, Doctor of Science from the Pacific Institute of Bio-organic Chemistry, Russian Federation, Juris Doctorate from the University of Melbourne and Graduate Diploma from the Law Institute, Victoria.

Professor Ivanova has worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (Japan), Visiting Researcher at the Center of Marine Biotechnology, University of Maryland (USA), Visiting Professor at Hokkaido University (Japan), Cambridge University (UK) and the Institut Charles, Sadron, CNRS (France). She joined Swinburne University of Technology in 2001, and moved RMIT University in 2018.

Professor Ivanova has been the recipient of AIST and JSPS Fellowships (Japan), a UNESCO Biotechnology Fellowship, a Research Excellence Award from the Governor of Primorye (Russia), the Prominent Young Doctor of Science Award from the Russian Federation, the Morrison Rogosa Award from the American Society for Microbiology (USA), a recipient of the Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Scientific Research.

Elena's research is concentrated in the fundamental and applied fields of nanobiotechnology, with a focus on the design, fabrication and operation of planar micro-devices; immobilization of bio-molecules and micro-organisms in micro/nano/environments, bacterial interactions with macro/micro/nano-structured surfaces, biomaterials, biomimetic antimicrobial surfaces.

Andrew Boden
(Swinburne University Technology, Australia)

Andrew Boden received his PhD in Chemistry and Biochemistry (2020) from Swinburne University of Technology, Australia, where his major research focus was in the field of materials science for applications in non-fouling and antimicrobial surfaces. Andrew’s previous research background has allowed for experience in areas such as polymer and peptide immobilization strategies, but also many surface analysis techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), MALDI-ToF MS and surface plasmon resonance (SPR), SEM and AFM.

Andrew is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow as part of an ARC Discovery Project and also the Surface Engineering for Advances materials (SEAM) ARC Training Centre where he is been involved in several projects including the development of ‘Multifunctional Coatings for Long-term Antimicrobial Purposes’, ‘Biofunctionalized TiO2 as a novel component in binary colloidal crystal surfaces’ and also ‘Multiplexed surface signals to inhibit mixed bacterial biofilm formation’. These projects are expected to have significant impact in the healthcare and biomedical industries due to the severe complications caused by fouling of surfaces that operate within biological environments. Additionally, Andrew is involved with many STEM-related programs with Secondary Schools to engage and motivate the next generation of scientists through practical hands-on experience within the laboratory.

Peng Li
(Northwestern Polytechnical University, China)

Professor Li Peng, Vice Dean of Institute of Biomedical Materials and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU, China). Prof. Li earned his bachelor and PhD degree in Tianjin University (2006) and Nanyang Technological University (2013) respectively. Then he continued his post-doctoral training in NTU under the supervision of Prof. Mary B. Chan-Park. He worked in Xi’an Jiaotong University and Nanjing Tech University as faculty from 2013-2018. In 2018, he joined NPU as a Professor. He's research interests are the development of biomedical materials and devices for the treatment of diseases, especially infectious diseases caused by pathogenic microbes. He has published more than 100 journal papers in Nat. Mater., Adv. Mater., Adv. Sci., ACS Nano, ACS Cen. Sci., etc. He holds 20 Chinese Patents and 6 international patents (2 transferred).

Youngjae Chun
(University of Pittsburgh, USA)

Dr. Youngjae Chun is a Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering, Swanson School of Engineering, with a secondary appointment in Swanson’s Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Chun obtained his BS from Inha University (South Korea) in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He obtained his Master's at Inha University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a specialization in Manufacturing and MEMS technology. He obtained his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at UCLA in June 2009 working on the development of biomedical devices to treat vascular diseases using smart artificial materials through minimally invasive surgery. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher in UCLA's Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department's Active Materials Laboratory and UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine’s Center for Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology.

Dr. Chun’s research interests include designing/manufacturing the metallic medical devices, investigating biocompatibility, analyzing the mechanical and physical behaviors, and testing biomedical devices. In current research, Dr. Chun combines the comprehensive knowledge from diverse fields such as material processing, MEMS/Nano fabrication, biomedical science, and surface engineering that is crucially important to successfully fulfill the goal of interdisciplinary projects of metallic biomaterial-based medical devices for vascular repair. Dr. Chun has developed various metallic biomaterial-based endovascular devices for treating brain/aortic aneurysms, cardiovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease, vascular injuries, and trauma. Dr. Chun is also interested in bio-hybrid composites, diagnostic vascular implants, and micro-bio-systems, as well as fundamental device-associated biocompatibility and development of experimental methods.

Woon-Hong Yeo
(Georgia Institute of Technology, USA)

Dr. Yeo is a Woodruff Faculty Fellow, Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, and the Director of the IEN Center for Human-Centric Interfaces and Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. His research focuses on the areas of nano-microengineering, soft materials, molecular interactions, and biosystems, with an emphasis on nanomembrane bioelectronics. Dr. Yeo received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at the University of Washington, Seattle. Afterward, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Yeo has published over 130 peer-reviewed articles, including many in top-quality journals, including Nature Materials, Nature Machine Intelligence, Nature Communications, and Science Advances. In addition, Dr. Yeo is an IEEE Senior Member and a recipient of a number of awards, including multiple NIH R01 Awards, NIH Trailblazer Young Investigator Award, IEEE Outstanding Engineer Award, Emory School of Medicine Research Award, Imlay Innovation Award, Lucy G. Moses Lectureship Award, Sensors Young Investigator Award, American Heart Association Innovative Project Award, and Outstanding Yonsei Scholar Award.

Youngjae Chun
(University of Pittsburgh, USA)

Dr. Youngjae Chun is a Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering, Swanson School of Engineering, with a secondary appointment in Swanson’s Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Chun obtained his BS from Inha University (South Korea) in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He obtained his Master's at Inha University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a specialization in Manufacturing and MEMS technology. He obtained his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at UCLA in June 2009 working on the development of biomedical devices to treat vascular diseases using smart artificial materials through minimally invasive surgery. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher in UCLA's Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department's Active Materials Laboratory and UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine’s Center for Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology.

Dr. Chun’s research interests include designing/manufacturing the metallic medical devices, investigating biocompatibility, analyzing the mechanical and physical behaviors, and testing biomedical devices. In current research, Dr. Chun combines the comprehensive knowledge from diverse fields such as material processing, MEMS/Nano fabrication, biomedical science, and surface engineering that is crucially important to successfully fulfill the goal of interdisciplinary projects of metallic biomaterial-based medical devices for vascular repair. Dr. Chun has developed various metallic biomaterial-based endovascular devices for treating brain/aortic aneurysms, cardiovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease, vascular injuries, and trauma. Dr. Chun is also interested in bio-hybrid composites, diagnostic vascular implants, and micro-bio-systems, as well as fundamental device-associated biocompatibility and development of experimental methods.

Steve Park
(KAIST, Korea, Republic of)

Steve Park is a professor in the materials science and engineering at KAIST. He received his Ph D from Stanford University and conducted his post doctoral fellowship at Columbia University, NY. His main interests are stretchable electronics, 3D printing, and tactile / bio- sensors.

Ching-Li Tseng
(Taipei Medical University, Chinese Taipei)

Dr. Tseng received her PhD degree from National Taiwan University (NTU) and proceeded postdoc training at National Health Research Institute (NHRI, Taiwan). She was recurred to Taipei Medical University (TMU) as an assistant professor in 2011 and was a visiting scholar at Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA) in 2016. Now, she is a professor/director at Graduate Institute of Biomedical Materials and Tissue Engineering, TMU. She focuses her research on design/synthesizes variant nanoparticles with drug/gene/contrast agent loading for disease treatment/diagnosis such as nanoparticles for ophthalmic application. She serves as a reviewer for many journals such as Advanced Science, Biomaterials, Acta Biomaterial, ACS applied interface, J Material Chemistry B, Int J Nanomedicine, and etc. She is expanding international collaboration to work with researcher in control release system.

Tolou Shokuhfar
(University of Illinois at Chicago, USA)

Tolou Shokuhfar is an Associate Professor of biomedical engineering and director of In situ Nanomedicine Lab at the University of Illinois Chicago. She holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University with focus on Biomechanics and Nanomedicine. Her research interests include Biomaterials, In situ Transmission Electron Microscopy, Biomineralization, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. She has managed several NSF funded projects, including NSF CAREER award from NSF DMR program that pioneers biomineralization at nanomaterial/protein interface and has served as a reviewer at several NSF panels. She has received several research and leadership awards including the “INSIGHT Diversity Award for Inspiring Women in STEM”, “ TMS Young Leaders Award”, “ DSL Young Scientist Award”, and Crain’s Leadership Academy program in Chicago. She serves as a mentor and advisor for both undergraduate and graduate researchers and has successfully graduated more than 10 PhD and MSc students over the past few years. She has published 6 book chapters, and a book entitled “ Nanotechnology in Medicine and Biology (Elsevier Series on Advanced Topics in Biomaterials). She has published over 100 peered-reviewed journal papers, more than 100 proceedings, and has delivered more than 60 oral presentations in invited talks and seminars at national and international venues.
She serves at the editorial board of the International Journal of Nanomedicine, Smart Materials in Medicine, and has served as the guest editor of Journal of Functional Biomaterials (JFB) and Advisor for JOM, Special Issue on “Functional Materials: Materials in Medicine and Bioengineering”. She has served in several leadership positions such as the Chair for Orthopedic Biomaterials at the Society for Biomaterials, and the Program Chair of Nanomaterials SIG at the Society for Biomaterials. She has been the main symposium organizer for “Advanced Biomaterials for Biomedical Implants” symposium at The Materials and Minerals Society (TMS) and the “ Biomedical Implants and Devices” at the DSL international conference for several years. She is the organizer for “Advanced Biomaterials and Nanomaterials for Implantable Devices” session at the World Biomaterials Congress 2024, Daegu, Korea.

Daishun Ling
(Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China)

2009—2013 Ph.D., School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Korea
2013—2014 Senior Researcher, Center for Nanoparticle Research, Institute for Basic, Korea
2014—2021 Professor, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, China
2021—present Distinguished Professor, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules & School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
2021—present Associate Editor, Exploration (ISSN 2766-2098)
2020—present Assistant Editor, Journal of Controlled Release (ISSN 1873-4995)
2020—present Theme Editor, Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews (ISSN 1872-8294)
2018—present Editor Board Member, Science Bulletin (ISSN 2095-9281)
Awards:
2018 Second prize of Science and Technology award of Zhejiang Pharmaceutical Association, China
2018 First prize of Science and Technology Progress Award of Ministry of Education, China
2019 National Science Fund for Excellent Youth Scholars, China
2021 Leading Talent of National High-Level Talents Special Support Plan, China
2021 “Rising Star Award”, Journal of Nanobiotechnology

James Moon
(University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA)

Dr. James Moon is John Gideon Searle Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, and Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His interdisciplinary research program aims to develop novel biomaterials-based strategies to advance fundamental understanding of the immune system, with the ultimate goal of improving patients’ lives with effective vaccines and immunotherapies. Dr. Moon has published over 120 research articles, including those published in Nature Materials, Nature Medicine, Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Biomedical Engineering, Nature Reviews Materials, and Science Translational Medicine. He has over 20 pending/approved U.S. and international patent applications, and his novel nano-vaccine delivery technologies have led to 3 new start-up companies (EVOQ Therapeutics, Saros Therapeutics, and Elicio Therapeutics). Dr. Moon is a fellow of BMES, AIBME, and CRS, and his contributions to the field has been recognized with numerous awards, including NSF CAREER Award and Samyang CRS Award. Dr. Moon received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley (2002), and his Ph.D. from Rice University (2008), and he completed his postdoctoral training at MIT. He joined the faculty of the University of Michigan in 2012.

Chris Jewell
(University of Maryland, USA)

Christopher M. Jewell is the MPower Professor and the Minta Martin Professor of Engineering at the University of Maryland in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering and the Medical School. He is also a Research Biologist with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs at the Baltimore VA Medical Center. His work at the interface of immunology and materials science harnesses new technologies to study antigen-specific immunity, and exploits these processes for antigen-specific immunotherapies targeting cancer and autoimmunity. Dr. Jewell's research has been supported by over $25M in funding, resulting in more than 125 patent filings and papers in top journals, including Nature, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Materials, ACS Nano, PNAS, Trends in Immunology, and others. Dr. Jewell is a Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the Controlled Release Society (CRS), and the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT). Chris previously worked at the Boston Consulting Group in New York City, where he developed R&D strategy for global pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Jewell is currently the Chief Scientific Officer at Cartesian Therapeutics - a clinical stage cell therapy company, an advisor and consultant for a number of small and large firms in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, and a member of the PhRMA Foundation Advisory Committee. Dr. Jewell is an Associate Editor for Nature Publishing's Regenerative Medicine, and has also been named a Miegunyah Distinguished Faculty Fellow by the University of Melbourne (Australia) at the Peter Doherty Institute for Immunity and Infection. Some of Dr. Jewell’s awards include being honored by the White House as a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the United States's highest honor to scientists and engineers in the first half of their career. He has been selected as a Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, appointed as an Associate Scientific Advisor for Science Translational Medicine, received the Outstanding Lectureship in Drug Delivery from the Materials Research Society, and being named the state of Maryland’s Outstanding Young Engineer by the Maryland Academy of Science. Dr. Jewell graduated from Lehigh University with high honors, earning dual degrees in Chemical Engineering and Molecular Biology. He received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, working with Professor David Lynn. Dr. Jewell carried out his postdoctoral training as a Ragon Institute Fellow working with Dr. Darrell Irvine at MIT and as a Visiting Scientist at Harvard with Dr. Dan Barouch in the division of Vaccine Research.

James Moon
(University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA)

Dr. James Moon is John Gideon Searle Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, and Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His interdisciplinary research program aims to develop novel biomaterials-based strategies to advance fundamental understanding of the immune system, with the ultimate goal of improving patients’ lives with effective vaccines and immunotherapies. Dr. Moon has published over 120 research articles, including those published in Nature Materials, Nature Medicine, Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Biomedical Engineering, Nature Reviews Materials, and Science Translational Medicine. He has over 20 pending/approved U.S. and international patent applications, and his novel nano-vaccine delivery technologies have led to 3 new start-up companies (EVOQ Therapeutics, Saros Therapeutics, and Elicio Therapeutics). Dr. Moon is a fellow of BMES, AIBME, and CRS, and his contributions to the field has been recognized with numerous awards, including NSF CAREER Award and Samyang CRS Award. Dr. Moon received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley (2002), and his Ph.D. from Rice University (2008), and he completed his postdoctoral training at MIT. He joined the faculty of the University of Michigan in 2012.

Baptiste Marin
(École de Technologie supérieure, Canada)

I did my bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences at University of Montreal and my master's degree at Polytechnique Montreal. I'm currently doing my Ph.D. in engineering at École de Technologie Supérieure, under the supervision of Prof. Sophie Lerouge in the Biomaterials and Biofabrication lab at University of Montreal Hospital Research Center. I'm working on a chitosan hydrogel for cell immunotherapy to treat cancer.

Ana Paula Pego
(European Society for Biomaterials, Portugal)

Ana Paula Pêgo got her Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry and Biomaterials from the University of Twente, the Netherlands, in 2002. In 2003 she moved to INEB – Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, where she became a Principal Investigator in 2012. In 2015, INEB joined the i3S – Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (Universidade do Porto), where Ana Paula Pêgo leads the nanoBiomaterials for Targeted Therapies (nBTT) Group.

By using nanomedicine strategies the nBTT Group, aims at providing in situ and in a targeted manner the required signals to promote nervous tissue regeneration. The research on new biomaterials for application in neurosciences includes the development of new polymers for the design of alternative vectors to viruses for efficient nucleic acid delivery, the preparation of nerve grafts for spinal cord injury treatment and the design of brain tissue engineered platforms. Societal and ethical issues that concern Regenerative Medicine and NanoMedicine are also topics in which Ana Paula Pêgo is involved.

She has been appointed the Scientific Director of the Bioimaging Centre for Biomaterials and Regenerative Therapies of INEB and she is an Invited Associate Professor at the Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS) of the University of Porto.

Currently Ana Paula Pêgo is a member of the Board of Directors of i3S, being the Head of Strategy & Creation of Value Unit, serves as an Associate Editor of Biomaterials (Elsevier journal) and is part of the Board of Reviewing Editors of Science (AAAS).

Ana Paula Pêgo served two terms in the European Society for Biomaterials (ESB) Council, being the ESB Council Secretary from 2017-2021 and the ESB President from 2021-2023, being now the ESB past President.

Katja Schenke-Layland
(Eberhard Karls University Tubingen, Germany)

Katja Schenke-Layland is the Professor of Medical Technologies and Regenerative Medicine at the Medical Faculty of the University Tübingen (MFT). She is the Director of the NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute in Reutlingen, the CEO of the NMI-TT GmbH, and the Study Dean of Medical Technologies at the University of Tübingen. Katja is currently the Co-Editor-In-Chief of Tissue Engineering Part B (Mary Ann Liebert) and Executive Editor of Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews (Elsevier), as well as on several editorial boards such as Matrix Biology (Elsevier), Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering (Elsevier), and Journal of 3D Printing in Medicine (Future Medicine). Katja is a fellow/ board member of the German National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech), the German Central Ethics Committee for Stem Cell Research (ZES), International and German Societies of Matrix Biology, and the European Alliance for Medical and Biological Engineering and Science (EAMBES). She has published more than 190 peer-reviewed articles, has an h-index of 51 (Scopus), and has been granted 4 patents.

Matteo Santin
(University of Brighton, United Kingdom)

Prof Matteo Santin is Professor of Tissue Regeneration at the School of Applied Sciences, University of Brighton, UK, and the Director of the Brighton Centre for Regenerative Medicine and Devices. His career in biomedical research and teaching started in 1989 and it has been marked by significant achievements that were internationally recognised in 2005 by the European Society for Biomaterials who conferred him the Jean Leary Award, elected him as a member of the board (2009-2013) and as the President of the Society (2013-2017). He is the founder and director of 2 start-up companies with a mission in biomaterials, Brighton Wound Care Ltd and Tissue Click Ltd.
His scientific interests include natural biomaterials, synthetic biomimetic nano-structured biomaterials able to control tissue regeneration and biosensing. He has developed in vitro clinically-reflective models for the testing of nanomedicines, biomaterials and tissue engineering constructs. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers, over 200 presentations at international conferences, filed 11 patents applications and unveiled for the first time the biochemical and cellular mechanisms of inflammatory response to silk fibroin, new cellular mechanisms leading to the failure of cardiovascular stents and the tissue regeneration potential of novel soybean-based biomaterials and biomimetic dendrimers (i.e. hyperbranched molecules able to control cell functions and tissue regeneration).

Marian Hettiaratchi
(University of Oregon, USA)

Dr. Marian Hettiaratchi is an assistant professor of bioengineering at the Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact at the University of Oregon. She received a B.Sc. in chemical engineering from the University of Calgary and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University prior to conducting post-doctoral research at the University of Toronto as a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) post-doctoral fellow.

Dr. Hettiaratchi's research program focuses on developing the next generation of affinity-controlled protein delivery vehicles for tissue repair. Using a unique combination of directed evolution platforms, rational protein design, polymer chemistry, and bio-transport modeling, Dr. Hettiaratchi’s lab engineers novel protein-material interactions to precisely tune protein delivery, sequestration, and bioactivity for a variety of applications, including repairing musculoskeletal, vascular, and central nervous system injuries. This versatile approach has enabled advances in both understanding the mechanisms of tissue repair and generating new treatment strategies.

Dr. Hettiaratchi fosters an inclusive, interdisciplinary research group where lab members of different backgrounds and skill levels are encouraged to work together to learn new techniques and make new discoveries. She has received several awards as an assistant professor, including the J.R. Neff Research Award from MTF Biologics and a Faculty Research Mentor Award from the Center for Undergraduate Research Engagement at the University of Oregon. Dr. Hettiaratchi has also been recognized as an Emerging Investigator by Biomaterials Science and the Journal of Materials Chemistry B and Rising Star by Advanced Healthcare Materials. The Hettiaratchi Lab's work is currently supported by a broad array of funding, including a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R21 Trailblazer Award, NIH R35 Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA), National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (NSF CAREER) Award, and Department of Defense Discovery Award.

Nathaniel Huebsch
(Washington University in St. Louis, USA)

Nate Huebsch completed his BS in Bioengineering in 2003 from the University of California, Berkeley. He completed his PhD training through the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology in 2010 and then worked as a postdoctoral fellow and research scientist at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease where he held fellowships from the NIH and the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. He served as the lead scientist on the Microphysiological Systems team in the laboratory of Kevin Healy at the University of California, Berkeley before joining the department of Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in Saint Louis in 2018.

Huebsch’s lab is focused is on understanding how mechanical loading and passive matrix mechanical properties contribute to pathogenesis of inherited cardiomyopathies and stem cell differentiation. His team is interdisciplinary and collaborative, and has devised approaches for modeling inherited disease in a high-throughput manner using iPSC-derived tissues together with new image processing and biomaterials technologies. Dr. Huebsch’s work is supported by grants from the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health, along with the NSF Center for Engineering Mechanobiology.

Hongbo Zeng
(University of Alberta, Canada)

Hongbo Zeng obtained his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees at Tsinghua University and completed his Ph.D. at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alberta, a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada's Academy of Science, and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. His research mainly focuses on colloids, interface science, polymers, intermolecular and surface interactions in soft materials and engineering systems. He has published ~500 peer-reviewed journal papers on related research topics. He serves as an Editor of the journal Advances in Colloid and Interface Science.

Jing Yu
(Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)

Jing Yu is an Associate Professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering in 2012 from the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 2017, he became an Assistant Professor at NTU. He is a Singapore National Research Foundation (NRF) Fellow, Class of 2019, which allows him to explore interdisciplinary research in Singapore. Dr. Yu's primary research interests lie in the characterization of dynamic properties of biological and bio-inspired materials with hierarchical structures. He aspires to gain molecular-level control of soft materials, enabling him to design integrated, multifunctional materials and interfaces.

David Zermeno Perez
(Ashland Specialties Ireland & University College Dublin, Ireland)

David is a Research and Development (R&D) engineer working with Ashland with experience in bioresorbable polymers synthesis and applications for drug delivery smart-systems, antifouling and antimicrobial polymer coating and resorbable medical devices.

He is finishing his PhD in Biomolecular and biomedical sciences in University College Dublin with his research line being "antimicrobial and antifouling aliphatic polyester coatings for protection of implantable medical devices"

Ana Paula Pego
(i3S / INEB - University of Porto, Portugal)

Ana Paula Pêgo got her Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry and Biomaterials from the University of Twente, the Netherlands, in 2002. In 2003 she moved to INEB – Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, where she became a Principal Investigator in 2012. In 2015, INEB joined the i3S – Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (Universidade do Porto), where Ana Paula Pêgo leads the nanoBiomaterials for Targeted Therapies (nBTT) Group.

By using nanomedicine strategies the nBTT Group, aims at providing in situ and in a targeted manner the required signals to promote nervous tissue regeneration. The research on new biomaterials for application in neurosciences includes the development of new polymers for the design of alternative vectors to viruses for efficient nucleic acid delivery, the preparation of nerve grafts for spinal cord injury treatment and the design of brain tissue engineered platforms. Societal and ethical issues that concern Regenerative Medicine and NanoMedicine are also topics in which Ana Paula Pêgo is involved.

She has been appointed the Scientific Director of the Bioimaging Centre for Biomaterials and Regenerative Therapies of INEB and she is an Invited Associate Professor at the Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS) of the University of Porto.

Currently Ana Paula Pêgo is a member of the Board of Directors of i3S, being the Head of Strategy & Creation of Value Unit, serves as an Associate Editor of Biomaterials (Elsevier journal) and is part of the Board of Reviewing Editors of Science (AAAS).

Ana Paula Pêgo served two terms in the European Society for Biomaterials (ESB) Council, being the ESB Council Secretary from 2017-2021 and the ESB President from 2021-2023, being now the ESB past President.

Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert
(University of Washington, USA)

Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert, Ph.D. is the Vice Dean for Research and Graduate Education in the University of Washington School of Medicine and Professor of Bioengineering. She earned a S.B. in chemical engineering and biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a M.S. and Ph.D. from California Institute of Technology. She joined the faculty at Washington University in Biomedical Engineering in 2000 as an Assistant Professor, where she advanced to the position of the Joseph and Florence Farrow Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Vice Dean for Research in the School of Engineering. She served as Department Chair and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin from 2016- 2022.
Her research program focuses on developing biomaterials for drug delivery and cell transplantation for the treatment of peripheral nerve and spinal cord injury. She was Co-Director of the Center of Regenerative Medicine, as well as a member of the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering at Washington University. Her honors include Senior Scientist Award -TERMIS AM (2023), Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (2017), Society for Biomaterials Clemson Award for Basic Research (2017), Outstanding Faculty Mentor from the WU Graduate Student Senate (2015), WU Distinguished Faculty Award (2013), and WU Dean’s Award for Excellence in Advising and Mentoring (2008). She was elected Fellow of the International College of Fellows in Biomaterials Science and Engineering in 2016, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2015, the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) in 2013, and the and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) in 2011.

Ana Paula Pego
(i3S / INEB - University of Porto, Portugal)

Ana Paula Pêgo got her Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry and Biomaterials from the University of Twente, the Netherlands, in 2002. In 2003 she moved to INEB – Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, where she became a Principal Investigator in 2012. In 2015, INEB joined the i3S – Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (Universidade do Porto), where Ana Paula Pêgo leads the nanoBiomaterials for Targeted Therapies (nBTT) Group.

By using nanomedicine strategies the nBTT Group, aims at providing in situ and in a targeted manner the required signals to promote nervous tissue regeneration. The research on new biomaterials for application in neurosciences includes the development of new polymers for the design of alternative vectors to viruses for efficient nucleic acid delivery, the preparation of nerve grafts for spinal cord injury treatment and the design of brain tissue engineered platforms. Societal and ethical issues that concern Regenerative Medicine and NanoMedicine are also topics in which Ana Paula Pêgo is involved.

She has been appointed the Scientific Director of the Bioimaging Centre for Biomaterials and Regenerative Therapies of INEB and she is an Invited Associate Professor at the Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS) of the University of Porto.

Currently Ana Paula Pêgo is a member of the Board of Directors of i3S, being the Head of Strategy & Creation of Value Unit, serves as an Associate Editor of Biomaterials (Elsevier journal) and is part of the Board of Reviewing Editors of Science (AAAS).

Ana Paula Pêgo served two terms in the European Society for Biomaterials (ESB) Council, being the ESB Council Secretary from 2017-2021 and the ESB President from 2021-2023, being now the ESB past President.

Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert
(University of Washington, USA)

Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert, Ph.D. is the Vice Dean for Research and Graduate Education in the University of Washington School of Medicine and Professor of Bioengineering. She earned a S.B. in chemical engineering and biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a M.S. and Ph.D. from California Institute of Technology. She joined the faculty at Washington University in Biomedical Engineering in 2000 as an Assistant Professor, where she advanced to the position of the Joseph and Florence Farrow Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Vice Dean for Research in the School of Engineering. She served as Department Chair and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin from 2016- 2022.
Her research program focuses on developing biomaterials for drug delivery and cell transplantation for the treatment of peripheral nerve and spinal cord injury. She was Co-Director of the Center of Regenerative Medicine, as well as a member of the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering at Washington University. Her honors include Senior Scientist Award -TERMIS AM (2023), Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (2017), Society for Biomaterials Clemson Award for Basic Research (2017), Outstanding Faculty Mentor from the WU Graduate Student Senate (2015), WU Distinguished Faculty Award (2013), and WU Dean’s Award for Excellence in Advising and Mentoring (2008). She was elected Fellow of the International College of Fellows in Biomaterials Science and Engineering in 2016, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2015, the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) in 2013, and the and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) in 2011.

Yeonggwon Jo
(Pohang University of Science and Technology, Korea, Republic of)

Yeonggwon Jo is a graduate student affiliated with the School of Interdisciplinary Bioscience and Bioengineering (I-BIO) at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Republic of Korea. He received his bachelor’s degree in biomaterial engineering at Kyung Hee University. He started his Ph.D. course in 2019 at Biofabrication and Translational Medicine Lab (BTM). His current research focuses on extracellular matix (ECM)-based biomaterial application on 3D bioprinting and transplantation. He can be reached by email at j920901@postech.ac.kr

Gianni Ciofani
(Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Italy)

Gianni Ciofani (born in La Spezia, Italy, on August 14th, 1982), Ph.D., is Senior Researcher Tenured at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia -Italian Institute of Technology, IIT- (Pontedera, Italy; since 2019), where he is Principal Investigator of the Smart Bio-Interfaces Research Line (since 2017) and Coordinator of the Center for Materials Interfaces (since 2021). He has been Associate Professor at the Polytechnic University of Torino (Torino, Italy; 2015-2019) and Visiting Professor at Waseda University (Tokyo, Japan; 2021).
His main research interests concern smart nanomaterials for nanomedicine, microphysiological systems, and nanomedicine in altered gravity conditions. He is coordinator or unit leader of several projects (about 6.5 MEur granted): in particular, he was awarded with a Starting Grant and three Proof-of-Concept Grants by the European Research Council (ERC). Thanks to grants from the Italian Space Agency and the European Space Agency, he had the opportunity to carry out four experimental campaigns onboard the International Space Station. In 2018, his real-scale model of the blood-brain barrier was highlighted in the Annual Report on the ERC Activities and Achievements.
Gianni Ciofani is author of about 180 papers on international journals (Scopus H-index 47, excluding self-citations), 3 edited books, and 17 book chapters, and delivered about 70 invited talks/lectures in international contexts. He serves as Reviewer for many funding agencies (including ERC, Swiss National Science Foundation, French National Research Agency, National Science Center of Poland), for about 200 international journals, and as Editorial Board Member of Bioactive Materials, International Journal of Nanomedicine, Journal of Physics: Materials, Nanomedicine UK, Nano Trends, and Scientific Reports; he is Specialty Chief Editor (Nanobiotechnology) for Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology.
During his career, he held courses for B.Sc. and M.Sc. students at the Polytechnic University of Torino and at Waseda University, and is currently holding a course for Ph.D. students at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (Pisa, Italy); he is / has been supervisor of about 50 M.Sc. students and 20 Ph.D. students.
He is co-founder (2022) and Scientific Advisor of “Kidaria Bioscience SRL”, an IIT spin-off company dedicated to the preparation and characterization of cosmetic and nutraceutical products based on natural-derived active ingredients. He is also co-founder (2021) and member of the executive committee of “ERC in Italy APS”, a non-profit association of ERC awardees born to promote fundamental and frontier research in Italy.
Gianni Ciofani is Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, appointed by the President of the Italian Republic on December 27th, 2022.

Anita Shukla
(Brown University, USA)

Anita Shukla is the Elaine I. Savage Associate Professor of Engineering at Brown University. Professor Shukla's research involves the development of nano- to macroscale biomaterials for the treatment of bacterial and fungal infections. Professor Shukla is the recipient of several national and University honors and awards for both her research and teaching, including a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award, an Office of Naval Research Director of Research Early Career Grant, and a Brown University Early Career Research Achievement Award and Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Prior to joining Brown in 2013, Professor Shukla was a National Institutes of Health Ruth Kirschstein postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Bioengineering at Rice University. She received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2011 as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. Professor Shukla also received an M.S. in Chemical Engineering Practice from MIT. She received a B.S. at Carnegie Mellon University in 2006 with majors in chemical engineering and biomedical engineering.

Rachit Agarwal
(Indian Institute of Science, India)

Rachit Agarwal is an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India, since 2017. He did his undergraduate studies at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India in Biotechnology. Rachit then worked in the field of biomaterial-based drug delivery for his PhD. at the University of Texas at Austin, Texas, USA. His post-doctoral fellowship was in regenerative medicine at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA. His scientific interests are in developing biomaterial-based delivery vehicles for the treatment of inflammatory and infectious diseases. He is a recipient of the prestigious Ramanujan fellowship, Har-Gobind Khorana Young Biotechnologist award, and DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance Intermediate Fellowship. He is also the early career editorial board member for the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A (JBMR-A). Two major areas of interest are in the treatment of Osteoarthritis and using inhalable biomaterials for the prevention and treatment of lung infections to translate science into technologies that can be used in the clinic. More information at https://be.iisc.ac.in/~rachit/

Mary Chan-Park
(Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)

Dr Mary Chan is presently a professor at the School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at the Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU Singapore). She is presently the Director of the Centre for Antimicrobial Bioengineering. Her expertise is in polymers for biotechnology and nanotechnology. She has developed a class of cationic antimicrobial polymers and coatings that are selective toxic to bacteria and have good biocompatibility. Her hydrogel materials for various biomedical applications (contact lens and wound dressing) have been licensed to the companies.

She has been elected to being a Fellow of the America Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. She is also an associate editor of the ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. She was the Acting Chair (2011-2013) and also a co-founder of the School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at NTU. She obtained her BEng (Chem) and PhD (polymers) from the National University of Singapore and MIT respectively.

Mrinmoy De
(Indian Institute of Science, India)

Mrinmoy De is a professor at the Department of Organic Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. He completed his BSc degree from Vidyasagar University with a Gold medal. He received his M.Sc. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst under the supervision of Prof. Vincent M. Rotello. He was a CCNE (Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence) and NSEC (Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center) postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University. Since 2014, he has been at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, where he is an associate professor in the department of organic chemistry. His research focuses on preparing various nanomaterials and their application to develop mRNA vaccines and antibiotics. Mrinmoy De is an associate member of the American Material Research Society (MRS), American Chemical Society (ACS), Material Research Scoiety of India (MRSI), Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI), and Society Of Biological Chemists, India(SBCI). He is the recipient of the Young Scientist Award by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), the Outstanding Researcher Award by NSF Nanoscale Science & Engineering Center and CRS Silver Medal.

Philippe Lavalle
(Inserm / University of Strasbourg, France)

Dr. Philippe Lavalle holds a PhD degree in Biophysics in 1998 from University of Strasbourg (France). Then he moved to the Biozentrum in Basel (Switzerland) to study antifreeze glycoproteins. He got the position of "Research Director" at Institut National de la Recherche Médicale (Inserm) in 2011. Since 2013, he is Deputy Director of the Inserm lab "Biomaterials and Bioengineering" in Strasbourg, France. Its expertise is in the field of materials for health and more particularly in biomaterials. His research focuses more particularly on surface modifications by antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and/or antiviral coatings and hydrogels based on biopolymers. Materials designed with natural components (proteins, peptides...) and using biomimicry approaches are also at the heart of his research. He published more than 150 peer-reviewed-publications applied for 7 patents. His team has been involved in 7 European Projects and 6 ANR (French funding agency for research) programs. He co-funded the company SPARTHA Medical, devoted to produce antimicrobial and personalized coatings. He is also member of the management committee of the Carnot Institute MICA.

Jing Fu
(The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, China)

Jing Fu, Ph.D., is currently an Associate Professor and Master's Supervisor at Qingdao University, a Standing Member of the Professional Committee of Oral Materials at the Chinese Stomatological Association, and an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong. She specializes in dental materials science, with a focus on the synthesis and modification of resinous organic and inorganic materials. Dr. Fu got both her BS and PhD at the West College of Stomatology at Sichuan University in China. In addition, she has received multiple grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation, and several projects funded by the Qingdao Municipal government. In 2018-2019, Dr. Fu worked as a visiting scholar under the guidance of Professor Alex Fok at the University of Minnesota in the USA, where she focused on the shrinkage of resin composites. This work led to significant advancements in the field. She has authored 39 peer-reviewed journal articles, serving as the first or corresponding author for 23 of these, published in high-impact journals, including Dental Materials. Dr. Fu has been honored with several prestigious awards, such as the "Qilu Health and Wellness Outstanding Young Talents of Shandong Province," "West Coast Top Young Talent," and the Second Prize in the Qingdao Science and Technology Progress awards. She is an active member of the International Team for Implantology (ITI) and the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) and is a frequent speaker at both domestic and international dental academic conferences.

Kyla Sask
(McMaster University, Canada)

Dr. Kyla Sask joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada as an Assistant Professor in September 2019. She is an Associate Member of the School of Biomedical Engineering and the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine. Dr. Sask obtained her BSc in Chemical Engineering from Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada in 2006 and her PhD from McMaster University in the School of Biomedical Engineering in 2012. Her PhD research was co-supervised by Dr. John Brash and Dr. Anthony Chan and involved biomaterial surface modification for improved antithrombogenicity. Dr. Sask completed a postdoctoral fellowship (PDF) in Dr. Brian Amsden’s Advanced Biomaterials Lab at Queen's University (2018-2019) with co-supervision by Dr. Kimberly Woodhouse. Between her PhD and PDF, Dr. Sask spent several years working at Interface Biologics Inc. (IBI), Toronto, Canada, developing innovative materials to improve the efficacy of medical devices. Dr. Sask’s current research program focuses on biomaterial surface modification, advanced characterization, protein and cell interactions, nanomaterials, blood contacting devices, and biosensors. She has authored 19 peer reviewed publications, one book chapter, 28 conference publications, and has filed one patent application and one provisional patent application.

M. Cristina L. Martins
(University of Porto, Portugal)

Cristina Martins (Martins, MCL) is an expert in the development of biomaterial coatings designed at the nanoscale using self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and biomedical polymers. She has the honorable status of “Fellow, Biomaterials Science and Engineering (FBSE), since December 2020. Cristina Martins is Principal Investigator at INEB/ i3S (Instituto Engenharia Biomédica/Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde; www.i3s.up.pt) and Invited Assistant Professor at the University of Porto, Portugal (ICBAS - Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar). Cristina Martins is the leader of the research group: BioEngineered Surfaces. Her group is investigating the effect of surface immobilized ligands (proteins/peptides, fatty acid like and glycosylated compounds) in the guiding of specific protein/cell binding to control bacterial infection (e.g., in gastric and skin infection or osteomyelitis prevention) and/or medical devices associated thrombus formation.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6574-4794
https://scholar.google.pt/citations?user=zTnuO7YAAAAJ&hl=en
https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=7402262354

Sabareeswaran A
(Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, India)

He has 18 years of working experience as Veterianry pathologist in evaluating biomaterials and medical devices as per international standard in an accredited Histopathology laboratory. As study pathologist in preclinical studies, he has evaluated medical devices like Chitra-TTK mechanical heart valve, biological heart valve, left ventricular assist devices (LVAD), haemoconcentrator, blood oxygenator, coronary stents, large diameter vascular grafts, bone implants, dental implants, Dura substitutes, decellularised scaffolds, wound care products, tissue engineered vascular grafts, and cornea in small and large animal models.
He has published more than 60 research articles in peer-reviewed journals like Biomaterials, Nanomedicine, Tissue engineering etc., and one book, “Color atlas of tissue response to biomaterials and medical devices”

Arjan Sall
(Healthcare Technologies Institute, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom)

Arjan Sall is a material scientist with a first-class MEng (hons) degree in chemical engineering from Aston University. He secured a PhD position at the University of Birmingham under supervision of Prof. Liam Grover, continuing within the school of chemical engineering, healthcare technology institute. Arjan now specialises in materials for healthcare application. His research focuses on the synthesis and development of a biocompatible shape memory polymer that will be used in the fabrication of an implantable blood pressure sensor that will allow the non-invasive delivery of the sensor via a customised needle delivery system. Arjan works closely with a team from the University of Galway, who focus on the development of the sensor electrode and reader system, as part of a wider European consortium.
He is currently working with thermo-responsive polymer blends with view to have a transition temperature of 37ᵒC so that the sensor will actuate at body temperature. Arjan is also experienced in mechanical testing as the mechanical properties of the polymer he is developing need to be sufficient to give the device longevity when implanted in the body. He will look to characterise the shape memory properties of his polymer to ensure its efficacy in delivering the sensor. He also has experience in sensor fabrication, which is done through a mixture of photolithography and physical vapour deposition using an ISO 7 class 10,000 clean room. This work will look to ensure the compatibility of the developed shape memory polymer with the sensor electrode material.

Leonardo Fanton
(University of Malta, Malta)

Ph.D. in Materials Engineering by University of Campinas (Unicamp), Brazil. Currently working on the MaltaHip project at the University of Malta. Experience with (i) biomaterials, (ii) finite element analysis, (iii) crystallographic texture, (iv) laser processing of metals, and (v) TiO2 nanotubes.

Fariba Dehghani
(The University of Sydney, Australia)

Prof. Dehghani is the director of Bioengineering in the school of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Sydney. Her research focuses on developing biomaterials, particularly polymers for diagnostics, treatment and prevention of diseases to promote human health and wellbeing. She was recognised by Engineers Australia as one of the Australian’s top engineers for innovation, also received multiple awards for her excellence in research innovation, supervision and industry engagement. Fariba promotes entrepreneurship and foundational skills acquisition for researchers, which has contributed to the establishment of four start-up companies led by her former research team members.

Amir Ghaemmaghami
(University of Nottingham, United Kingdom)

Amir Ghaemmaghami is Professor of Immunology & Immuno-bioengineering at the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom. He obtained his MD (1998) before studying for a PhD in Immunology (2002) at the University of Nottingham. In 2006 he was appointed as Assistant Professor in Immunology at the University of Nottingham followed by promotion to Associate Professor (2011) and then Chair in Immunology and Immuno-bioengineering (2014). Amongst his main research interests are better understanding of how different environmental cues modulate the immune system with the ultimate aim of identifying novel targets for immunotherapy. Current major research projects in his group include developing immune-instructive materials as new tools for immunotherapy and developing immune competent tissue models for disease modelling and testing new drugs/materials. In 2020 Professor Ghaemmaghami was appointed as Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists.

Nihal Engin Vrana
(Sparha Medical, France)

Nihal Engin Vrana is CEO of SPARTHA Medical, a French Biotech/Medtech company developing antimicrobial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory formulations for medical devices. His research interests include cell-biomaterial interactions, tissue engineering, coatings, antimicrobial biomaterials, and surface engineering. He currently coordinates 3 Horizon Europe projects (SPARTHACUS, NOVA and TOXBOX) for the clinical application of antimicrobial coatings, the development of antiviral, antifungal coatings and next-generation toxicology instruments respectively.

Omid Veiseh
(Rice University, USA)

Dr. Omid Veiseh, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research in the Department of Bioengineering and the Director of the Rice Biotechnology Launch Pad at Rice University. He leads an interdisciplinary translational research program to engineer and commercialize next-generation cell-based therapeutics for various human diseases. His team leverages the latest techniques in synthetic biology, immunoengineering, and materials science to develop innovative cell-based platforms for real-time and feedback-regulated production of biologics. Over the course of his career, he has authored or co-authored more than 75 peer-reviewed publications, including those in Nature, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Materials, Nature Medicine, and Nature Biomedical Engineering, and is an inventor on more than 40 pending or awarded patents. He is also a serial entrepreneur who has co-founded Sigilon Therapeutics (Nasdaq: SGTX), Avenge Bio, Sentinel Bio, and Curada Bio. These companies collectively have attracted ~ $500M in private and public investment capital. In September of 2023, he was named the Director of Rice University's Biotech Launch Pad, a new initiative with a mission to accelerate the translation of Rice University discoveries and technologies into clinical practice to provide rapid patient access to leading-edge therapeutic products.

Nihal Engin Vrana
(Sparha Medical, France)

Nihal Engin Vrana is CEO of SPARTHA Medical, a French Biotech/Medtech company developing antimicrobial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory formulations for medical devices. His research interests include cell-biomaterial interactions, tissue engineering, coatings, antimicrobial biomaterials, and surface engineering. He currently coordinates 3 Horizon Europe projects (SPARTHACUS, NOVA and TOXBOX) for the clinical application of antimicrobial coatings, the development of antiviral, antifungal coatings and next-generation toxicology instruments respectively.

Michelle Teplensky
(Boston University, USA)

Michelle Teplensky is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University. She obtained her B.S. in Chemical-Biological Engineering from MIT, her PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge under a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, and did postdoctoral research as an NIH T32 and International Institute for Nanotechnology Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University. Michelle joined the BU faculty in September 2022. Her laboratory’s research focuses on engineering immunology through nanomaterial architecture.

Jennifer Shin
(KAIST, Korea, Republic of)

Dr. Jennifer H. Shin is a professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). She earned her Bachelor of Science (1998), Master of Science (2000), and Doctor of Philosophy (2004) degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Her research focuses on the emerging interdisciplinary field of mechanobiology, and she uses quantitative experimental and analytical tools to investigate the links between pathophysiological responses and physical stresses at the cellular level. Dr. Shin has demonstrated her commitment to academic excellence through her involvement in several academic societies across the fields of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering in Korea. She has served as a board member for seven of these societies and has also been an organizing committee member for several international conferences.

John Fisher
(University of Maryland, USA)

Dr. John P. Fisher is the MPower Professor, Distinguished-Scholar Teacher, Fischell Family Distinguished Professor, and Department Chair in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland. Dr. Fisher is also the Director of the Center for Engineering Complex Tissue (CECT), which aims to create a broad community focusing on 3D printing and bioprinting for regenerative medicine applications. As the Director of the Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials Laboratory, Dr. Fisher’s group investigates biomaterials, stem cells, bioprinting, and bioreactors for regenerating lost tissues, particularly bone, cartilage, and cardiovascular tissues. Dr. Fisher’s laboratory has published over 225 articles, book chapters, editorials, and proceedings (16,000+ citations / 72 h-index) and delivered over 400 invited and contributed presentations, with support from NIH, NSF, FDA, NIST, DoD, and other institutions. Dr. Fisher has been elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2012), the Biomedical Engineering Society (2016), the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering (2020), and the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering (2024). In 2023, Dr. Fisher was elected Chair of the Council of Chairs (CoC), an assembly of the 150+ biomedical engineering / bioengineering department chairs throughout the United States and beyond. Dr. Fisher will serve as Chair of the CoC in 2025.

Abhay Pandit
(University of Galway, Ireland)

Professor Abhay Pandit, spanning over 32 years, has made significant contributions to biomaterials and medical device translation. After spending seven successful years in the industry, Prof. Pandit transitioned to academia, where he has dedicated the past 25 years to his work.

A notable achievement in Prof. Pandit's career is the establishment of CÚRAM, the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Centre for Research in Medical Devices at the University of Galway in Ireland. Serving as a thriving hub for more than 1000 researchers, CÚRAM brings together experts from diverse disciplines including biomaterials, biomechanics, regenerative medicine, glycobiology, drug delivery, and medical implant design. Through collaborations with industry partners, the center actively fosters innovation and facilitates the translation of research into practical applications.

Prof. Pandit derives his inspiration from comprehending fundamental pathological processes influenced by glycomodulation. This understanding enables him to develop superior biomaterial substrates for materials design, with a particular focus on degenerative or chronic conditions associated with the cardiovascular, neural, and intervertebral disc domains.

Prof. Pandit has accumulated over €175 million in research contracts from industry and government funding agencies. His work has resulted in the filing of 28 patents, while 14 other patent applications are currently pending. Furthermore, Prof. Pandit has successfully licensed several technologies to medical device companies, amplifying the practical impact of his research.

Prof. Pandit's research contributions are well-documented through his publication record. He has authored more than 345 manuscripts, which have been featured in esteemed publications such as Science Advances, Nature Communication, Science Translational Medicine, PNAS, Advanced Materials, Journal of American Chemical Society, Advanced Functional Materials, Biomaterials, and Molecular Therapy. Additionally, he has presented over 715 papers at national and international conferences, further disseminating his findings and insights to the scientific community.

Prof. Pandit actively engages in editorial activities. He holds a position on the Executive Editorial Board of the Tissue Engineering journal and is the Senior Associate Editor for the Biomaterials journal. Additionally, he chairs the EU Chapter of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society, showcasing his leadership and influence within the discipline.

Prof. Pandit's contributions have garnered him prestigious awards, including the George Winter Award 2022 from the European Society for Biomaterials and the Chandra P Sharma Award from the Society for Biomaterials and Artificial Organs India. Furthermore, he has been honored as a Fellow of AIMBE, TERMIS, IAE, and IUSBSE, reflecting his standing in the scientific community.

Stephanie Willerth
(University of Victoria, Canada)

Dr. Willerth is a Full Professor in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Victoria where she has dual appointments in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Division of Medical Sciences. She also holds an appointment with the School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of British Columbia and is a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Senior Engineers. She recently founded the start-up company - Axolotl Biosciences that sells high quality bioinks for bioprinting human tissue models. She is an active member of the steering committee of the B.C. Regenerative Medicine Initiative and the Stem Cell Network. She also serves as a staff scientist at Creative Destruction Lab. She served as the Acting Director of the Centre for Biomedical Research and the Biomedical Engineering undergraduate program at the University of Victoria from 2018-2021 and as the President of Canadian Biomaterials Society from 2018-2019. She was elected to the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars and Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C. awarded her their Teaching Award of Excellence in 2021.

David Nisbet
(University of Melbourne, Australia)

David Nisbet is a Professor who is jointly appointed between the Faculty of Engineering and IT and the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne. He is the Director of the Graeme Clark Institute and the head of the Laboratory of Advanced Biomaterials. Dave joined the University of Melbourne after completing his PhD at Monash University and postdoctoral Fulbright scholarship at the University of California, Berkeley. He then spent over 10 years at the Australian National University, most recently as a jointly appointed professor between the Research School of Chemistry and the John Curtin School of Medical Research.



Dave is passionate about developing novel biomaterials, and particularly about seeing the biomaterials developed for clinical applications. His research groups consist of team of engineers, chemists, and biologists, all working together to create novel materials to help combat injury and disease.

Seil Sohn
(Cha university, Korea, Republic of)

Seil Sohn, MD, PhD
Present Position
2023 - Professor, CHA University College of Medicine, CHA Bundang Medical Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Spine Center
2018.6- CEO, Seljin Co. Ltd.

Education
1996 - 2002 Seoul National University College of Medicine, MD
2008 - 2010 Seoul National University College of Medicine, Neuroscience, MS
2011 –2017 Seoul National University College of Medicine, Neuroscience, PhD (Professor Chun Kee Chung)

Work Experience/Postdoctoral Training
2005 - 2006 Intern, Seoul National University Hospital
2007 - 2011 Resident, Seoul National University Hospital, Neurosurgery
2011 - 2014 Spine Fellow, Seoul National University Hospital, Neurosurgery
2014-2016 Clinical Assistant Professor, Seoul National University Hospital, Neurosurgery
2016 - 2018 Assistant professor, CHA University College of Medicine, CHA Bundang Medical Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Spine Center
2018 - 2023 Associate professor, CHA University College of Medicine, CHA Bundang Medical Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Spine Center

Overseas Visiting Training
2010. 7. Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University, USA, Neurosurgery
2013.7. Columbia University Medical Center, USA, Orthopedic surgery, Spine/Scoliosis Service (Professor Yongjung Jay Kim)
2018.2-3. University of Toronto, Canada, Neurosurgery (Professor Michael Fehlings)
2019.9-2022.2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, Chemical Engineering (Professor Robert S. Langer)

Thanh Nguyen
(University of Connecticut, USA)

Dr. Nguyen is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering (ME), joined with the department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at UConn. He started at UConn as an assistant professor since the beginning of 2016 after finishing his postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Robert Langer at MIT. His research is highly interdisciplinary and at the interface of biomedicine, materials and nano/micro technology. He has invented a platform 3D manufacturing technology, so-called SEAL (StampEd Assembly of Polymer Layers), to create single-injection self-boosting vaccines which simulate the effect of multi-bolus injections of the vaccines. Recently, his research group at UConn has advanced the SEAL method to create a skin microneedle patch (similar to Nicotine patch) which can be applied on the skin at a single time to deliver multiple bursts of stabilized vaccines against different pathogens. His research group at UConn has also studied a new biodegradable piezoelectric polymer which can be used for monitoring vital biophysiological forces, stimulating tissue growth and transporting drugs through physiological barriers inside the body. Dr. Nguyen’s works have been published in prestigious journals including Science, Nature Nanotech, Science Translational Medicine, Nature Biomedical Engineering, Science Advances, PNAS, Advanced Materials etc. He received several awards including the prestigious Biomaterials Young Investigator Awards (from the top journal of Biomaterials), CRS (Controlled Release Society) Transdermal and Mucosal Delivery Focus Group Young Investigator Award (2021), ACell Young Investigator Award (2020), MIT top innovator under 35 for Asia Pacific (2019), NIH Trailblazer Award for Young and Early Investigators (2018), SPIE Rising Researcher Award (2019), Young Investigator Award in Biosciences and Bioengineering of Applied Sciences (2019), and the SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award (2018) etc. Dr. Nguyen’s research was also featured on many news and media all around the world (please see http://www.nguyenresearchgroup.com/news).

Hyuk Sang Yoo
(Kangwon National University, Korea, Republic of)

He received a B.S. degree (1996), a M.S. degree (1998), and a Ph.D. degree (2002, Advisor: Professor Tae Gwan Park) at Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. After a post-doctoral fellow at Department of Biomedical Engineering, the Johns Hopkins University (2004, Advisor: Professor Kam W. Leong), he joined the Kangwon National University as an assistant professor (2005). He is now a tenured professor of Biomedical Materials Engineering. He was also a visiting scholar for the Johns Hopkins University (2005) and the Northwestern University (2010). His research is focused on nano-biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering employing multifunctional nanofibers and nanoparticles.

Hsing Wen Sung
(National Tsing Hua University, Chinese Taipei)

Hsing-Wen Sung is a Tsing Hua Distinguished Chair Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University. He received his PhD degree from the Department of Chemical Engineering/Biomedical Engineering Program, Georgia Institute of Technology in May 1988. His research interests are biomaterials, tissue engineering, and drug/gene delivery. Professor Sung has received numerous awards such as Fellow of American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, Fellow of International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Academician of Asia Pacific Academy of Materials, Ho Chin Tui Outstanding Research Award, National Science Council Outstanding Research Award, Professor Tsai-The Lai Award, Elsevier 2015 Biomaterials Best Paper Award, and 2016 TERMIS-AP Outstanding Scientist Award. He has been on the Editorial Boards of Journal of Controlled Release and Advanced Healthcare Materials; also, he has been serving as a Handling Editor for Biomaterials. Professor Sung has published 294 scientific papers and received 139 international patents. His published papers have over 31,409 citations with an H-index of approximately 97, according to Google Scholar.

Hye Sung Kim
(Dankook University, Korea, Republic of)

Dr. Hye Sung Kim earned her Ph.D. in Biomaterials Engineering from Kangwon National University in 2015, specializing in biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering. Following her doctoral studies, she served as a senior research scientist at the Institute of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Kangwon National University. In 2016, she expanded her research experience as a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Kam W. Leong's lab at Columbia University, focusing on biomimetic 3-D scaffold development using various biomaterials. Currently, Dr. Kim is an assistant professor at the Institute of Tissue Regeneration Engineering (ITREN), Dankook University, where she concentrates on advancing 3-D cell culture systems to accurately mimic specific cellular and tissue microenvironments.

Yujiang Fan
(Sichuan University, China)

Dr. Yujiang Fan is a professor at Sichuan University and the vice director of National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials. His research focuses on biomaterials for tissue regeneration. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles, obtained 41 Chinese Invention Patents, and won the First Prize of Sichuan Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award. He serves as board-member of CSBM, and the Chairman of the Branch of Bone Repair Materials.

Tsung-Lin Yang
(National Taiwan University, Chinese Taipei)

Prof. Tsung-Lin Yang, MD, PhD, EMBA, is a surgeon specializing in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. In addition to his surgical expertise, he is a dedicated researcher in the fields of regenerative medicine and oncology. Currently, he is the Chief and Professor of head and neck surgery at the National Taiwan University Hospital.

Prof. Yang is recognized as a specialist in surgical oncology and possesses extensive experience in robotic surgery for head and neck procedures. He is renowned for his development of innovative surgical techniques and patented novel devices, including Yang's retractors. These devices significantly enhance the application of endoscopic and robotic surgery in the field of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. Prof. Yang's pioneering contributions have firmly established him as a leader in robotic surgery within this specialized medical domain in Taiwan.

Furthermore, Prof. Yang has devoted significant efforts to exploring new applications of ultrasound technology and developing novel techniques for ultrasound-guided procedures in diagnosis and treatment. His published studies have illuminated the crucial roles of tumor satellite budding in the context of head and neck cancer.

Within his research laboratory, Prof. Yang and his team are dedicated to exploring approaches for organ regeneration, reflecting his commitment to advancing the boundaries of regenerative medicine. His prolific research output includes numerous scientific papers and numerous prestigious academic awards. Ultimately, the overarching goal of his research is to enhance the therapeutic and functional outcomes for patients undergoing treatment in his specialized fields.

Website: https://scholars.lib.ntu.edu.tw/cris/rp/rp06422?&locale=en

Nathan Welham
(University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA)

Nathan Welham, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is a tenured Professor of Otolaryngology-HNS at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Welham has served as a clinician and clinical educator at UW for more than two decades; he also oversees a federally funded research program in vocal fold biology. Dr. Welham’s research program is broadly focused on vocal fold mucosal injury, repair, and fibrosis; retinoid biology in epithelial hyperplasia; emerging biologic therapies for regenerative medicine; and protein turnover dynamics in health and disease. This work has been continuously supported by the NIDCD since 2007.

Tsung-Lin Yang
(National Taiwan University, Chinese Taipei)

Prof. Tsung-Lin Yang, MD, PhD, EMBA, is a surgeon specializing in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. In addition to his surgical expertise, he is a dedicated researcher in the fields of regenerative medicine and oncology. Currently, he is the Chief and Professor of head and neck surgery at the National Taiwan University Hospital.

Prof. Yang is recognized as a specialist in surgical oncology and possesses extensive experience in robotic surgery for head and neck procedures. He is renowned for his development of innovative surgical techniques and patented novel devices, including Yang's retractors. These devices significantly enhance the application of endoscopic and robotic surgery in the field of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. Prof. Yang's pioneering contributions have firmly established him as a leader in robotic surgery within this specialized medical domain in Taiwan.

Furthermore, Prof. Yang has devoted significant efforts to exploring new applications of ultrasound technology and developing novel techniques for ultrasound-guided procedures in diagnosis and treatment. His published studies have illuminated the crucial roles of tumor satellite budding in the context of head and neck cancer.

Within his research laboratory, Prof. Yang and his team are dedicated to exploring approaches for organ regeneration, reflecting his commitment to advancing the boundaries of regenerative medicine. His prolific research output includes numerous scientific papers and numerous prestigious academic awards. Ultimately, the overarching goal of his research is to enhance the therapeutic and functional outcomes for patients undergoing treatment in his specialized fields.

Website: https://scholars.lib.ntu.edu.tw/cris/rp/rp06422?&locale=en

Yo Kishimoto
(Kyoto University, Japan)

Dr. Kishimoto is an associate professor of dept. of ORL-HNS, Kyoto University, JAPAN. He graduated Kyoto University in 2001 and received residency training at Kyoto University Hospital and its affiliated hospital. He earned his doctoral degree from Kyoto University in 2011, and completed postdoctoral fellowship at University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.
Clinically, Dr. Kishimoto is certified by the Japanese Board of Otolaryngology, the Japanese Board of Bronchoesophagology and the Japanese Board of Head and Neck Surgery, and his expertise includes the treatments for head and neck cancers, surgeries for voice disorders, airway stenosis as well as swallowing disorders. The focus of Dr. Kishimoto’s research is on vocal fold mucosal biology and tissue engineering of the trachea/larynx.

Jingzhou Yang
(Tsinghua University, China)

Prof./Dr. Jingzhou Yang is a biomaterials scientist and implantable medical device entrepreneur, founder of Dazhou Medical. He did joint PhD study in University of Western Australia and postdoctoral research training in Harvard Medical School. He was awraded Australian prestigious Endeavour Research Fellowship. He achieved over 20 invention patents and 50 publications. Prof. Yang is commercializing 3D printed implantable devices for orthopedic and dental applications.

Anirban Sen Gupta
(Case Western Reserve University, USA)

Dr. Anirban Sen Gupta is the Wallace R. Persons Endowed Professor of Engineering, with Full Professor tenure in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Cleveland, Ohio, United States. He received bachelor’s degrees in Chemistry (B.Sc. HONORS) and Chemical Engineering (B. Tech.) from the University of Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India during 1992-1998. He traveled to the US in 1998, and received his MS and PhD in Chemical Engineering with polymeric biomaterials focus, under the guidance of Dr. Stephanie Lopina, from the University of Akron, Ohio, USA, during 1998-2003. He also gained valuable industrial experience at Guilford Pharmaceuticals (Baltimore, Maryland) and Procter & Gamble (Cincinnati, Ohio) in translational biomaterials applications. He then underwent post-doctoral training at CWRU with Dr. Roger Marchant in the area of hemocompatible coatings, during 2003-2006. Dr. Sen Gupta started his academic career as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at CWRU in 2006 and was promoted to Full Professor with tenure in 2017. Research in the Sen Gupta laboratory spans the areas of thromboresistant coatings for device hemocompatibility, bioartificial blood surrogates for transfusion medicine applications, targeted nanomedicine systems for vascular drug delivery, and surface-engineered dielectric microsensors for rapid assessment of coagulopathies. These diverse research areas involve strong collaborations within the US, as well as internationally, and is supported by funding from NSF, NIH, DoD, DARPA, State of Ohio, and Case-Coulter Translational Research Partnership. Dr. Sen Gupta has also co-founded a biotechnology startup company, Haima Therapeutics, with a vision for translation and commercialization of technologies developed in his laboratory. Dr. Sen Gupta serves in leadership and organizational roles in several academic societies, and serves in the editorial team in peer-reviewed journals including Biomaterials (Elsevier), Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (Elsevier) and ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering (ACS). He is an elected Fellow of American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and Fellow Biomaterials Science and Engineering. Dr. Sen Gupta is deeply committed to providing inclusive and equitable mentorship to all researchers in his laboratory.

Hiromi Sakai
(Nara Medical University, Japan)

Hiromi Sakai received Ph.D. (D.Eng.) in polymer chemistry in 1994 from Waseda Univ., Tokyo, with a thesis entitled “Hemoglobin-vesicles (HbV) as a molecular assembly” (Supervisor, late Prof. E. Tsuchida), and since then he has continuously studied HbV. In 1996-1998 he studied at Dept. Bioengineering, UC San Diego (Supervisor, Prof. M. Intaglietta) and evaluated the microvascular responses to HbV injection. After coming back to Tokyo, he studied improvement of the stabilization and biocompatibility of HbV and evaluated its safety and efficacy by animal experiments. In 2006 he received Ph.D. (D.Med.Sci.) from Keio Univ. School of Medicine (Supervisor, Prof. K. Kobayashi). Dr. Sakai was a Lecturer and an Associate Professor at Research Institute for Sci.&Eng. Waseda Univ. in 1998-2009, and PI at Waseda Bioscience Research Institute in Singapore in 2009-2013. During the period he invented a patented efficient encapsulation method that facilitated the entire R&D of HbV. From 2013 he has been the Professor of Chemistry, Nara Medical University, Kashihara, Japan. He is the chief investigator of the artificial red cells project, which has been supported by Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare, Japan and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). First-in-human phase 1 trial of HbV was completed in 2021 and the result was published in Blood Advances in 2022. The project aiming at the next phase study is ongoing. He has over 300 publications related to artificial red cells. From 2019 he is the fourth president of the Society of blood Substitutes, Japan (SBSJ).

Susan Shea
(University of Pittsburgh, USA)

Dr. Shea utilizes microfluidic models and other flow-based assays to study hemostasis in the context of trauma and transfusion medicine. Severe bleeding is the most common cause of preventable death after traumatic injury, and trauma-associated coagulopathy increases the risk for mortality by 400%. Dr. Shea’s research examines how traumatic injury induces coagulopathy and platelet dysfunction. To do so, Dr. Shea develops physiologically-fidelic microfluidic assays and platforms to simulate biomechanics and fluid dynamics of vessel injury in vitro. These same tools are also employed to study the hemostatic efficacy of novel and existing blood products, as well as other treatments and approaches to rescue hemostatic dysfunction, with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes.

Dr. Shea is also interested in arterial thrombosis and thrombolysis. Arterial thrombosis causes myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke, which are two of the leading causes of death in the United States. Dr. Shea also employs microfluidics to study novel approaches to prevent and treat thrombosis.

Andrew Lyon
(Chapman University, USA)

Dr. Andrew Lyon has over 25 years of experience as a chemist, bioengineer, educator, and entrepreneur and is currently a professor of chemistry at Chapman University in Orange, CA. Dr. Lyon also serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, an organization with a long and successful history of providing funding to young investigators in the physical and life sciences. He previously served as the Founding Dean of the Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler School of Engineering at Chapman University from 2019-2023, and as Dean of the Schmid College of Science and Technology at Chapman University from 2014-2018. Before arriving at Chapman, Dr. Lyon spent nearly 16 years at the Georgia Institute of Technology as a member of the Chemistry & Biochemistry faculty, serving as Associate Chair from 2010-2013 and Chair from 2013-2014, and directing a research program aimed at creating new types of biomaterials for regenerative medicine applications. In addition to his role at Chapman, he is the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Sanguina, Inc. and SelSym Biotech, Inc. two early-stage biotechnology companies. Sanguina is a medical device company with two FDA 510(k) cleared devices for anemia determination (including AnemoCheck Home), as well as a digital health tool (the smartphone app AnemoCheck Mobile), which allows for the real time, non-invasive determination of anemia using only your smartphone camera. SelSym Biotech is aimed at commercializing a novel artificial platelet technology for applications in trauma and a variety of coagulopathies. Dr. Lyon is the recipient of the NSF CAREER, Beckman Young Investigator, Research Corporation Research Innovation, and Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards, an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, the National Fresenius Award, and the 2021 Distinguished Educator Award presented by the Orange County Chamber of Commerce. He is a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors.

Chengchen Guo
(Westlake University, China)

Dr. Chengchen Guo is currently an Assistant Professor and the leader of “Functional Biomaterials Laboratory” at the School of Engineering, Westlake University. He obtained B.S. in Chemistry from Nanjing University in 2011 and Ph.D. in Chemistry from Arizona State University in 2017. From 2017 to 2020, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow with Prof. David Kaplan at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University. In November 2020, he joined the School of Engineering, at Westlake University. His research interests primarily focus on protein-based biomaterials, tissue engineering, and bioinspired materials.

Yunbing Wang
(Sichuan University, China)

Prof. Yunbing Wang is the Director of National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials of China, Dean of College of Biomedical Engineering of Sichuan University. His work has been focused on the research and development study of in-situ cardiovascular tissue repair and regeneration based on bioresorbable polymeric materials and devices with near 300 scientific papers published, more than 400 patents granted/issued, and more than 100 invited presentations made.

His research has been transformed into a variety of commercialized cardiovascular implantable devices and saved thousands of lives worldwide, including the world's first commercialized bioabsorbable occluder for the treatment of congenital heart disease which provides temporary occlusion and induces in situ tissue regeneration, as well as the first commercialized bioabsorbable vascular stent. He developed a self-expanding transcatheter pulmonary valve through collaboration with company with approval both in Europe and China. He was the First prize winner of the 2021 Technology Invention Award of the Ministry of Education of China.

Song Li
(University of California, Los Angeles, USA)

Dr. Li holds a B.S. and M.S. from Peking University, as well as a Ph.D. and postdoctoral training in Bioengineering from UC San Diego. Throughout his career, he has held positions with prestige and leadership, including serving as a professor of bioengineering at UC Berkeley from 2001 to 2015, chairing the Bioengineering Department at UC Los Angeles, and serving as the Director of Bioengineering Institute for California. Dr. Li's research is focused on cell and tissue engineering. He has contributed to the understanding of how biophysical factors regulate stem cell differentiation and cell reprogramming, and has developed multidisciplinary approaches for engineering biomaterials, stem cells, and immune cells for tissue regeneration and disease therapy. Dr. Li has published his findings in top scientific journals such as Nature Materials, Nature Biomedical Engineering, Science Translational Medicine, and Advanced Materials. Additionally, he has filed 19 patent applications, co-edited 3 books, and served as the Co-Editor-in-Chief for Med-X Journal. Dr. Li's contributions to bioengineering have earned him numerous awards and honors, including being elected as a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, the Biomedical Engineering Society, and the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering.

William Wagner
(University of Pittsburgh, USA)

Professor William R. Wagner is a Distinguished Professor of Surgery, Chemical Engineering, and Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh and the Founding Editor and Editor-in-Chief of one of the leading biomaterials journals, Acta Biomaterialia. He holds a B.S. (Johns Hopkins Univ.) and Ph.D. (Univ. of Texas) in chemical engineering. Professor Wagner currently serves as president of the Society for Biomaterials (US) and is a past-president of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs (ASAIO) and past chairman of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) Americas region. He is a fellow and former vice president of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and has also been elected a fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society, the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering, TERMIS, the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering (IAMBE) and the American Heart Association. He has been selected to the “Scientific American 50”, the magazine’s annual list recognizing leaders in science and technology from the research, business and policy fields. His research has generated numerous patents (50 issued to date) and patent filings that have resulted in licensing activity, the formation of three companies, one of which initiated two clinical trials. Transfer of his group’s intellectual property has been recognized with University of Pittsburgh Innovator Awards in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2017 and 2018. Some of his awards include the Society for Biomaterials Clemson Award for Applied Research, the Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award from the University of Pittsburgh, and the Senior Investigator Award from TERMIS-Americas. In 2017 he was inducted as a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and in 2018 he was named Inventor of the Year by the Pittsburgh Intellectual Property Law Association. In 2019 Dr. Wagner was promoted to the rank of Distinguished Professor, the highest recognition available to University of Pittsburgh faculty. In 2020 the 4th edition of the best-selling biomaterials textbook, “Biomaterials Science” was published with Dr. Wagner taking over the lead editor role and in partnership with a new generation editorial team. He was also named by Pittsburgh Business Times to its “Power 100” list (“people who have defined and are redefining the region, and who are leading and shaping their industries”). Dr. Wagner recently received the Founder’s Award from the Society for Biomaterials (2021) and the Global Biomaterials Leadership Award from the Chinese Association for Biomaterials (2023). Dr. Wagner also was recently awarded the Marlin Mickle Outstanding Innovator Award through the University of Pittsburgh’s Innovation Institute for extraordinary commitment to innovation commercialization. Dr. Wagner’s research interests are in cardiovascular engineering with projects that address medical device biocompatibility and design, biomaterial development, and tissue engineering.

Jian Ji
(Zhejiang University, China)

Prof. Jian Ji received his Ph.D. degree from Zhejiang University in 1997 and became a full professor in 2004. His research focuses on the interfacial materiobiology of biomedical implant, tissue engineering and nanomedicine. Several bioinspired methods were explored to develop biocompatible and biofunctional surface for biomedical application. Following the data-driven approach to biomaterials genome initiative, the innovative surface modification methods were combined with high-throughput experimental technology and machine learning, to reveal the quantitative law of synergistic function of different surface properties. The research break through the technical bottleneck of the construction of complicate bioinspired surfaces, and realize the “Bench to Bedside” application in interventional biomedical devices.

Gaocan Li
(Sichuan University, China)

Gaocan Li is an associate professor of the National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials and College of Biomedical Engineering of Sichuan University, and a committee member of the Cardiovascular Materials Branch of the Chinese Society of Biological Materials. He received his PhD in the organic chemistry from Sichuan University in 2013. He is mainly dedicated to the research of biomedical materials and devices in the fields of artificial heart valves and cardiovascular disease diagnosis and treatment. He has made a series of original achievements in the fields of high durability interventional biological heart valves, atherosclerosis diagnosis and treatment and other related fields. He has published 51 papers in Advanced Materials, Biomaterials and other journals, and 35 patents. He received several awards including the first prize of Sichuan Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award, the second prize of Sichuan University Science and Technology Progress Award, the first prize of the National College Student Biomedical Engineering Innovation Design Competition and the Youth Science and Technology Leading Talent Program at Sichuan University.

Tetsuji Yamaoka
(National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Research Institute, Japan)

Tetsuji YAMAOKA, Ph.D. FBSE
-President of Japanese Society for Biomaterials
-Professor, Department of Clinical Engineering, Faculty of Health Sciences, Komatsu University,
-Visiting Director, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center Research Institute

EDUCATION
-1991 Ph.D., Polymer Chemistry, Kyoto University, Kyoto, JAPAN, Distribution and Half-life of Polymeric Substances Injected into the Body
-1988 B.S., Polymer Chemistry, Kyoto University, Kyoto, JAPAN

DISTINCTIONS
-1995 Award for Encouragement of Research in Polymer Science, The Society of Polymer Science, Japan
-2002 The Award for Young Investigator of Japanese Society for Biomaterials
-2010 The Award of Japanese Society for Biomaterials
-2011 The Award of the Society of Fiber Science and Technology Japan
-2011 IAAM Medal-2001 (International Association of Advanced Materials)

EXPERIENCE
-2023-present: Professor, Department of Clinical Engineering, Faculty of Health Sciences, Komatsu University
-2004-present: Director/Visiting Director, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Advanced Medical Engineering Center, National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute
-2002-2004: Associate Professor, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Kyoto, Japan
-1995-2002: Lecturer, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Kyoto, Japan
-1996-1997: Visiting Scientist, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, MA,
-1992-1995: Assistant Professor, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Kyoto, Japan
-1991-1992: Research Fellow, National Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan

MEMBERSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY
-President of Japanese Society for Biomaterials
-Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering (FBSE)
-Councilor: The Japanese Society of Gene Design and Delivery, The Society of Life Support Technology, Japanese Society for Artificial Organs, The Japanese Society of Drug Delivery System
Editorial Board: Journal of Artificial Organs
-Member: ACS, SFB, CRS, The Chemical Society of Japan, The Society of Polymer Science Japan, The Society of Fiber Science and Technology Japan, The Japanese Society for Regenerative Medicine

RUNNING SENTENCE
Prof. Tetsuji YAMAOKA is Professor of Department of Clinical Engineering of Komatsu-University (Ishikawa, Japan) and director of Department of Biomedical Engineering of National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center Research Institute (Osaka, Japan). He is president of Japanese Society for Biomaterials (JSB) from 2020, former president of Asian Biomaterials Federation (2019-2021), and Japanese delegate for the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering (IUS-BSE) (2008-2020). He hosted 40th anniversary annual meeting of JSB in Kobe in 2018, Joint Symposium of JSB and Society for Biomaterials (SFB) in Hawaii, and Asia Biomaterials Congress in conjunction with 43rd annual meeting of JSB in Nagoya in 2021. He has published more than 320 publications, review, books, and patent and received the Award of Japanese Society for Biomaterials (2010), the Award of the Society of Fiber Science and Technology Japan (2011), and so on. His recent research interest is especially focusing on both of the bio-derived and synthetic biodegradable materials, especially acellular tissue as cardiovascular biomaterials.