Open position for a PhD candidate on the project “developing next generation of precision...

At the MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine of Maastricht University, Department of Instructive Biomaterials Engineering (IBE), we currently have a vacancy for a PhD candidate with knowledge and expertise in biomaterials and biomaterials-driven tissue regeneration fields as part of the Materials-Driven Regeneration (MDR) program.

The current approach for designing new biomaterials follows a strategy of “one size/type fits all”. However, with increasing demand for patient-specific, personalized medicine, the need for “precision biomaterials” that are designed to satisfy the personal needs of patients has also been highlighted. In this PhD project, we aim to develop the next generation of precision biomaterials for applications in tissue regeneration by employing an engineering approach to control the biomaterials properties at different length-scales, for example at nanometer-scale by engineering the biomaterials’ chemical composition and at micron-scale by engineering their topology. The project aims to engineer a library of tailored biomaterials, to unravel the role of the materials’ properties in inducing specific biological responses and to ultimately be used as advanced functionalized precision biomaterials for specific tissue regeneration applications. The biomaterials shall in the first instance be developed for the regeneration of musculoskeletal tissues and tissue interfaces. However, throughout the project, the use of the precision biomaterials for the regeneration of other tissues may also be explored.