Plenary Speakers
Professor Dame Molly Stevens FRS FREng – University of Oxford
New Bioengineered Materials for Advanced Therapeutics and Ultrasensitive Biosensing
Professor Dame Molly Stevens FREng FRS is John Black Professor of Bionanoscience (Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, Department of Engineering Science, Institute of Biomedical Engineering) at the University of Oxford and part-time professor at Imperial College London and the Karolinska Institute. Molly’s multidisciplinary research balances the investigation of fundamental science with the development of technology to address some of the major healthcare challenges. She is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of several companies in the diagnostics, advanced therapeutics and regenerative medicine space. Her work has been instrumental in elucidating the bio-material interfaces. She has created a broad portfolio of designer biomaterials for applications in disease diagnostics and regenerative medicine. Her substantial body of work influences research groups around the world (>430 publications, h-index 109, >50k citations, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher in Cross-Field research).
Molly holds numerous leadership positions including Director of the UK Regenerative Medicine Platform “Smart Acellular Materials” Hub, Deputy Director of the EPSRC IRC in Early-Warning Sensing Systems for Infectious Diseases and Scientist Trustee of the National Gallery. She is Fellow of the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering (UK), Foreign Member of the National Academy of Engineering (USA), International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and she was recognised with the 2023 Novo Nordisk Prize amongst many other accolades.
Keynote Speakers
Professor Amy Zavatsky – University of Oxford
Prof. Zavatsky is currently a Reader in Engineering Science and a Fellow and Tutor in Engineering at St Edmund Hall. She studied Bioengineering as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania. Having received a Thouron Award for postgraduate study in the UK, she enrolled at the University of Oxford (Hertford College) and completed a doctorate in orthopaedic biomechanics. She subsequently held a post-doctoral research appointment in Oxford University’s Department of Engineering Science, alongside a Junior Research Fellowship and Lectureship in Engineering at St Hilda’s College.
Professor Róisín Owens – University of Cambridge
Bioelectronic Devices for Interfacing with the Gastrointestinal Tract
Prof. Owens is Professor of Bioelectronics at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. She received her BA in Natural Sciences at Trinity College Dublin, and her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Southampton University, after which she carried out two postdoc fellowships at Cornell University. Her research centres on applications of organic electronic materials for monitoring biological systems in vitro, with a specific interest in studying the gut-brain-microbiome axis. She has received several awards including from the European Research Council, a Marie Curie fellowship, and an EMBO fellowship. She was principal editor for biomaterials for Cambridge University Press, and she serves on the advisory board of Advanced BioSystems and Journal of Applied Polymer Science (Wiley).
Professor Yan Yan Shery Huang – University of Cambridge
Prof. HuangI completed her MEng degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Imperial College London in 2007. With a Cambridge Gates Scholarship, she then pursued a PhD in Physics at Cambridge, focusing on carbon nanotechnology and experimental soft & biological matters. After graduating from her PhD in 2011, she was awarded an Oppenheimer Fellowship and a Homerton College Junior Research Fellowship. Since Aug 2013, she has held a Lectureship in Bioengineering at Cambridge. She is a recipient of the prestigious ERC Starting grant, and an elected fellow of the Institute of Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. As Oct 2022, she is Professor of Bioengineering at the Department of Engineering, Cambridge.
Professor Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena – Imperial College London
Prof. Baena is Professor of Medical Robotics in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College, where he leads the Mechatronics in Medicine Laboratory and the Applied Mechanics Division. He has been the Engineering Co-Director of the Hamlyn Centre since July 2020. He is a founding member and great advocate of the Imperial College Robotics Forum, now the first point of contact for roboticists at Imperial College. His team of staff and PhD students has a translational focus, though their work encompasses both “blue skies” research and “near-to-market” development.
Professor Aldo Faisal – Imperial College London
Prof. Faisal is the Professor of AI & Neuroscience at the Dept. of Computing and the Dept. of Bioengineering at Imperial College London. He was awarded a prestigious UKRI Turing AI Fellowship and is the Founding Director of the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in AI for Healthcare that aims to transform AI for Healthcare research and pioneer training 100 PhD and Clinical PhD Fellows. He also holds a Chair in Digital Health at the University of Bayreuth (Germany). His lab has featured regularly across global media (such as BBC, CNN, TED, TEDx, Wall Street Journal, Guardian, Financial Times, WIRED, Scientific American, New Scientist, etc.).
Professor Alexandra Porter – Imperial College London
Prof. Porter holds an MEng from Oxford University, and a PhD from Cambridge University in Biomedical Materials. Her research group uses correlative electron microscopy techniques to characterise interfaces between biomaterials and cells. Her great interest is in developing a mechanistic understanding of how the chemistry of these materials controls their degradation behaviour, and ultimate bioactivity, to improve their performance and safety. She works on the impact of air pollution on human health and fundamental mechanisms of bone mineralisation. She also designs new nanomaterials to treat tuberculosis and breast cancers. Her work includes collaborations with the National Heart and Lung Institute, the ICR, Crick and Rosalind Franklin Institutes.
Professor Rebecca Shipley – University College London
Prof. Shipley is Professor of Healthcare Engineering in UCL Mechanical Engineering. Her research develops model-based techniques to better understand how diseased and damaged tissues function and repair, data-driven models for predicting (patho)physiology, and healthcare technologies that meet the needs of patients and clinicians. Becky is a passionate advocate for healthcare engineering and the translation of scientific discoveries into practice. She leads the UCL Institute of Healthcare Engineering, co-led the UCL-Ventura programme which delivered non-invasive ventilators in the UK and globally during the pandemic, and is Chief Research Officer at UCLPartners.
Professor Anna David – University College London
Improving the health of women: a BioMedEng call to action
Prof. David is Professor and Consultant in Obstetrics and Maternal Fetal Medicine, and Director of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Institute for Women’s Health at University College London UCL. The Institute renewed their Athena Swan HE Advance charter Gold Award in 2023 under her leadership. Her main research is in translational medicine which aims to develop prenatal therapies for life threatening disorders such as preterm birth and fetal growth restriction. She is developing a first-in-woman trial of a maternal gene therapy for severe fetal growth restriction due to placental insufficiency. She led a successful bid to the European Medicines Agency to designate placental insufficiency as an Orphan Disease.
She leads the UCL Centre for Prenatal Therapy, the shadow Women’s Health theme at the UCL Hospital NIHR Biomedical Research Centre and is Deputy Director of the Tommy’s National Centre for Preterm Birth Research. She coordinated the introduction of open fetal surgery for spina bifida to the UK at University College London Hospitals NHS Trust.
At the Women’s Health Symposium, Anna David will highlight how the health of women is important for family wellbeing and how biomedical engineering can support reducing disparities in women’s health.
Professor Guillaume Charras – University College London
Rupture Strength of Living Cell Monolayers
Prof. Charras is Professor in Cell and Tissue Biophysics in the London Centre for Nanotechnology at UCL. He has been a Reader in Cell Biophysics, a Royal Society University Research Fellow, and a Wellcome Trust Overseas Post-Doctoral Fellow. His research team focuses on three main themes: i) the cellular actin cortex; ii) mechanics of cells and tissues, and iii) cell migration in confined environments. In all of its research, the laboratory team combines analytical and characterisation techniques from physics and engineering with molecular cell biology techniques and quantitative microscopy to study questions relevant to cell and developmental biology.
Professor Anne Vanhoestenberghe – King’s College London
Prof. Vanhoestenberghe is the director of MAISI, a national facility for the manufacture of active implants and surgical instruments, embedded within St Thomas’ MedTech Hub in London. Her research at KCL is in the field of neurotechnologies, specifically technological innovations for the manufacture of implantable electronics, with an interest in their interactions with the (human) nervous system. She is increasingly involved in supporting the translation of research and devices to improve the quality of life of people living with unmet medical needs.
She has been an active member of the International Microelectronics Assembly and Packaging Society (IMAPS-UK) since 2012.
Professor Giuseppe Battaglia – Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia
Giuseppe, or as most people call him, Beppe, graduated in Chemical Engineering from the University of Palermo; after some industrial experience, he got a PhD in Soft Matter Physics from the Chemistry Department at the University of Sheffield. Since 2019, Beppe has been a Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) Professor and group leader at the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalunya (IBEC). He is also the Honorary Professor of Biophysical Chemistry at University College London (UCL) and a Visiting Professor at the West China Hospital Sichuan University in Chengdu. Beppe is the founder of the Cambridge-based biotech company Vianautis Bio Ltd, whose mission is the development of genetic nanomedicines. Before Barcelona, Beppe held various positions in the UK; from 2013 to 2022, he was the Chair of Molecular Bionics in the Department of Chemistry and the Institute for Physics of Living Systems at the UCL; from 2006 to 2013, Beppe held positions as Lecturer in -2006, Senior Lecturer in -2009, and Professor in -2011 in the Departments of Materials Sci. Eng. (2006-2009) and Biomedical Science (2009-2013) at the University of Sheffield. Beppe leads the Molecular Bionics Group at the IBEC, a multidisciplinary team comprising chemists, physicists, mathematicians, engineers, and biologists. Half of them combine novel microscopic tools with theoretical and computational physics to study biological transport from single molecules and cell membranes to the whole organism. The rest combines soft matter physics with synthetic chemistry to translate the acquired knowledge and bioengineer novel nanomedicines.
Professor Matthew Dalby – University of Glasgow
Prof. Dalby is Professor of Cell Engineering at the University of Glasgow. He obtained a PhD in Biomedical Materials from Queen Mary, University of London, after which he moved to Glasgow to join Cell Engineering as a PDRA. Here he researched how cells interacted with nanoscale features producing early literature on cellular ability to respond to nanotopography. During this time, he became focussed on dissecting how cells processed nanoscale information through mechanotransductive processes. For his BBSRC David Phillips Fellowship in 2003 he focussed on how mesenchymal stem cells were directed to differentiate and to self-renew by nanotopography, which led to a lectureship in Cell Engineering in 2008. His interests have broadened to include metabolomics-based research with a growing interest in how growth factors can be controlled at the nanoscale to direct stem cell fate.
Professor Matthew Gibson – University of Manchester
Biomaterial Strategies to Bank, Store, and Share (3D) Cellular Models
Prof. Gibson is a professor and Chair of Sustainable Biomaterials in the School of Natural Sciences at the University of Manchester. He obtained his degree (2003) and PhD (2007) from the University of Durham UK, before pursuing postdoctoral research at EPFL, Switzerland. In 2009 he started his own group at the University of Warwick UK and in 2023 his team was recruited to the University of Manchester. His team is based in both the Department of Chemistry and the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology. The team have broad research interests in deploying biomaterials to address important problems in biotechnology, healthcare, and sustainability.
Professor Christine Le Maitre – University of Sheffield
Prof. Le Maitre is Professor of Musculoskeletal Cell Biology and Tissue Regeneration and co-leads the Osteoarthritis and Disc Research Group in the Bone and Joint theme at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on investigating the pathogenesis of musculoskeletal disorders and novel therapies targeting pathogenesis and regenerative approaches. Working collaboratively nationally and internationally with clinicians, scientists, engineers, industrial partners, and patients to pursue an improved understanding of musculoskeletal conditions and utilise this knowledge to develop the next generation of therapies. She is also an elected committee member of Society of Back Pain Research, ORS Spine section, Musculoskeletal research advisory group for Versus Arthritis and DISCs Chairlady.
Dr. Michele Zagnoni – University of Strathclyde
Dr. Zagnoni received a Dr. of Engineering degree in Electronic Engineering (Bioengineering) in 2002, which was followed by a Ph. D. degree in Electronic Engineering and Computer Science in 2006. He held an affiliate membership to the Royal Society of Chemistry, and was a member of the ESPRC Peer Review College, in 2013. His area of expertise include microfabrication of polymeric structures, theoretical and experimental expertise in fluid dynamics at the microscale, on chip cell culture, organ on a chip, bioimaging, and miniaturised bioassay technology. His research is based on the development of new microsystems for basic biology investigation, diagnosis and treatment of disease using microfluidic and lab-on-a-chip technologies.
Professor Alvaro Mata – University of Nottingham
Prof. Mata is Professor in Biomedical Engineering and Biomaterials in the School of Pharmacy and the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Nottingham. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Kansas, a Master’s Degree from the University of Strathclyde, and a Doctor of Engineering Degree from Cleveland State University. He conducted his postdoctoral training with Prof. Samuel Stupp at Northwestern University. His group works at the interface of supramolecular chemistry and engineering designing bioinspired and biocooperative materials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
Professor Sanja Dogramadzi – University of Sheffield
Prof. Dogramadzi is Professor of Medical Robotics and Research Director at the Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering at University of Sheffield with over 20 years of research experience in surgical and physical assistance robots, safe human-robot interaction, and soft robotic structures. She has led numerous EPSRC, EC, NIHR and Innovate UK projects as PI. She is in the Executive Board of Sheffield Robotics. Prof. Dogramadzi established the medical robotics group at Bristol Robotics Laboratory, before moving to University of Sheffield in 2020.
Professor Enrico Dall’Ara – University of Sheffield
Prof. Dall’Ara is Professor of Musculoskeletal Biomechanics at the University of Sheffield. He is the Director of the Skelet.Al laboratories, the Research Director of the Insigneo Computational Modelling in Medicine research theme, the Head of the Integrative MusculoSkeletal Biomechanics Research group, the Secretary general of the European Society of Biomechanics, and the President of the UK Chapter of the Virtual Physiological Human institute. His research focuses on better understanding the properties of musculoskeletal tissues across the space and time scales, by using imaging, experimental and computational methods. He has received funding from EPSRC, NC3Rs, BBSRC, FNRS/FWO, and the European Commission including the recent METASTRA project. He has recently been selected for an ERC consolidator award.
Professor Jon Dawson – University of Southampton
Nanoclay Gels for the Delivery of Regenerative Microenvironments
Prof. Dawson is Professorial Fellow of Regenerative Medicine at the University of Southampton and director for the centre of Human Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration. He leads a research group exploring the application of self-assembling nanomaterials in regenerative medicine and has held nine years of personal fellowship funding from the EPSRC. He has published widely on biomaterials and regenarative medicine and is an inventor on three patents. He is Co-Founder and CTO of the regenerative medicine company, Renovos Biologics, which has recently received an FDA Breakthrough Device designation for its first nanoclay-BMP2 spinal fusion product. He also led the development, in collaboration with Winchester Science Centre, of the award-winning Stem Cell Mountain public engagement exhibit which has now engaged over 600,000 people with core themes in stem cells and regenerative medicine.
Professor Francesca Palombo – University of Exeter
Prof. Palombo is Professor of Biomedical Spectroscopy at the University of Exeter, it the Director of Global Engagement and Study Abroad Coordinator for Physics and Astronomy since August 2023. She has led the Health Technologies @ Exeter Research Network with Prof. Helen Dawes since January 2023. Along with being a Principal Investigator in Physics, she is Affiliate Investigator of the Living Systems Institute. Her research is focused on developing Brillouin, Raman, and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic imaging methods for applications to biology and medicine. She is interested in the physical and chemical aspects of biological systems at a molecular level, as well as their implications in health and disease.
Professor Sophie Williams – University of Leeds
Prof. Williams is a Professor in Medical Engineering in the Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. She was awarded a Royal Academy of Engineering post-doctoral fellowship in 2006 and went on to become a member of academic staff and led taught programmes in Medical Engineering for over 10 years. Sophie has more recently been successful in gaining a Royal Academy of Engineering – DePuy Synthes Senior Research Fellowship and an EPSRC Healthcare Technology Challenge Award to further her research. Her research centres on developing methodologies to better predict outcomes of clinical interventions in the musculoskeletal system and is predominantly focussed on the hip joint.
Professor Sébastien Perrier – University of Warwick
Prof. Perrier is a Professor of Polymer Chemistry, and the Monash-Warwick Chair in Polymer Chemistry. He graduated from the Ecole National Supèrieure de Chimie de Montpellier, France, in 1998, undertook his PhD at the University of Warwick, in polymer chemistry, and spent one year as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of New South Wales, Australia. He started his academic career at Leeds in 2002 as a lecturer, then moved to the University of Sydney in 2007, as director of the Key Centre for Polymers & Colloids. In October 2013, Sebastien was appointed as the Monash-Warwick Chair in Polymer Chemistry, a joint appointment between WMS and Chemistry at Warwick, and the Faculty of Pharmacy at Monash University, Australia. This joint appointment enables Sebastien’s team to have labs and infrastructure in Warwick Chemistry, Warwick Medical School and Monash Pharmacy.
Professor Kaspar Althoefer – Queen Mary University of London
Prof. Althoefer’s research focuses on robot autonomy, soft robotics, systems engineering, modelling of tool-environment interaction dynamics, tactile sensing and haptic perception with applications in robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery, rehabilitation, assistive technologies and human-robot interactions in the manufacturing environment.