Interactive Session “Biofabrication Technologies to Instruct Regeneration” with Prof. Lorenzo Moroni

The Faculty of Biotechnology and the CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina organises the lecture “Biofabrication Technologies to Instruct Regeneration”, presented by Prof. Lorenzo Moroni, from the University of Maastricht.

The event is intended to be interactive with a subsequent debate analysing the latest advances in the field of biofabrication applied to regenerative medicine, which innovative approaches have the most potential and which will bring the science of tissue and organ regeneration closer to clinical practice in the future.

About the session
Regenerative medicine aims to restore the original functionality of tissues and organs through the interaction between cells and biomaterials. However, the regeneration of complex tissues remains a challenge due to the difficulty in controlling these interactions in space and time. In this seminar, Prof. Lorenzo Moroni will present integrated technological solutions that allow the creation of biological structures with personalised properties - at macro, micro and nano level - capable of modulating the activity of stem cells and promoting the regeneration of complex tissues. These advances represent a significant step towards the development of biomaterials and support structures that allow precise control of cell fate, including vascularisation and innervation, and favour better integration of regenerated tissues into the body. In this way, biofabrication technologies are paving the way for innovative solutions that bring regenerative medicine closer to clinical practice.

Biographical note
Lorenzo Moroni is the current Director of the MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, one of Europe's leading centres for regenerative medicine and biofabrication.  He obtained his doctorate with distinction in 2006 at the University of Twente, with pioneering work on 3D scaffolds for osteochondral regeneration, and was awarded the European Prize in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering by the European Society of Biomaterials. Since 2014, he has been a member of Maastricht University, where throughout his career he has received several international honours, such as the Jean Leray Award (2014), the Robert Brown Award (2016) and the Merck Materials Science Lecture (2023). In 2024, he was elected Fellow in Biomaterials Science and Engineering and Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, reflecting his outstanding scientific contribution. His line of research focuses on the development of biofabrication technologies to create libraries of materials and 3D structures capable of controlling cellular activity, with applications covering bone, vascular, neural and organ regeneration. Three of the products resulting from his research have already reached the market, demonstrating the practical relevance of his work.