Riccardo Levato,
Associate Professor in Translational Bioengineering and Biomaterials,
University Medical Center Utrecht
Riccardo Levato is Associate Professor of Translational Bioengineering and Biomaterials at the Department of Clinical Sciences (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University), and a Principal Investigator both at the Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht and at the Department of Orthopedics of the University Medical Center Utrecht. His research interests focus on the development of novel biofabrication strategies and cell-instructive biomaterials to create bioprinted, lab-made tissue models and transplantable engineered grafts. Integrating expertise in engineering, materials science and stem cell biology, these efforts aim both to understand and mimic the multifaceted architectural and biochemical structure of living tissues in order to develop effective treatments for human and veterinary healthcare. In 2020 he was awarded a Starting grant from the European Research Council on the development of a novel volumetric bioprinting technology for organoid research and to engineer functional bone marrow analogues in vitro. In addition, since 2021, he is coordinator of a European consortium (ENLIGHT), funded under the Future and Emerging Technologies scheme (European Innovation Council pilot), aiming at developing biofabricated pancreas units to study treatments for diabetes. To date, he has published 52 peer-reviewed articles international journals, co-authored 2 book chapters and 2 patent applications, and he secured > 13 million euros in research funds for his group and related consortia. In total, he has been (co-)supervisor of 16 PhD students (4 completed, 9 ongoing). For his work, he was conferred several awards including a Orthoregeneration Network Fellowship by the International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS), the 2016 Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine Young Investigator Award, multiple presentation and travel awards, and the 2021 Jean Leray award from the European Society for Biomaterials. Riccardo is also serving on the Board of Directors of the International Society for Biofabrication. Prior to moving to Utrecht, he worked in several research groups working in the fields of Biomaterials, Regenerative Medicine and Biofabrication: 3Bs, University of Minho (Portugal); BioMatLab, Technical University of Milan (Italy), the Biomaterials for Regenerative Therapies group at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC, Spain), and he holds a cum laude PhD in Biomedical Engineering from IBEC and from the Technical University of Catalonia (Barcelona, Spain).
Integrating Multiple Biofabrication Technologies To Create Complex and Functional Musculoskeletal Tissue Grafts
Tuesday, 15 October 2019 at 08:30
Add to Calendar ▼2019-10-15 08:30:002019-10-15 09:30:00Europe/LondonIntegrating Multiple Biofabrication Technologies To Create Complex and Functional Musculoskeletal Tissue Grafts3D-Printing in the Life Sciences in Coronado Island, CaliforniaCoronado Island, CaliforniaSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
Major challenges in musculoskeletal tissue engineering revolve around recapitulating the architecture, and therefore the function, of native tissues. Present strategies to treat chondral and osteochondral defects, including tissue engineering and cell implantation, prevalently result in repair tissue with poor mechanical properties, which is prone to degeneration, and can only delay the insurgence of severe pathologies like osteoarthritis.
Biofabrication is opening new avenues for the restoration of impaired joints tissues. Multi-material bioprinting enables to fabricate composite structures combining cell-laden, soft hydrogels with mechanically strong polymers for structural support. By the accurate 3D patterning of stem and tissue-specific progenitor cells, salient features of the native zonal and depth dependent organization of articular cartilage can be replicated. Alongside hydrogel extrusion and bioprinting, different additive manufacturing technologies, such as melt electrowriting of polymeric microfibers, ceramic plotting and digital light processing lithographic printing of hydrogels, can be combined to create composite, cell-laden constructs that enable integration between engineered cartilage hydrogels and bone scaffolds. These bioartificial osteochondral grafts exhibit improved interfacial mechanical strength, favouring their integration in vivo.
Herein, the latest development in the field of bioink printing to create zonal-biomimetic cartilage constructs will be discussed, together with the integration of multiple (bio)printing strategies (i.e. co-fabrication of hydrogels, reinforcing polymers and bioceramics), and the impact of these technologies towards the generation of fully biofabricated, high-performance engineered osteochondral grafts, with potential application for regenerative medicine. Finally, technological advances and challenges towards the biofabrication of large, clinically-relevant multi-tissue constructs will be discussed.
Add to Calendar ▼2019-10-14 00:00:002019-10-15 00:00:00Europe/London3D-Printing in the Life Sciences3D-Printing in the Life Sciences in Coronado Island, CaliforniaCoronado Island, CaliforniaSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
Add to Calendar ▼2019-10-15 08:30:002019-10-15 09:30:00Europe/LondonIntegrating Multiple Biofabrication Technologies To Create Complex and Functional Musculoskeletal Tissue Grafts3D-Printing in the Life Sciences in Coronado Island, CaliforniaCoronado Island, CaliforniaSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
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