From 27 to 31 May, the Island of Rhodes (Greece) hosted the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine European Society International Conference. Representatives of UIC Barcelona's Bioengineering Institute of Technology took part in this leading international event. Dr Mireia Hoyos and the doctoral student Èlia Bosch presented two papers, in which biomaterials were the central theme.

 

With the title: “Triple function in one coating: towards anti-adhesive, bactericidal, and cell instructive medical implantes “, Mireia Hoyos presented her paper focusing on research into a coating that can be used to combat two of the main disadvantages of implants: lack of osteointegration and infections. Dr Hoyos was recognised by the conference scientific committee for presentation of her study with the prize for Best Presentation. "Receiving this award is a real honour and means major recognition for my work at an international conference that is well known in the field of tissue engineering", she said.

 

Èlia Bosch meanwhile presented the paper “Engineering blood vessel-like structures: a preliminary study”. This study explains a method that can be used to obtain fibres that are empty inside and have two layers that mimic the structure of a blood vessel, and are stable and maintain the tubular structure. The fibres also have two cell types encapsulated, so they almost align in the same way as natural blood vessels.

 

Mireia Hoyos and Èlia Bosch were accompanied by Román Pérez and Luis Delgado, also researchers at the Bioengineering Institute of Technology and lecturers on the Bioengineering Degree.