The vision of our group is to render bioengineered microenvironments powerful tools for the treatment and diagnosis of disease. For this, the group integrates teams with strong expertise in matrix bioengineering, stem cell bioengineering and RNA-based bioengineering.

The activity of the group is strongly translation-oriented, based on well-established collaborations with medical professionals, namely neurosurgeons and orthopaedic surgeons. Osteoarticular diseases, namely those associated with ageing (e.g. spine degeneration and osteoarthritis), are major areas of application.

Pivotal in the strategy of the group is the modulation of the inflammatory response, namely through immunomodulatory biomaterials, which are strongly influenced by our “learn with nature” approach. The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a permanent source of inspiration for the bioengineered microenvironments developed by our group.

The group is highly interdisciplinary and provides an ideal environment for post-graduate training, namely at the PhD and MSc level.

Scientific integrity, environmental awareness, accountability, internal and external cooperation (including with foreign group of excellence), social engagement, encouragement to breakthrough ideas, support to new initiatives (particularly by the younger group members) and mentoring in career development are key values in our group.

The group has made important contributions to the understanding and modulation of cell-biomaterial interactions, namely on how biomaterials chemistry, structure and biomechanics can be designed to guide cell behaviour, including inflammatory cells.

The group is aligned with the strategic objectives of Host Interaction and Response (HIR) and Cancer Programs. At the i3S our contributions fall in the field of bioengineering.

The group integrates three teams:
Matrix bioengineering (MA Barbosa, CC Ribeiro, JN Barbosa, SG Santos and C Cunha) - the team is dedicated to bioengineering matrix-inspired biomaterials that modulate the inflammatory response, including hierarchically designed matrices and nanocomplexes for tissue regeneration and cancer. The team also explores the crosstalk between immune cells and other tissue cells in the context of cell/biomaterial interactions. Major applications include bone, intervertebral disc and articular cartilage.
Stem cell bioengineering (RM Gonçalves, J Caldeira) – The team is dedicated to bioengineering mesenchymal stem/stromal cells- and nanoparticles-based therapies, focusing on intervertebral disc. The team explores the recapitulation of initial developmental stages to promote disc regeneration, while developing physiological ex vivo models of tissue degeneration.
RNA-based bioengineering (MI Almeida, J Freitas) – The team is dedicated to Non-Coding RNA (ncRNA) therapeutics for regenerative medicine and cancer, with a focus on the osteoarticular system. It uses ncRNA-based molecular bioengineering tools for the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies aiming to modulate cellular immunomodulatory properties, proliferation and differentiation capacities, intra- and intercellular signalling, and the extracellular matrix remodelling.