Current members

Armin is a Professor at the Faculty of Engineering (EPB) of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), where he established and leads the BioMatter lab. His research focuses on biomaterials for tissue engineering and biochemical engineering, with a particular emphasis on valorizing biomass materials for biomedical applications. Before joining ULB in 2018, Armin conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Otago in New Zealand, collaborating with Lincoln University (NZ) and Deakin University (Australia). He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Otago in 2017 for his research on bone scaffolds generated from waste marine shells. Armin holds a Master of Chemical Engineering from the University of Putra Malaysia.

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Lei Nie completed his Ph.D. (2013) from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and after that received three years of postdoctoral training at Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (CAS, China) and Free University of Berlin (Germany). He began his research as an independent PI at Xinyang Normal University (China) in 2017. He started 3D bioprinting work at KU Leuven (Belgium) in 2019. His main research interests include biopolymers, drug delivery, nanoparticles, and tissue engineering and he is currently a visiting professor at BioMatter lab.

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Qiong Xiang completed her Ph.D. (2014) from Harbin Institute of Technology(HIT), and then got the assistant professor position in Jishou University(China). During 2017-2020, She received postdoctoral training at the University of Strasbourg/Inserm UMR-1255(France) and Technical University of Munich /Helmholtz Center Munich (Germany). She promoted as associated professor at Jishou University(China) in 2021. Her research interests focus on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of tumor and neurodegenerative disease and now she is a visiting researcher at BioMatter lab.

Oseweuba completed his Ph.D. at the University of Otago, New Zealand, in 2019, where his research focused on the design of systems that can facilitate the production of biomaterials, biochemicals, and bioenergy from renewable carbon resources. He is a Senior Researcher at the BioMatter research unit, at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). Previously, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Process/Chemical Engineering, Stellenbosch University, South Africa where he explored the modeling of biorefinery systems. He has also previously worked as a Research Fellow in the Energy Technology Unit at, the University of Otago, New Zealand. His main research interests include circular economy, biomaterial development, process design, chemical Engineering, and biorefinery design.

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Hafez received his bachelor’s in Polymer Engineering from Tehran University, Iran, and moved on to pursue a master’s in Bioengineering (Tissue Engineering) from Tehran University. During his master’s, he worked in the fields of bone tissue engineering. Hafez did his Ph.D. at BioMatter from 2019- 2023 on developing 3-dimensional anti-infectious hydrogels with adhesive properties for skin wound healing application. He was granted a BOF postdoctoral fellowship in 2023 to join Polymer Chemistry and Biomaterials Research Group at Ghent University. He is now doing his postdoc at BioMatter working on a proof of concept project funded by innoviris.

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Julia studied at Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Poland, for her Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Science degrees. She is interested in research that integrates aspects of medical and technical sciences, as she studied Biomedical Engineering, and obtained two master’s degrees in Management and Manufacturing Engineering and Chemistry and Materials Engineering with specialization in Advanced Functional Materials. Now, she moved to Brussels for PhD studies. Her work will be related to developing a 3D bioprinted angiogenesis model for salivary glands, beginning with materials synthesis, bioprinting and ending with functional evaluation. This project will be a part of the ongoing collaboration between the Faculty of Medicine (ULB, Erasme), BioMatter (ULB, Solbosch) and Dr Daria Podstawczyk from Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Poland.

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She obtained her bachelor of Engineering and Master of Science degrees in chemical engineering in Iran. Then, she accomplished her joint master’s degree in chemical and materials engineering with a specialization in Materials science from VUB/ULB universities (BRUFACE program) in Belgium. She continued her studies as a Ph.D. student in the field of polymer science (biopolymers) Since biomaterials science is her interest. Her research field study is associated with biomaterial ink development using biobased polymer networks. This project will perform in collaboration between VUB-FYSC and ULB-BIOMATTER universities.

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Parinaz joined the lab in 2020 to conduct her Ph.D. in Bioengineering (BioMatter Unit). She previously received her MSc in Food Biotechnology at the University of Tehran, Iran. During her masters, she worked in the field of production and characterization of lipase enzymes which were applicable for human consumption. Her Ph.D. research will be on developing and characterizing a 3D microenvironment containing probiotic bacteria and skin cells for potential healing of skin tissue and regeneration.

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I received my bachelor’s from Lorestan University and master’s from Tehran University in Polymer Engineering. My master thesis was about preparing polymeric scaffolds in bone tissue engineering applications. During my master, Meanwhile, I worked in the field of antibacterial wound dressing based on biocompatible and biodegradable polymers. My Ph.D. project will be on smart oxygen wound dressing that can optimize oxygen release profile in the local of the wound and facilitate the wound healing process.

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Man Li received her bachelor’s in Traditional Chinese Medicine Pharmacy and master’s in Traditional Chinese Medicine at Henan University of Chinese Medicine (China). Her master’s thesis was nanoparticle preparation and its application to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Her Ph.D. project will be on developing an intelligent responsive composite hydrogel containing nanozyme for the potential healing of wounds.

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Qianqian studied for her bachelor’s and master’s at the College of Life Science of Xinyang Normal University, China. During her master’s, she was interested in multifunctional hydrogel biomaterials as dressings for wound healing. Then, she joined the BioMatter (ULB, Solbosch) lab to pursue her PhD study in the field of wound monitoring which benefits from providing correct diagnosis and treatment decisions for wound repair via timely and accurate assessment of wounds during the wound healing process, especially chronic wounds.

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Amir completed his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Cell and Molecular Biology at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. His master’s thesis focused on developing and evaluating multifunctional nanoparticles for targeted chemo/radio/gene cancer theranostics. He is now pursuing a Ph.D. at ULB, where his project is about developing intelligent vesicles to target hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment, with the goal of enhancing imaging precision and therapeutic effectiveness in cancer treatment

Amir Salar received his bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Isfahan University and his master’s degree in Polymer Engineering from Tehran University. During his master’s studies, he focused on developing conductive nanocomposites based on polymethyl methacrylate, investigating their conductive and structural properties. He then worked as an R&D engineer at Pars Nasim Company, gaining practical experience in material development. Last year, he moved to Brussels to further his academic career by pursuing a Master of Management. He subsequently joined the BioMatter Lab (ULB, Solbosch), where his work centers on designing and testing innovative biomaterials, including biomaterial inks based on chitosan.

Ilargi had the opportunity to complete the Bachelor thesis in the company Ceit’s Tissue engineering group, focusing on optimizing hydrogel mechanical evaluation methods for in vitro skeletal muscle models.

She then started her master’s in Biomedical engineering at the University of Barcelona and is currently doing her master’s thesis in the BioMatter group of the ULB.

Mandana completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Materials Engineering at the University of Tabriz. She chose to specialize in Biomaterials for her Ph.D. She is pursuing her Ph.D. at K. N. Toosi University of Technology and undertaking a six-month research stay at BioMatter lab at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) . Her research focuses on wound dressings, with a particular emphasis on advanced Janus-based wound dressing.

Baptiste is a EEIGM (European School of Materials Engineering) student in Nancy, France. After a 5-month Erasmus in Barcelona, Spain in early 2024, another time he was lucky to travel abroad, joining the BioMatter unit at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) during 4 months and a half to complete a Master’s thesis, as part of his final year of his Master’s degree. The Master’s thesis focuses on the optimization of Biocrude Production via Hydrothermal Liquefaction from a quaternary mixture of local food waste

Agathe is a student specializing in material engineering at EEIGM (European School of Materials Engineering) in Nancy, France. She had the opportunity to join the BioMatter lab at the ULB to complete her master’s thesis. Her master’s thesis is focused on volumetric printing.

Houman Alimoradi is an experienced researcher in pharmacology and toxicology and his research mainly focuses on the controlled modulation of nitric oxide (NO; an important signalling molecule in biology) level in pathophysiological conditions using advanced biomaterials. He Studied medical toxicology at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences and completed a Ph.D. in pharmacology and toxicology (specializing in medicinal chemistry) at the University of Otago, New Zealand. Houman has extensive previous successful international mobility, interdisciplinary, intersectoral experience and working both in the industry and academia, including working as a lecturer, postdoctoral fellow and R&D Manager at pharmaceutical companies. He is working on the development of O₂/NO-releasing biomaterials for wound dressing applications.

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