Engineering Tissues for Transplantation and Disease Modeling: Crafting Living Matter - STIAS Public lecture by Daniel Aili

Register here before 7 April 2025 (in-person and online)

Abstract: All humans originate from a single cell that, during embryonic development, differentiates and multiplies into more than 30 trillion cells, which spontaneously organize into functional tissues and organs of astonishing complexity. Although all cells in the human body carry the same genetic information as the first few cells in the embryo, our ability to regenerate lost or damaged tissue is severely limited. While some animals can regenerate entire limbs, humans primarily heal through scarring—a process that often results in impaired function. Lost limbs and organs do not regrow. However, by combining cells, biological factors, and supporting biomaterials, researchers can now grow structures that resemble tissues and organs in the lab. These lab-grown tissues have already become invaluable tools for biomedical research and drug development and hold great promise for regenerative medicine. In this talk, I will discuss our efforts to design biomaterials and biofabrication technologies for creating novel regenerative strategies and physiologically relevant disease models. We develop soft, highly hydrated materials that not only provide structural support but also deliver biochemical and mechanical signals to guide cellular organization. Using advanced 3D bioprinting techniques, we can create well-defined and more complex, tissue-like architectures. By engineering human tissues in the lab, we aim to accelerate drug discovery, develop personalized treatments, and pave the way for future regenerative therapies. Bio: Daniel Aili is a Professor of Molecular Physics in the Division of Biophysics and Bioengineering at Linköping University (LiU), Sweden. After postdoctoral research at Imperial College London and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, he was recruited to LiU, where he established the Laboratory of Molecular Materials. His interdisciplinary research focuses on bioresponsive materials for biomedicine and bioengineering. He has published about 100 peer-reviewed papers, authored five book chapters, and holds over eight patents. Aili is also an active entrepreneur and scientific advisor for several startups. He has been awarded with the The AkzoNobel Nordic Prize for Surface and Colloid Chemistry, The Arnbergska Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, a Future Research Leader Award from the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, and he is an elected member of the Swedish National Committee for Molecular Biosciences. His is a Knut and Alice Wallenberg Academy Fellow and holder of an ERC Consolidator Grant. At LiU, he leads a research team of approximately 20 students and senior researchers.