Maria Chatzinikolaidou is a Professor of Biomaterials in Bioengineering and Head of the Laboratory for Biomaterials in Tissue Engineering at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Crete, and affiliated faculty member at Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH). Her research interests focus on the development of biomaterials and scaffolds for tissue engineering applications including bone, cartilage, dental, cardiovascular, skin, and the validation of their in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility, functionality and biomechanical characteristics. Maria Chatzinikolaidou received her B.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of Essen, Germany and her doctoral degree in Biochemistry from the same university in 2004. Her PhD work focused on the immobilization and release kinetics of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP-2) from metal implant surfaces, under the supervision of Prof. H.P. Jennissen. From 2004 to 2006 she was a post-doctoral associate at the University Medical School of Essen working on the development of novel bioactive dental and bone implants. From 2006 to 2008 she was a post-doctoral fellow supported by the EU ENTER program at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at FORTH (Prof. Electra Gizeli), performing research on biosensing protein and cell interactions with titanium surfaces. From 2007 to 2010 she was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering of the University of Crete teaching courses on Biological Materials and Composite Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering. In 2010 she was appointed Assistant Professor at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Crete (tenured 2014; promoted to Associate Professor 2019; promoted to Professor 2024). She served as Chair of the 28th Annual Conference of the European Society for Biomaterials (ESB) held in Athens (2017), and Program Chair of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) EU Conference held in Rhodes (2019). She is a Fellow in Biomaterials Science and Engineering (FBSE, elected 2020) of the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering (IUS-BSE), International Fellow of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (FTERM, elected 2023), and Fellow of the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering (FIAMBE, elected 2024). In 2023 she has been elected European Orthopaedic Research Society (EORS) Ambassador for Greece. In 2024 she has been elected member of the Steering Committee of the International College of Fellows of Biomaterials Science and Engineering (ICF-BSE) for the term 2024-2028. She is an associate editor in Tissue Engineering, in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, editorial board member in Regenerative Biomaterials and guest editor of special issues in Polymers, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Journal of Materials Science Materials in Medicine etc. Her current research activities focus on the development of functional biomaterials scaffolds and validation of their biocompatibility, and include:
– Tissue Engineering (bone, cartilage, dental, cardiovascular, skin)
– In vitro and in vivo biocompatibility evaluation of biomaterials, scaffolds and nanoparticles
– Development of osteoinductive and osteoconductive biomaterials and scaffolds
– Investigation of the osteogenic potential of implantable biomaterials and drugs
– Functionalization of biomaterials with growth factors
– Biomechanics
– 3D printing and bioprinting technologies
– Development of protein immobilization techniques on biomaterials surfaces