SYIS-EU Council Members

Sebastien Callens studied Aerospace Structures and Materials at Delft University of Technology. He later obtained a PhD (cum laude) in Biomaterials and Tissue Biomechanics from the same university under Prof. Amir Zadpoor. In his PhD, Sebastien combined computational and experimental techniques to design, fabricate and evaluate complex porous scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. Afterwards, Sebastien joined the team of Prof. Molly Stevens at Imperial College London (and later at the University of Oxford), to work on cell-material interfaces for tissue engineering applications. For his postdoctoral research, he received a Rubicon Fellowship from NWO and a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Fellowship from the EU. He also spent some time as a visiting researcher in the Biological Soft Matter group of Prof. Gijsje Koenderink at TU Delft. In September 2024, he joined the Department of Biomedical Engineering as Assistant Professor.

In his research, Sebastien aims to develop novel microtissue technologies for regenerative medicine and for answering fundamental questions in mechanobiology. A central theme is to understand (and ultimately harness) how mechanics and geometry regulate growth and spatiotemporal organization in soft joint tissues, and how these processes control the properties of such tissues in health and disease. To do this, Sebastien integrates computational design, biomechanics, microfabricated materials, advanced tissue engineering techniques, and quantitative microscopy across multiple length scales.

Roles & Responsibilities

The SYIS-EU Council Chair is to preside over the meetings of the SYIS Council, and represent the SYIS Council during the Continental Chapter meetings and the Governing Board Committee meetings (non-voting seat). Additionally, the Chair participates in the Awards Committee and the Sponsorship Committee. Together with the Council, the Chair co-organizes specific activities in the interest of young investigators throughout the year and during annual chapter conferences.

Alessia is a PhD Candidate at the Warsaw University of Technology, Poland. She is originally from Turin (Italy), where she earned a BSc degree in Biomedical Engineering, followed by an MSc in the same field, both from Politecnico di Torino. In 2017, she moved to the United States (USA, Boston) to undertake her master's thesis at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. In 2018, she relocated to Poland to start her international PhD Studies in the Biomaterials Group under the mentorship of Professor Wojciech Swieszkowski. Here, she has been expanding her skills in designing, characterizing, and functionalizing biocompatible hydrogels. Her research interests revolve around microfluidic-assisted 3D-(bio)printing techniques for soft tissue engineering. She mainly works in the biofabrication field to develop hydrogel-based fibrous scaffolds for tissue micro-vascularization using co-axial wet-spinning technologies. Her interests also include plant-based biomaterials and 3D scaffolding techniques. She is particularly passionate about science communication and popularization, fair journalism, and storytelling.

Roles & Responsibilities

The SYIS-EU Communication and Outreach Committee bridges young researchers from the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine communities. The SYIS committee for communication and outreach is focused on (i) assisting in TERMIS conference organization and management of event communication, (ii) creating content (e.g., interviews with a scientists, LGBTQIA+ and other relevant campaigns, European day of languages), (iii) managing social outreach (Twitter and LinkedIn) and building a network for young TERMIS associates to foster new research opportunities, interactions and discussions over TERMIS topics and keywords.

The SYIS-EU Communication and Outreach Committee bridges young researchers from the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine communities. The SYIS committee for communication and outreach is focused on (i) assisting in TERMIS conference organization and management of event communication, (ii) creating content (e.g., interviews with a scientists, LGBTQIA+ and other relevant campaigns, European day of languages), (iii) managing social outreach (Twitter and LinkedIn) and building a network for young TERMIS associates to foster new research opportunities, interactions and discussions over TERMIS topics and keywords.

Julian Gonzalez-Rubio is a postdoctoral researcher at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute (University of Cambridge, UK), working under Prof. Sanjay Sinha and Prof. Madeline Lancaster (MRC-LMB) on the vascularisation of organoids using organ-on-chip platforms.

Julian is originally from Madrid, Spain, where he completed a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology at CEU San Pablo University. He then moved to Germany to pursue an International Master’s in Stem Cell Biology at Ruhr University Bochum. He completed his PhD in the Respiratory Tissue Engineering group of Dr. Lena Thiebes and Dr. Christian Cornelissen (BioTex department, RWTH Aachen University, Germany). His doctoral work focused on the contribution of stromal cells and pericytes to blood vessel formation, the function and pathology of the airway epithelium, and the design and application of organ-on-chip models.

Roles & Responsibilities

The SYIS-EU Strategic Alliance Committee SYIS Committee are responsible for establishing new and retaining existing affiliations with the young investigator sections of sister societies. This includes organizing joint symposia, webinars, and other events. In addition, Strategic Alliance Committee Members support the Chair and other members in their activities as needed.