Gianluca Fontana, a postgraduate researcher at the Network of Excellence for Functional Biomaterials (NFB), NUI Galway, won the “Wiley Functional Materials Poster Award” for his poster presentation at the 24th European Conference on Biomaterials (ESB) held in Dublin from 4-8 September.
Gianluca’s poster, entitled “A Cellular Niche that is Dictated by Matrix Composition Cues – A Potential System for the Cell Therapy for Degenerated Intervertebral Discs”, was presented at ESB 2011, which showcased the latest international developments in the biomaterials field. The conference was attended by delegates from academic, industrial and clinical backgrounds. Gianluca’s poster presented research, undertaken as part of his doctoral programme, on the regeneration of intervertebral discs. Degeneration of intervertebral discs is the primary cause of neck and low back pain. Gianluca’s research aims to find a solution through increasing the number of viable cells in the disc by injecting autologous stem cells derived from the adipose tissue using a biomimetic hydrogel system as a vehicle.
Gianluca, a native of Matera in Italy, is studying for a doctoral degree at the NFB, an SFI-funded Strategic Research Cluster where he is supervised by Professor Abhay Pandit, having completed his BSc and MSc degrees at the University of Trieste in Italy. The NFB is focused on developing the next generation of biomaterials and Gianluca’s research supports this end by creating cell delivery systems that mimic the physiological microenvironment of the intervertebral disc.
Gianluca’s research is part of the European-wide Disc Regeneration project supported by the European Commissions’ 7th Framework Programme. Remarking on the prize, Gianluca said “I am really pleased that my work has received an award. This is an exciting incentive to do even better in future”.
