METABOLic immuno-engineered biomATErials

Large bone defects display compromised healing associated with pronounced inflammation and constitute a major clinical problem.

Recently, a range of novel biomaterial-based approaches have been engineered to promote bone regeneration. However, once these

constructs are implanted, they encounter the harsh environment of damaged tissue and often fail to induce a regenerative response.

With this MSCA Post-Doctoral Fellowship, I will address the clinical problem of large bone defect repair by harnessing extracellular

vesicles (EVs) derived from metabolically modulated macrophages to promote the immunogenic, angiogenic, and osteogenic

response in the long-term healing cascade. Specifically, my research goal is to generate an immuno-engineered scaffold with these

multitargeted regenerative EVs to maximise bone repair. The proposed multidisciplinary project will be carried out in the Tissue

Engineering Research Group (TERG) at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), which is a leading partner in the Science

Foundation Ireland (SFI) funded Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research Centre (AMBER) under the supervision of Prof.

Annie Curtis. Additionally, as part of my project training plan, I will carry out a secondment in Trinity College Dublin, under the

supervision of Prof. David Hoey, gaining expertise in materials for bone regeneration. At the end of the fellowship, with my non-academic placement at TAmiRNA, a biotech company specialising in diagnostic and therapeutic miRNAs, I will investigate the small

RNA-cargo of the pro-regenerative EVs for the identification of new specific therapeutic targets. METABOLATE is a unique opportunity

to acquire advanced research competencies and complementary skills through interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral training. This will

allow me to mature as an independent scientist and to enrich my professional profile, preparing me for a multitude of career choices.