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Scientific Advisory Board

Katja Schenke-Layland

Prof. Dr. Katja Schenke-Layland

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Prof. Dr. Katja Schenke-Layland is an expert in stem cell and extracellular matrix biology as well as diagnostic tool development. One of her main research interests revolves around the role of the extracellular matrix in the establishment of patient-derived three-dimensional in vitro models for functional testing of compounds or medical devices.

Philippe Menasché

Prof. Dr. Philippe Menasché

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Prof. Dr. Philippe Menasché is a clinical cardiac surgeon at the Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Professor of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the University of Paris Descartes, and co-leader of an INSERM (National Institute of Health and Medical Research) team devoted to cell therapy of cardiovascular diseases. He also has a part-time affiliation with the Department of Biomedical Engineering of the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

The group has a long-standing interest in stem cells for the treatment of heart failure. While the initial research has focused on the transplantation of skeletal myoblasts, it then moved towards the combination of cardiac progenitors derived from human embryonic stem cells (ESC) with a tissue engineering-based construct. The first-in-man trial testing this cell-loaded patch has now been successfully completed. In parallel, mechanistic studies have unraveled the predominant role of paracrine signaling and, consequently, the group is now shifting its research towards a-cellular cell therapy based on the exclusive use of the secretome with the objective of further streamlining the clinical translatability of this myocardial repair strategy.

Thierry Berney

Prof. Dr. Thierry Berney

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Prof. Dr. Thierry Berney obtained his MD at the University of Geneva School of Medicine in Geneva in 1987. He did his postdoctoral work Post-doctoral fellow, at the Diabetes Research Institute and Cell Transplantation Center, University of Miami, Miami, USA, between 1998 and 2001. In 2001, he was back to Geneva to be Director of Pancreas and Islet of Langerhans Transplant Program, Department of Surgery, University of Geneva Hospitals. His current position is full professor at the Department of Surgery.

Alicia El Haj

Professor Alicia El Haj

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Professor Alicia El Haj, FREng, FRSB, FEAMBES, Interdisciplinary Professor of Cell Engineering, joined the Healthcare Technology Institute in the Institute of Translational Medicine at Birmingham University, UK in September 2018. She is a leading figure in Bioengineering and Regenerative Medicine and has been involved in bringing together interdisciplinary groups within biomedicine, maths, physical sciences and engineering interested in aspects of cell and tissue engineering and regenerative medicine to move innovative new cell based therapies to the clinic. Working with the Waters group during a Visiting Fellowship at the Mathematical Institute in Oxford, she has been involved in cross disciplinary experimental and theoretical modelling of tissue engineering protocols in vitro within bioreactor growth environments and in vivo during cell delivery and repair. She has published over 200 publications with funding from EPSRC, MRC, BBSRC, Versus Arthritis, EU Commission and an ERC Advanced Award in 2018. She is also Director of a spin out company MICA Biosystems , Ltd involved in translating innovative in vitro pharma screening tools and stem cell control systems into clinical use.

She is currently Deputy Director of the MRC UKRMP Regen Med Hub and a partner in the Versus Arthritis Centre in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine as well as multiple EU programmes. She has been a Research Director of an EPSRC Doctoral Training Centre in Regenerative Medicine, and a co-director of the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing Centre in Regenerative Medicine. Prof. El Haj is ex-Chair of the European Council for the Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS). She was awarded with a Royal Society Merit Award in 2014 and is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK. In March 2015, she was awarded the MRC Suffrage Award for her role in leading women in STEM. Alicia actively engages in public events having presented ‘Remote Control Healing’ at the Café Scientifique in Royal Society London and at the ‘Next Big Thing’ at the Hay Festival 2017. In 2020, she was awarded the IOM3 Chapman medal for her major contribution towards translation of biomedical materials into healthcare.

Maurilio Sampaolesi

Prof. Dr. Maurilio Sampaolesi

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Prof. Dr. Maurilio Sampaolesi is an expert in stem cell technologies. He is Full Professor, Head of Stem Cell and Developmental Biology Unit, Head of Translational Cardiomyology Laboratory, Department of Development and Regeneration at the KU Leuven in Belgium. The main goal of the Professor Sampaolesi team is to establish new strategies of repairing damage to the muscle and cardiac tissues through stem cell technologies. The team focuses on the transplantation of mesodermal stem cells to promote muscle repair in animal models for muscular and cardiac dystrophies.

Caroline Klaver

Prof. Dr. Caroline Klaver

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Prof. Dr. Caroline C.W. Klaver is a leading retinal specialist and clinical researcher with over 20 years of experience at the forefront of ophthalmology and genetics. She is currently a professor at Erasmus MC (Rotterdam), Radboudumc (Nijmegen), and IOB Basel. Since January 2003, she has been at the helm of research efforts in hereditary retinal dystrophies and medical retina, focusing on understanding and treating complex and Mendelian eye diseases. She has made significant contributions to understanding the genetic basis of common eye conditions such as age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma. Her groundbreaking work integrates large-scale epidemiological studies with advanced genetic analyses to uncover the underlying causes of these diseases, paving the way for more targeted and effective interventions. In 2024, she was accepted as a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) for her exceptional contributions to medical science. Through her research, Prof. Klaver aims to translate genetic insights into clinical applications, ultimately improving prevention, diagnosis, and treatment options for eye diseases. Her ultimate ambition is to develop strategies which effectively decrease blindness.