LBR Alumni
LBR is most grateful for all of the alumni that contributed to making this lab what it is.
Alejandro Frías Moreno
Bachelor student
Plattiau Pieter
Intern Guest researcher
Biotech-engineer working on Master's Thesis investigating Lung Tissue Regeneration through Matrix-Cell Interactions
I am an engineering student doing my final semester at LTH in Lund. During my education, I have found that my biggest interests lie in the field of tissue engineering, regeneration and biomaterials and I am very excited to be working with these areas in my thesis project in the LBR lab.
My project aims to investigate what type of ECMs, stemming from either human sources or xenogeneic sources with desired properties, can be used for generating bioinks with the focus on clinical translation, scalability and reproducibility. I will also investigate if these hydrogels supports growth, proliferation and possibly differentiation of different cell types.
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Matser of Biomedicine. Research on Human Precision cut lung slice.
I was born and raised in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy at Shenyang Pharmaceutical University in China. Currently I am doing my master studies in biomedicine at Lund University in Sweden. For thesis project, I am working on an ex vivo model of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
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Finding solutions for bioengineering lung tissue
About me
Hello! I am a PhD student trying to find solutions for next generation bioengineering of lung tissue for transplantation. During my free time I like to be in the nature and love most outdoor activities including skiing, hiking and hunting for mushrooms.
Popular Summary
For many patients with end-stage lung diseases, lung transplantation is the only option to save their lives. However, there are not enough lungs to meet the clinical demand. Because of this, many scientists are looking into making new lungs in the lab, also known as lung bioengineering.
During the PhD I have investigated key aspects of lung bioengineering and bioengineering as a whole with a focus on 3D bioprinting, that is to print materials (known as bioinks) together with cells. Investigating the bioinks, cell types and bioprinting methods that allow for viable tissue is important and I have developed of a bioink which can be bioprinted together with lung cells to make small airways.
The lung is made out of cells and proteins (known as ECM) that support the cells and tells them how to behave. To develop a bioink that is biologically close to lungs, lung ECM is combined with a material that can easily be made into different shapes: alginate. The combination of alginate and ECM results in a bioink which we call reinforced extracellular matrix (rECM) bioink. rECM bioinks can be 3D bioprinted together with patient cells into small airways that remain patent over time.
After the bioprinting, the patient cells stay alive and behave consistently to native small airways. When transplanted into mice the material integrates in the surrounding tissue with blood vessel and capillary formation.
This work is a critical stepping stone for future studies looking into generating tissue via 3D bioprinting and which could result ideally one day into a source of lung tissue for transplantation purposes.
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Research in Idiopathic Pulmonary fibrosis
Hi! My name is Laura and I am from Spain. I am currently doing a B.Sc. in Biomedicine at the UFV in Madrid, but I am here at Lund University to prepare my final bachelor project and expand my knowledge! Here I am part of a research project in the Hippo signaling of Idiopathic Pulmonary fibrosis.
Exploring the art of physiologically recellularizing decellularized murine lungs
About me
I grew up in a small village south of Vienna but came to Lund to study a Bachelor in Biomedicine at Lund University. At a mandatory presentation session during my studies I stumbled upon Dr. Darcy Wagner’s research and her (at that time) newly started Lung Bioengineering and Regeneration Lab and was fascinated. After a good talk about how there is a general lack of mountains for skiing in Skåne (the flattest part of Sweden) with Dr. Wagner, I ended up doing a summer research project in her lab. After that, I did my Bachelor’s thesis project in the LBR and am currently back a third time to work on the recellularization of decellularized murine lungs for a 60-credit Master’s project.
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Alejandro Frías Moreno
- Role: Bachelor student
- Nationality: Spain
My name is Alejandro Frías Moreno and I am a biotechnology and pharmacy student in the Francisco de Vitoria University, in Madrid. I am currently doing my thesis final project based on the comparison of ECM hydrogels with plastic surfaces or single ECM protein coatings to improve cell growth and differentiation on cell culture. During my internship I expect to improve my critical thinking and my laboratory skills.
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Plattiau Pieter
- Role: Intern Guest researcher
- Nationality: Belgian
Being a scientist is like looking for the breaker switch during a power outage, you know you'll get there, but you just don't know when.
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Research on the role of Yap/Taz proteins in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
My name is Inés Mínguez Santos and I am a biomedicine student at Francisco de Vitoria University, in Madrid. I came to Lund to do my final thesis project, and become a better scientist. My research here consists in the identification of Yap/Taz binding partners in the context of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
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Biomedicine Undergraduate doing a reverse Optical Clearing project.
Assisted by Dr. Darcy Wagner´s team and Dr. John Stegmayr on developing an efficient technique to reverse solvent-based optical clearing of whole organs, allowing to support the data obtained with light sheet fluorescence microscopy using histology-based staining methods like H&E, Masson’s trichrome, or immunofluorescence.
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Biomedical Engineer dedicated to finding solutions in the area of Tissue Enginnering
Hello! My name is Thomas Syski, born in Warsaw, Poland but mostly raised in Sweden. I have a background from LTH in Lund in Biomedical Engineering. Did my B.Sc. project at The Faculty of Biology at Lund University working on the project “Utilization of Electrospinning and Electrospray for the creation of Bioresorbable 3D Scaffolds.” Currently working here at LBR with my M.Sc. project: “3D bioprinting of multiple cell types into structures resembling human airways”.
Exploring the potential role of lymphatic vessels in lung de- and recellularization processes
About me
Hello! I was born and reaised in Madrid, Spain. I received my degree in pharmacy from the University Complutense of Madrid in 2019. My interest in advanced therapies, led me to study a master’s degree at the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Madrid. In this master course, called “Advanced Therapies and Biotechnological Innovation”, I expanded my knowledge in fields such as nanotechnology, genetic engineering, stem cells or tissue engineering. At this moment, I am preparing my final master ´s thesis in Darcy Wagner’s laboratory with the aim of becoming a great researcher one day.
Master´s Thesis Project
Chronic lung diseases are one of the top 3 causes of death worldwide. For patients who are not helped sufficiently by medications alone and that suffer from pulmonary diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, and pulmonary fibrosis, the only medium to long term solution is lung transplantation. However, donor tissue is very scarce in relation to demand, in addition, long-term survival when lung transplantation is performed is much lower than with other types of organs.
A possible solution to this problem, is tissue engineering. Within this discipline, organ decellularization is an emerging technique for generating a scaffold which can be subsequently reseeded with cells with the goal of generating functional tissue. The goal of decellularization is to eliminate native cells using chemical and physical methods while maintaining the 3D structure of the organ during the process. This three-dimensional scaffold could be reseeded with cells from a transplant candidate, thus minimizing rejection. The decellularization process in lungs has been carried out via blood vessels and through the airways, separately and in combination. Recellularization has been achieved via the same major access routes in the lung.
In the lungs, we find another very important system that plays a crucial role in transplantation: the lymphatic system. Lymphatic vessels are essential for the uptake of fluid, immune cells, macromolecules and lipids from the interstitial space. This molecule drainage plays an essential role in maintaining interstitial fluid balance in the lung allograft. However, this system is completely disrupted during lung transplant surgery and the effect of this disruption in lung transplant is still not known. In addition, this system has not been explored as a new possible pathway for decellularization and recellularization techniques, but since it is a network that extends throughout the organ, it could bring significant advantages over traditional techniques, especially in fibrotic lungs in which due to the over expression of collagen, the detergents used to decellularize penetrate with greater difficulty.
For my master´s thesis, I will explore the potential role of the lymphatic vessels during de- and recellularization of lung tissue.
Biomedicine student investigating how the coactivators Yap/Taz participate in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
I am Irene a biomedicine student at Francisco Vitoria University and I am currently doing an internship at LBR Lab to fulfill my final bachelor project and gain experience working in a research group. I am focusing on how YAP/TAZ coactivators are involved in the physiopathology of the Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibro