Ana Iglesias Mejuto and Miguel Pereira Silva, who completed their PhD at iMATUS, have been recognized with the European Doctorate Award – Julia Polak Award 2025, granted by the European Society for Biomaterials.
This award honors young researchers who have completed an outstanding doctoral degree in the field of biomaterials and tissue engineering, recognizing both the quality of their research and their international training.
Ana Iglesias Mejuto’s doctoral thesis, titled “Development of aerogel-based formulations for regenerative medicine”, was co-supervised by Inés Ardao Palacios (Biofarma-USC group) and Carlos Alberto García González (iMATUS). Her research focuses on developing novel aerogel-based formulations for applications in regenerative medicine, contributing to the design of innovative biomaterials with therapeutic potential. Currently, Ana remains affiliated with iMATUS as a postdoctoral researcher.
Meanwhile, Miguel Pereira Silva defended his doctoral thesis entitled “Design and development of gemcitabine-loaded nanoplatforms for advanced pancreatic cancer-targeted therapies”, under the supervision of Carmen Álvarez Lorenzo (director of iMATUS), Ana Cláudia Paiva-Santos, and Francisco Veiga (University of Coimbra). His work addresses the design and development of nanoplatforms for therapies targeting advanced pancreatic cancer, providing promising solutions to improve treatment efficacy and specificity. A few months ago, Miguel joined the MD Anderson Cancer Center (USA) as a research fellow, one of the world’s leading institutions in this field.
Receiving the Julia Polak Award represents international recognition of both awardees’ research and academic excellence and reinforces iMATUS’s role as a leading European center in the field of biomaterials.
The European Society for Biomaterials grants this award annually to researchers who meet criteria of academic and scientific excellence, including international research stays, publications in high-impact journals, and active participation in international conferences, following the quality standards established in honor of Professor Dame Julia Polak.
