ESB Awards

The Klaas de Groot award is a prestigious recognition by the European Society for Biomaterials of scientists who have shown a distinct ability to provide excellent mentorship and guidance to young researchers, helping them to establish their own independent career. We look for colleagues who have nurtured young talent, and who have selflessly invested in this talent, creating a next generation biomaterials scientists in Europe. The award will be presented annually during the ESB conference.

Joëlle Amédée Vilamitjana, PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology, is Research Director at Inserm at the University of Bordeaux, France. From 2007 to 2015, she has managed the Inserm laboratory, Tissue Bioengineering (BIOTIS), a multidisciplinary team of researchers, engineers and clinicians focused on bone and vascular substitution. Joelle Amédée Vilamitjana was inducted as an International Fellow in Biomaterials Science and Engineering by the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering (IUSBSE). She has been elected as a Council Member of the European Society for Biomaterials, and was Vice President of the ESB from 2015 to 2019. She is now the President of the French National Society for Biomaterials (BIOMAT).

Joëlle Amédée Vilamitjana has been involved in tissue engineering research since 1986 at the interface between stem cell biology and biomaterials. She started to work on osteoarthritis cartilage and then moved to bone tissue engineering from basic research to preclinical applications. Her specific interests are on human stem cell biology, research started in 1990s and their dialogue with other cell types involved in bone tissue repair. In the last two decades, the research of her group has been increasingly focused on the cell-to-cell communication between human mesenchymal stem cells and human endothelial cells and more recently with human sensory neurons isolated from induced Pluripotent stem cells. From this knowledge obtained on the molecular actors involved in this complex dialogue in two-dimensional (2D) models; her research group has been working on innovative 3D matrices designed for increasing vascularization and innervation for bone tissue regeneration, supported by relevant preclinical models, from small to large animals, for the proof of concept of these strategies.

The George Winter award is established by the European Society for Biomaterials to recognize, encourage and stimulate outstanding research contributions to the field of biomaterials. The nominee must have contributed significantly to the knowledge in the field of biomaterials through basic, experimental and/or clinical research. The award will be presented annually during the ESB conference.

Dr. Marc Bohner holds a MSc and PhD degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne (1990, 1993). His career included positions as postdoctoral fellow at the University of Utah, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Zurich. In 1998, he joined RMS Foundation, a private research and testing lab located in Bettlach, Switzerland. Currently, he serves as a research director and leads the “Bioceramic & Biocompatibility Group”. His interests include the synthesis, production, and use of calcium phosphates for bone repair.
He holds over fifteen distinct patents, is the inventor of 4 commercial products, and has published and presented widely in his field (≈130 articles; h = 50-60). He has given 140 invited lectures in English, French, and German. His teaching positions have included adjunct and affiliated appointments at the University of Sherbrooke (2004 – 2019), the University of Berne (2011 – present), and ETH Zurich (2009 – present).
His services to the scientific community include: Editor of Acta Biomaterialia (2008 à; IF = 10.6); Co-chair of the annual congress of the European Society for Biomaterials (2009); Secretary, vice-president and president of the Swiss Society for Biomaterials (2004 – 2012); Secretary and president of “GRIBOI” (2007 – 2016); Secretary and then treasurer of the European Society for Biomaterials (2013 – 2021); Member of the Research Council of the Swiss National Science Foundation (2016 – present). In 2013, he received a “honorary life membership” from the Swiss Society for Biomaterials. In 2014, he was awarded the “Racquel LeGeros Award” of the “International Society for Ceramics in Medicine” for his contribution to calcium phosphate research. In 2016, he became “honorary president” of GRIBOI. According to the Stanford database (https://dx.doi.org/10.17632/btchxktzyw), Marc Bohner is among the top 50 scientists in Biomedical Engineering.

The Jean Leray award is established by the European Society for Biomaterials to recognize, encourage and stimulate outstanding research contributions to the field of biomaterials by early-career scientists. The nominee must have contributed significantly to the knowledge in the field of biomaterials through basic, experimental and/or clinical research. The award will be presented annually during the ESB conference.

Miguel Castilho is an Assistant Professor of Biomaterials Design and Processing at TU/e, in the Netherlands. His research is dedicated to designing and processing biomaterials for in situ functional restoration of damaged and diseased tissues, particularly mineralized tissues like bone. In 2015, he received a PhD in Biomedical Engineering (cum laude) from the University of Lisbon. From 2015 to 2018 he was a post-doctoral researcher at UMC Utrecht, where became an Assistant Professor in 2018. In 2021, he started a tenured position as an Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering at TU/e and also holds an adjunct appointment at UMC Utrecht. For his achievements in biomaterials design and 3D printing technologies development he has been awarded individual grants, international awards and recognitions. He has also secured and been involved in various large consortium national and international research programs, including Eurostars grants, the EU-funded project BRAV3 and Health-Holland-TKI.

The International Award is a prestigious recognition by the ESB of scientists who have generally spent their career outside Europe, who have been internationally recognised, have a high scientific profile, and have made major contributions to the field of biomaterials. Strong evidence of collaborations with members of our scientific community in Europe throughout their career is expected.

Antonios G. Mikos is the Louis Calder Professor of Bioengineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University. His research focuses on the synthesis, processing, and evaluation of new biomaterials for use as scaffolds for tissue engineering, as carriers for controlled drug delivery, as non-viral vectors for gene therapy, and as platforms for disease modeling. His work has led to the development of novel orthopaedic, dental, cardiovascular, neurologic, and ophthalmologic biomaterials. He is the author of over 700 publications and the inventor of 32 patents. Mikos is a Member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Inventors, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the Academia Europaea, and the Academy of Athens. He has been recognized by various awards including the Jensen Tissue Engineering Award of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society-Global, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society-Americas, the Founders Award of the Society For Biomaterials, the Founders Award of the Controlled Release Society, the Acta Biomaterialia Gold Medal, the Robert A. Pritzker Distinguished Lecturer Award of the Biomedical Engineering Society, and the Marshall R. Urist Award for Excellence in Tissue Regeneration Research of the Orthopaedic Research Society. He is a Founding Editor and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Tissue Engineering.