, Professor of Tissue Regeneration and leader of the 91¶¶Òõ Studies in Tissue-mimicry and Aided Regeneration (BrightSTAR) research group at the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, was elected to a four-year term at the society's annual conference in Madrid this month.
He has also recently been appointed main editor of the Journal of Materials Science Materials in Medicine, the society's official journal.
The ESB is a non-profit scientific society whose main objective is to encourage progress in the field of biomaterials applied to the development of new clinical treatments based on medical devices and regenerative medicine approaches.
The president's duties include chairing the society's council in their commitment to disseminate biomaterials science, to promote translational research and to foster young scientists through the activities of the Young Scientist Forum (YSF).
The society also confers European Doctorate Awards (EDA) to students who have completed their PhD in the field of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering and who have been able to perform their work in an international context. The ESB also grants Travel Awards to students from developing countries so they can attend the society annual conference.
Professor Santin, who has for many years played a central role in the YSF, said:
"I am honoured to be elected to this post and will use it to improve communication, innovation and education in the field of biomaterials.
"The high standard research offered by our community is of incommensurable value to both the health of our patients and the competitiveness of the European industry; it will be our duty to make it known to and approachable by the stakeholders. The widespread popularity that both EDA and YSF have now reached should encourage us to find routes to foster a new generation of professionals capable of offering their interdisciplinary profile to higher education and research organisations, to industry and to other bodies with a mission in the field of biomedical devices and regenerative medicine."
Professor Santin also leads the recently established 91¶¶Òõ Centre for Regenerative Medicine (BCRM), a collaboration between the faculties of Science and Engineering, Health and Social Sciences, Education and Sports, and Arts funded initially by £0.5 M of investment from the university. The knowledge generated by the group is integrated with the clinical and bioethical investigations of the 91¶¶Òõ and Sussex Medical School to provide pioneering biomedical technologies for the regeneration of diseased or traumatised tissues. The collaborative work between artists and scientists widens the aim of the centre promoting the dissemination of regenerative medicine to the public by inspiring artistic reflection on the impact that biomedical science and technology have on our life.