Dr. D.V. Portan has obtained a MSc diploma in Biocompatible systems and two PhDs, one from the Politehnica University of Romania and one from the University of Patras, respectively, in interdisciplinary sciences related to biomaterials (manufacturing, mechanical characterization, biocompatibility assessment and modeling of interphases developed between material and human cells). She is currently a Researcher in the Dept. of Mechanical Eng. & Aeronautics, Laboratory of Applied Mechanics and Vibrations, University of Patras, Greece, and an external collaborator of the Advanced Centre of Medical and Pharamaceutical Studies of UMFST Tg. Mures, Romania. She is also a collaborator of the Robotech R&D company, Romania. The highlight associated to her research is the flexibility to work with both materials (manufacturing, processing, characterization) and with human cell cultures by adapting the existing standards for biocompatibility testing. Her research topics are around biomimetic materials for implant -manufacturing/ processing: mechanical characterization and biocompatibility, primary human cell cultures, composite biomaterials, scaffolds for synthetic bone and synthetic skin, biodegradation of biomaterials, interface between tissues and biomaterial. She published more than 35 articles and sustained more than 40 presentations around these topics. She is involved in National Romanian research project, National Hellenic research project and European research projects. As a consortium leader in Greece and a Work Package leader (WP7 New materials and Biocompatibility, HORIZON-KDT-JU-2022-2-RIA, Proposal number: 101112347), Dr. Portan exercises her administrative and leading roles. She plays a key role in correlating companies and scientific groups, working with scientists, physicians, stakeholders etc. Also, she is intensively developing laboratory models to replace animal models, following European Commission requirements. Finally, she focuses on personalized medicine and databases of patients with application in implantology and she is involved in activities for the development of gender equality strategies in research and elaboration of ethics and deontology plans in Greece and Romania.

BIOMATERIALS: Manufacturing, processing, mechanical & overall characterization. Soft biomaterials for replacement of tissues such as skin or endothelium, resistant biomaterials for hard tissue regeneration (e.g., bone). Focus is also on metals that can be used in implantable electronics and on 3D printed structures that enable biontegration. BIOINTEGRATION: Enabling biomechanics and bioelectrochemistry to achieve biointegration. Design of biomimetic materials with multifunctional properties, graded multilayered structure and electrical conductivity, that mimic the natural tissue and enable faster integration rate of the biomedical implant in the host body. Particular attention is given to the study of the processes at the interphase between biomaterials and tissue. PRIMARY CELLS: Expertise on primary cell cultures, mainly stem cells and bone marrow cells. BIOCOMPATIBILITY TESTING: According to FDA’s rules and Regulation (EU) 2017/745 of the European Parliament to provide sufficient subject’s safety for prolonged implantation (< 30 days) and & ISO 10993 and EC’s guidelines. RELEVANT TESTING: The reduction of the use of animal models demands the buildup of complex laboratory setups for the assessment of novel biomedical implants and devices. The research is highly interdisciplinary.

Personal Website: https://dianaportan.com/ ORCID: 0000-0002-5856-34340000-0002-5856-3434 Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=EAa26coAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-portan-521bb6204/ ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dv-Portan