Nationality: Portuguese

Biography

I am Carolina Costa, 24 years old. I completed my Integrated Master of Microelectronics and Nanotechnology Engineering in December 2018 at University New of Lisbon. As part of an internship at University of Applied Sciences in Merseburg, Germany, in 2017, I worked with lasers to provide scaffolds of polyamide nonwovens nanofibers. I was very intrigued by the topic which made me decide to come back to conduct my masters project there as well. I investigated laser-based processes to optimize eletrospun nanofiber nonwovens for tissue engineering. In last 3 months of 2018 I was part of Advanced Fibres group at EMPA St. Gallen, Switzerland as a IAESTE trainee.

After finishing my studies, I worked in a Consulting Company in Portugal and as a Research Assistant at University of Merseburg. The aim of the research was to increase the porosity of PLA nanofibers tubes by using pico-second laser and describe its characterization.

On this short journey, I understood that I want to research and gain knowledge in Biomaterials field and that pursuing a PhD was a requirement. The commitment of the Bioimplant program strongly matches my expectations and has the advantage of providing a broad understanding between academia and industry, which is a wonderful opportunity for me to grow professionally and personally.

My Research

The goal of my research is to use fibre to target enhanced strength and stiffness properties in bioabsorbable polymer fibres for biomedical applications, namely to produce mandibular bone implants. This project is carried out at IMDEA Materials Institute in Madrid, Spain and at ITA, Textile Technologie Transfer GmbH, Germany. At ITA I will produce the biodegradable fibres and a textile scaffold by different techniques and in IMDEA I will perform its characterization (microstructural, mechanical and biodegradability). Based on the outcome a textile-reinforced bone scaffold prototype will be fabricated.

Host Institution

Industry