Tina Vermonden appointed Professor of Biomaterials for Drug Delivery and Regenerative Medicine

Tina Vermonden

As of September 15, Tina Vermonden has been appointed as Professor of Biomaterials for Drug Delivery and Regenerative Medicine at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Faculty of Science. Biomaterials science is a multidisciplinary field of research, which encompasses elements of medicine, biology, chemistry, and materials science. The focus is mainly on the development of polymeric materials that are suitable as either protein or drug delivery matrices or as scaffolds for regenerative medicine.

Advanced therapies

Within drug development, advanced therapies, including cell-based therapies and regenerative medicine, are becoming increasingly prominent. The development of suitable biomaterials, which support the cells and encourage differentiation, is an essential part of this. The chair Biomaterials for Drug Delivery and Regenerative Medicine is therefore an important addition within Regenerative Medicine Utrecht (RMU) and Science for Life.

Unique combination of expertise

With her knowledge in the field of polymer chemistry, drug delivery, pharmaceutical technology and regenerative medicine, Vermonden has a unique combination of expertise. "In my position as a professor I want to build a bridge between drug delivery and regenerative medicine," says Tina Vermonden. "Biomaterials are essential in both drug delivery and regenerative medicine and linking these fields together will benefit scientific progress towards biomedical applications.”

Privilege

In addition to her research, Vermonden is a valued lecturer and coordinator of the honours programme of the master's in pharmacy, which she set up herself. She also wants to deploy this honours programme to better align the bachelor and master education and thus contribute to the new curriculum of the programme.

"I consider it a privilege to be able to take care of the honours programme. The honours students form a group of highly motivated students who show ambition and know very well in what direction they want to develop themselves", says Vermonden. "I'm not a pharmacist myself, so I'm also learning a lot from these future pharmacists. That makes it interesting for me too."