Self-Assembled Hybrid Materials in Nanomedicine: From Non-Viral Vectors to Cancer Therapy and Neurostimulation

Sergio E. Moya completed his undergraduate studies in Chemistry at the National University of the South, Argentina, and obtained his PhD in Physical Chemistry at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Germany. He carried out postdoctoral research at the Collège de France and at the University of Cambridge, UK. Since 2007, he has led a research group at CIC biomaGUNE, Spain. He has held adjunct faculty positions at Zhejiang University, China, and is currently Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. Dr. Moya is the author of more than 310 peer-reviewed publications in the fields of soft matter, nanomedicine, and physical chemistry. His research group specialises in polyelectrolytes, hybrid materials and supramolecular chemistry at the interface with biological sciences.

Sylvie Begin-Colin is Professor at the European Engineering School in Chemistry, Materials and Polymers (ECPM) at the University of Strasbourg and was Director of ECPM from 2014 to 2021. Her research at the Institut of Chemistry and Process for Energy Environment and Health focuses on the chemical engineering of hybrid nanomaterials for environment and health and she heads the "NAMATHY " team. One great part of her research aimed at designing of iron oxide nanoparticles with different composition, shapes and sizes as these nano-objects are highly sought after for their applications in the biomedical field and are also considered as the building blocks of the future nanotechnological devices. She has obtained AOARD, ANR, INCA, Labex, MICA, ARC, INTERREG, Alsace contre le Cancer grants and has participated as partner to different European programs (Euronanomed, Marie Curie). She is holder of 218 publications and 13 book chapters, 4 patents, more than 200 oral communications and 90 invited lectures/seminars. Her work has been rewarded by the “Jean-Rist” price of the French Society for Metallurgy and Materials, a Scientific Excellence Award and award of “Chevalier dans l'ordre des palmes académiques”.

Dr. Horacio Cabral is an Associate Professor in the Department of Bioengineering, The University of Tokyo. His research focuses on the development of nanomedicines against intractable diseases. Several of his nanocarriers for anticancer drugs have progressed to human clinical trials, showing enhanced safety and improved patient survival. His work has significantly advanced the understanding of nanomedicine design for targeted delivery and enhanced efficacy. More recently, his research has expanded to developing innovative nanomedicines for proteins and nucleic acids, aiming to create next-generation therapeutics. These advances have led to the co-founding of two startup companies. He has authored over 150 publications in high-impact journals, including Nature Nanotechnology and Nature Biomedical Engineering, and holds more than 30 patents. Dr. Cabral has been recognized with numerous awards, such as the 2023 Dean’s Award for Research from The University of Tokyo. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Controlled Release, STAM, Nanomaterials, Frontiers in Oncology and MedComm, and in the advisory board of Macromolecular Bioscience.

Changyou Gao is a Cheung Kong Scholar of Ministry of Education of China, a winner for the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China, and a fellow of the International Federation of Biomaterial Science and Engineering Societies, the American Institute of Medicinal and Biological Engineering, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Chinese Society of Biomaterials. He is now serving as a deputy president of Chinese Society of Biomaterials, and an associate editor of Biomaterials Advances and Progress in Materials Science. His research interests include self-adaptive biomaterials, immuno-modulation biomaterials, anti-bacterial biomaterials and their applications in tissue repair and regeneration. He has published more than 500 papers with an H-index of 88.

Twan Lammers obtained a D.Sc. in Radiation Oncology from Heidelberg University and a Ph.D. in Pharma-ceutics from Utrecht University. In 2009, he started the Nanomedicine and Theranostics group at RWTH Aachen University, where he was promoted to full professor of medicine in 2014. His group aims to individ-ualize and improve disease treatment by combining drug targeting with imaging. To this end, image-guided (theranostic) drug delivery systems are being developed, as well as materials and methods to monitor tu-mor growth, angiogenesis, inflammation, fibrosis and metastasis. Lammers has received multiple scholar-ships and awards, including ERC starting, consolidator and proof-of-concept grants, the CRS Young Investi-gator Award and the CRS Exceptional Leadership Award. He served as president of CRS in 2023-2024 and currently is secretary of ESMI. He acts as associate editor for JCR, DDTR and MIB. Since 2019, he has been included in the Clarivate Analytics list of Highly Cited Researchers.

UPV/EHUko Biokimikan doktorea (2002), nazioarteko 100 artikulu zientifiko baino gehiago argitaratu ditu, gonbidatutako liburuen 5 kapitulu, 6 berrikuspen, 5 patente ditu eta gonbidatutako 2 liburu argitaratu ditu. 15 ikerketa-proiektu baino gehiagoren liderra, nabarmenduz Europako Ikerketa Kontseiluak (ERC) emandakoak eta FET-Open-eProt Europako Proiektu lehiakor baten koordinazioa; Ikerketako Estatu Agentziaren proiektu nazionalak eta Eusko Jaurlaritzaren eskualde-proiektuak, osasun-proiektuak eta koronabirusaren pandemiak eragindako larrialdi bereziko proiektuetarako proiektuak. Nabarmentzekoa da nazioarteko partehartzea ebaluazio-batzordeetan, argitalpen-batzordeetan (American Chemical Societyk argitaratutako aldizkari baten editorea eta gaur egun Protein Science aldizkariaren editore seniorra) eta beste organo batzuetan, hala nola International Protein Societyko Kontseilu Exekutiboan eta Espainiako Biofisika Elkarteko presidenteordetzan. Doktoratu ondoko 14 ikertzaile, doktoratu aurreko 17, masterreko 21 ikasle, graduko 23 eta emakumeen artean zientzia sustatzeko konpromisoa hartu du, hainbat jardueratan partehartuz, hala nola STEAM Euskadin, Zientzietako Emakumeen Nazioarteko Egunean eta Emakumeak Zientzian ekimenean.

Raffaele Mezzenga received his PhD from EPFL in 2001 and spent 2001/02 as a postdoc at UBSB, Santa Barbara, working on self-assembly of polymer colloids. In 2003 he moved to Nestlé Research Center as research scientist, working on self-assembly of biocolloids and liquid crystals. In 2005 he was hired as Associate Professor in Physics at the University of Fribourg, and joined ETHZ on 2009 as Full Professor. His research focuses on the fundamental understanding of self-assembly processes in polymers, lyotropic liquid crystals, food and biological colloidal systems and the design of nanotechnologies for health and environmental remediation. Prof. Mezzenga is recipient of several national and international distinctions such as the 2004 SNSF Professorship Award, the 2011 AOCS Young Scientist Research Award, the 2011 Dillon Medal and the 2017 Fellowship of the APS, the 2013 Biomacromolecules/Macromolecules Young Investigator Award of the ACS, and the 2018 Spark Award for the most promising invention of the ETH Zurich. He is the 2025 ECIS-Syensqo Award laureate and a top 0.1% Highly Cited ResearchersTM according to the Clarivate 2023 list for the cross-field discipline.

Ravin Narain, PhD, PEng, FRSC, is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alberta, Canada. He has made significant contributions to biomedical research using safe polymer-based biomaterials. His research has also covered nano- and regenerative medicine, with an emphasis on developing materials for cancer therapeutics, anti-fouling and anti-microbial surfaces, and cell/tissue engineering advances. He has published over 250 articles in peer-reviewed journals and has edited several books namely Engineered Carbohydrate-Based Materials for Biomedical Applications (Wiley), Chemistry of Bioconjugates (Wiley), Polymers and Nanomaterials for Gene Therapy (Elsevier), Polymer Science and Nanotechnology (Elsevier), and Natural and Synthetic Hydrogels (Elsevier). He was appointed as the section editor for the 2nd edition Comprehensive Glycoscience (Elsevier). He has received many awards including the Distinguished Visiting Scientist Award from Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) in Australia.