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Staff Profile

Dr Priscila Melo

Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering

Background

Creative and forward-thinking biomedical engineer with a solid background in materials science and engineering, additive manufacturing, biofabrication. Resourceful and enthusiastic researcher, experienced in bone regenerative medicine, from material development to scaffold fabrication, and in the performance of biological assays using stem cells. Outstanding team player and leader, capable of building prolific relationships in both academic and industrial environment, resulting in 3 long lasting partnerships and 4 peer-reviewed scientific. Pro-active and able to integrate, and thrive, in a multicultural environment with unique combination of practical mindset, driven personality, and analytical skills. Proven ability to meet tight deadlines by working in a fast-paced environment shown by the involvement in 4 different studies in 2.5 years of PhD, and recently involvement as post-doc in H2020 and ERC project activities. I am currently a lecturer and my researcher as expanded towards developing bioinks for 3D printing of disease models and cardiac devices.

Research

I am Dr. Priscila Melo, a Biomedical Engineer, specialised in biofabrication and development of  biomaterials for regenerative medicine. 

My research in the field of Bioengineering started in my master’s course with the processing of PLLA  films, with different crystallization degrees. In this work, the materials were polarized with corona  discharge to study how it affected the guidance of osteoblasts during the bone healing process. The  passion for regenerative medicine led me to a PhD at Newcastle University, within the School of  Mechanical Engineering, which culminated with a thesis entitled “Additive Manufacturing (AM) of  bioceramic and biocomposite devices for bone repair”. The project focused on the development of  polymer-ceramic composites and glass-ceramics, used for the production of devices able to support  bone growth, and induce differentiation of bone marrow-derived human stem cells (hMSCs), without  external stimulus. I designed and optimised the composite materials, which were converted into filaments for AM, specifically for fused filament fabrication, which showed great commercial potential. These filaments were processed into scaffolds that, after being tested biologically, proved to be both osteoconductive and osteoinductive. I also had the opportunity to work within the glass industry, where I established and optimised glass formulations which were processed into bone scaffolds via AM, specifically with binder jetting. By the end of my PhD, I had become a versatile and multi skilled professional having gained experience in all steps of making a medical device using  AM, and had become independent in biological testing, despite it not being part of my academic  foundation. 

I then took a post as a post-doctoral researcher, at Politecnico Di Torino (Italy), where I was involved  in two European projects: 

BOOST - “Biomimetic trick to re-balance Osteoblast-Osteoclast loop in osteoporosis  treatment: a topological and materials driven approach”, funded by the European Research  Council. 

GIOTTO - “Active ageing and osteoporosis: The next challenge for smart nanobiomaterials  and 3D technologies”, funded by the European Union’s H2020 research and innovation  program. 

Working in this context not only introduced me to a new range of technical skills but also  administrative ones. During this period my research focused on the use of natural polymers (collagen,  gelatine, alginate), processed via biofabrication techniques: electrospinning and bioprinting. In the  BOOST project, I was responsible to create a new line of research aiming to improve the processing  of collagen-based hybrid formulations for extrusion printing in suspension media. In this scope I  developed: 

a new strategy for in-situ crosslinking of the existing materials. 

a new support bath made of either alginic acid or an alginate-based suspension, both compatible with the in-situ crosslinking strategy.  


My current research has evolved into other areas such as disease modelling (inflammatory such as arthritis, IBS), devides for cardiac regeneration and antimicrobial patches for different tissue applications (wound healing and fracture healing).


 

Teaching

I started my teaching activities during my PhD where I assisted with monitoring and evaluation of  foundation year projects on a range of subjects within the School of Engineering. I was also involved  in the supervision of both an undergraduate and a postgraduate student project, which were within  the scope of my PhD. In Italy, I used my new line of research in the BOOST project as the theme for  a Master thesis to which I contributed as co-supervisor, overseeing, and guiding the activity of the  postgraduate student. I am a fast learner and soon mastered the Italian language, an attribute I used to  teach two modules, for which I prepared the educational materials, delivered the lessons  independently, and assisted with the preparation and execution of the exams. This was an important  learning step as in the future I expect to contribute to the creation of new courses and teaching  modules within my field. 

I currently teach at different levels (UG&PG) in the areas of biofabrication and additive manufacturing.  

Publications