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Paola Petrini in Associate Professor at the Department of Chemistry, Materials and Material Engineering “G. Natta”. She is an active researcher with different formal roles since 1995.
She has a Degree and Master in Chemistry (Università degli Studi di Milano, 1994), Post-master diploma in Science and Engineering of Materials (Università degli Studi di Milano, 1996), PhD in Materials for Engineering and Biomaterials (Università di Brescia/Politecnico di Milano, 1999). She was visiting researcher at the University of Strathclyde, UK (1997 e 1998) and University of Glasgow, UK, (1998).
Research activity regards the design of materials and surfaces, mainly for biomedical applications, as witnessed by scientific publications and conference presentations. The main expertise is in materials from natural origins. She studies how to expand their application, by controlling the chemical structure and microstructure relationship and tailoring their properties to the specific requirements of the applicative field. The main impact of her research is on material-based approaches to the in vitro model of pathologies, regenerative medicine, drug release. Results are deriving from national and international long-lasting collaborations.
The teaching activity comprises courses regarding Biomaterials at Biomedical Engineering course at Politecnico di Milano. She is the tutor of numerous Degree, Master and PhD Thesis and discussant of PhD thesis either national or international.
She has a long history of technology transfer and innovation. The innovative aspects of her research received some awards: A. Innovation in Bioengineering Award – Italian National Congress of Bioengineering (2018); B. Switch2Product – Innovation Challenge -Politecnico di Milano, Deloitte Italia (2018) C. Altran Foundation For Innovation Award, Senior researcher (2012).
Inventor of 5 families of patents regarding surface modifications, development of composited hydrogels, 3D substrates to model infection and host microorganisms, protein-based nanoparticles. Some patents were transferred to companies. A recent patent resulted in a startup foundation (2020) as Spinoff of Politecnico di Milano- She is cofounder of Bac3Gel (www.bac3gel.com).