Brussels, Brussels Region, Belgium
As far as my memory goes, I have always been passionate about understanding natural sciences and connecting the dots. As a young child, I remember asking adults questions and getting another question as a reply: ‘Where did you hear that from?’. ‘Well, I didn’t hear this from anyone, I have this question, can you please explain?’. Also, some of my earlier school memories, include having my teachers telling my parents ‘Ines is one the best students in class but she’s also one of the most talkative, which can be disruptive’. A few years passed-by but nowadays I still like to gather an in-depth understanding of the technologies I am working with, to be able to optimise them and possibly apply them in other fields (the fact science doesn’t always work in our research field doesn’t mean that this knowledge wouldn’t be useful for other applications). Also, I am still quite talkative, I love to get to know people from different cultures and backgrounds, it widens my horizons and, being an extrovert, it also energizes me. My background is in Biomedical Engineering with a master’s in Biomaterials and Medical Instrumentation (University of Coimbra, Portugal). In my Doctoral Degree (University of Birmingham, UK), I have focused on developing novel biocompatible photosensitive polymers that could replace toxic cyanoacrylate glues in the treatment of corneal perforations. I have successfully modified proteins to yield fast in-situ polymerization using low light intensities and carried out a thorough physical and mechanical material characterization. My main goal is to develop new technologies that could improve other people's lives. Currently, I am working as a Product Design Scientist in a fast-paced industry in the chemical engineering sector. I collaborate with several other functions, such as Process Design, Engineering, and Product Supply, to improve our formulas and qualify new technologies. I will possibly be hiking in my free time. I am also very fond of animals of any kind. Nothing can be better than millions of years of evolution to develop the most incredible skills that should inspire the creation of new solutions.
Thesis Title: “Development of photosensitive biopolymers for ocular tissue engineering” Summary: My thesis focused on developing non-toxic and optically clear bioadhesives that could reduce the use of sutures and toxic tissue adhesives, such as cyanoacrylate glues. Silk fibroin and gelatin were chemically modified to enable in situ hydrogel photocrosslinking. Different formulations, photoinitiators, light conditions and curing times were studied to engineer a material that simultaneously shows transparency, cohesive strength, strong adhesion to corneal collagen and fast in situ curing. The adhesive’s ability to adhere to corneal wounds, restore corneal curvature and resist high intraocular pressures was measured ex vivo using porcine eyes and compared with commercially available cyanoacrylate glue (Histoacryl).
Preparation and characterization of 45S5 Bioglass-based scaffolds reinforced with genipin cross-linked gelatin and loaded with PHBV-vancomycin microspheres for bone tissue engineering applications
ASAPH Airbus Project Level 2 Support Technical Agent on Quality & Configuration Management SAP domain: - Resolution of incidents - Support directly given to Airbus clients - Knowledge of several SAP modules (QM, MM and PP)
Characterization of alcohol and water based 4 mol % Yttria-stabilised Zirconia. Study of the influence of the solvent and solid percentage in the final suspension.