Radboudumc
SkinTERM Coordinator
Work package 1 and 7 leader
Main Supervisor ESR1 and ESR2
Extracellular Matrix
•
Biomaterials
•
Elastin
Willeke Daamen is associate professor Soft Tissue Regeneration at the Dept. of Biochemistry of the Radboud university medical center (Radboudumc) in Nijmegen. She is principal investigator in regenerative medicine focusing on extracellular matrix-based biomaterials, and has published ~100 scientific papers. She is also involved in BSc and MSc courses in university curricula of Biomedical Sciences and Medicine.
The research of Willeke Daamen concentrates on cell-free biodegradable biomaterials that stimulate the endogenous healing process of soft tissues and organs by their interaction with cells. The main objective is to engineer defined cellular micro-environments with specific characteristics (e.g. biomolecular composition, 3D architecture, biomechanical properties) that attract cells and, after cellular infiltration, stimulate cell differentiation to regenerate the affected tissues/organs. Clinical focus is on regeneration of soft tissues, including skin and skeletal muscle. The research has clearly contributed to the concept that the extracellular matrix directs organ formation.
Willeke Daamen currently leads multiple collaborative research projects on soft tissue regeneration, including this Marie Skłodowska-Curie network, a Dutch Research Council project to develop tissue-generating biomaterials to treat congenital diaphragmatic hernia, and a ZonMw/Health Holland consortium to develop an enabling technology to prevent rupture of foetal membranes after foetoscopic surgery.