Johana Bolívar, a Biotechnology PhD student at Monterrey campus, is exceptional.

Not only because of her tissue bioprinting project that helps with muscular regeneration and seeks to change people’s lives, but also because she has won one of the most hotly contested awards in the world.

She has won an award from the International Society for Biofabrication (ISBF) that is given every year to just three PhD students from around the world. These students are recognized by the ISBF for their outstanding achievements in an innovative project.

“It’s an honor to receive this award as a representative of Latin America. It’s the result of a great effort by my colleagues, my advisors, and from me,” said the 31-year-old Tec de Monterrey student.

We recommend: The Bose–Einstein condensate and the Mexican who achieved the coldest temperatures in the universe

Muscular regeneration project

Johana’s project, called “Chaotic Bioprinting of Pre-vascularized Tissues,” consists of producing filaments with empty internal channels that resemble blood vessels.

The empty channels promote faster cell development, facilitating the circulation of oxygen and nutrients, which is similar to the function of blood vessels in the human body.

Bolívar explained to CONECTA that the materials making up the filament are loaded with cells such as muscle cells, which develop into muscle tissue.

“We’re all prone to suffering from musculoskeletal conditions. For example, you can get hurt playing soccer or in a car accident. Our aim is to generate these filaments so that in the future they can be implanted and help regenerate muscle tissue,” she said.

In the future, she predicts that they can be implanted and help form new muscle tissue.

Dedicated to human wellbeing

Johana, who hails from Cali, Colombia, holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Food Engineering from Universidad del Valle in her country.

Her interest in generating human wellbeing and working on something related to human health led her to study for a doctorate at the Tec.

“I used to focus on fermented products to improve nutrition and now I can work on something more biomedical, developing tissues through bioprinting techniques, which is also focused on improving people’s quality of life,” she added.

Currently, the young researcher is developing her project at the Alvarez-Trujillo Lab, located at the FEMSA Biotechnology Center on the Tec’s Monterrey campus.

There, she’s advised by Dr. Grissel Trujillo from the Tec’s School of Engineering and Sciences, who runs the laboratory together with her husband Dr. Mario Álvarez and a team focused on researching the use of biomaterials and chaotic 3D bioprinting technologies.

Finding a family at the lab

Johana also shares the laboratory with her husband Carlos Ceballos, who has not only been her lab partner but has collaborated with her on her projects, including the one that she received the award for.

“My husband and I have been fortunate to work together since we were in Colombia. He’s a very good co-worker, friend, and husband. We’ve been on the team for three years and it’s been wonderful to work with my teammates.  I think of them as my brothers and sisters. It’s a multidisciplinary team, with colleagues who’ve studied different degrees, all contributing to the research from different areas,” said Johana.

Dr. Grissel highlighted that this recognition isn’t only an important achievement in Johana’s career, but also for the laboratory team and for Tec de Monterrey, as well as for the research carried out in Mexico and Latin America.

“Johana is an exemplary Ph.D. student. This is a reward for her discipline and her hours of work. This will greatly strengthen her profile because this award is given by people who are world authorities in the areas of biofabrication and bioprinting. It’s highly satisfying for our research group that the quality of the work we do in the laboratory has been recognized. And for the Tec, as a Latin American institution, it’s an indicator that the research efforts are paying off,” said Trujillo.

Do you like our content? Subscribe for free to our personalized newsletter