Short name: INM
Full name: INM-Leibniz Institute for New Materials
Address: Campus D2 2, 66123 Saarbruecken, Germany
Principal investigator/contact: Prof. Dr. Aránzazu del Campo
The INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials in Saarbrücken, Germany, is an internationally leading center for materials research. It has a particular focus on interfaces phenomena related to biological materials and their exploitation in the development of innovative biomaterials and structures. INM is a scientific partner to national and international research institutions and a provider of research and development for companies throughout the world. INM has about 200 employees and is an institute of the Leibniz Association. In the context of this project, INM brings expertise in biomaterial design and characterization, photoresponsive molecular systems. INM has a strategic role in this project, providing novel light-based molecular tools for tuning cell-ECM interactions and incorporating them in different biomaterials with dynamic mechanical and topological properties. This material’s platform represents a unique tool for understanding adhesion and materials-related questions in tissue function.
Team Leader, Dr. Aránzazu del Campo obtained her PhD in 2000 at the Spanish Research Council in Madrid working in polymer chemistry. After postdoctoral stays at the Max-Planck-Institut für Polymerforschung in Mainz (Marie-Curie fellow) and at University Urbino (Italy), she built up her research group in 2005 at the Max-Planck-Institut for Metal Research in Stuttgart. In 2009 she was awarded the Minerva Grant of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft and moved her group to the Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz (Germany). In 2015 she was appointed Scientific Director of INM-Leibniz Institute of New Materials and Head of the Department “Dynamic Biomaterials”. She has received several awards, including the 2007 FEMS Lecturer Award for Excellence in Materials Science and Engineering”, the “2010 BMBF Innovationspreis Medizintechnik” for the application of bioinspired adhesives to the biomedical field, and the nomination of Elisabeth Schiemann Kolleg of the Max-Planck-Society in 2012 as young female leading scientist. Prof. del Campo has pioneered the use of light-controlled activation chemistries for tuning surface and bulk properties in soft matter. In the last years, she has applied these approaches to generate dynamic cellular microenvironments with tunable chemical and physical properties, entering the field of instructive biomaterials for regenerative medicine. A del Campo has published more than 100 SCI-indexed journal papers and has an h-index of 24, 2762 citations (according to Web of Science).
