3D Matter Made to Order

Cluster Principal Investigator Prof. Dr. Eva Blasco has been selected as one of the winners of the 2024 Advanced Science Young Innovator Award.
The award recognizes outstanding interdisciplinary scientific contributions in materials science, physics, chemistry, medical and life sciences, and engineering through the development of research leaders. Eva Blasco’s work on creating smart functional materials with “life-like” properties using high-resolution 3D/4D printing has earned her this prestigious recognition. Congratulations!

Our Cluster Principal Investigator, Prof. Dr. Joachim Wittbrodt from the University of Heidelberg, has been elected a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) for his outstanding contribution to life science research. The international scientific organization honors researchers worldwide. Prof. Wittbrodt studies the development of fish embryos from the first cells to the differentiating organism. He combines state-of-the-art genetic, molecular and cell biology approaches, and his work has contributed significantly to the development of the CRISPR/Cas gene scissors. Congratulations!

Cluster Principal Investigator Prof. Dr. Kerstin Göpfrich receives the Alfried Krupp Prize 2024, one of the most prestigious scientific awards in Germany. The prize, which is endowed with 1 million euros, gives the winners freedom in research and teaching for a period of five years. Kerstin Göprich is a professor at the Center for Molecular Biology at the University of Heidelberg. She also heads a research group in the field of biophysical engineering at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg. Her research focuses on the construction of artificial cells from customized components. With her groundbreaking work, she aims to create an artificial model cell that will open up new ways of describing and harnessing the processes of life. Congratulations!

Cluster Principal Investigator Prof. Dr. Uli Lemmer was part of a research team at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology that developed a portable multispectral 3D camera using inkjet printing. This palm-sized camera captures both 3D spatial and spectral information in a single snapshot, which traditionally requires multiple devices or time-consuming scanning processes. By integrating AI, the palm-sized camera can accurately distinguish objects and materials based on their spectral characteristics. This innovation opens the door to a wide range of applications, from autonomous driving and consumer electronics such as smartphones to medical devices such as endoscopes.

Printing a new cornea during surgery to restore vision: This groundbreaking step in the fight against corneal diseases will be made possible in the future by a laser-based procedure using customized bio-ink. It was developed by researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) led by Cluster Principal Investigator Ute Schepers with the participation of Principal Investigator Stefan Bräse together with the companies Carl Zeiss Meditec AG and Evonik Healthcare. The project was awarded a prize in this year’s NEULAND innovation competition.

A new cluster publication with first author Niklas Schwegler has been published in Small. Postdoctoral Researchers Maria Villiou, Federico Colombo, Barbara Schamberger and Principal Investigators Christine Selhuber-Unkel, Franziska Thomas and Eva Blasco are also involved. The scientists developed a direct method to fabricate 3D microstructured cell-adhesive and cell-repellent multimaterials using two-photon laser printing. This method offers better molecular control, high customizability, and fast and precise 3D fabrication, suitable for a variety of applications, such as cellular studies in complex environments.