USM will host the III National Congress of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

The biannual event will take place on October 24 and 25, 2023.

USM Communications.- The Casa Central Valparaíso Campus of the Federico Santa María Technical University will host the third version of the National Congress of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (ITMR 2023). Its organization, this year, will be in charge of the Valparaíso Scientific and Technological Center, in collaboration with the Daniel Alkalay Lowitt Biotechnology Center (CBDAL), in conjunction with the University of Valparaíso. Tissue engineering, biomaterials, regenerative medicine, nanobiotechnology, biomedicine, medical physics and biotechnology will be part of the topics that this meeting will address.

“In November 2017, this congress was held for the first time. Subsequently, due to the national contingency and the pandemic, it could be held in December 2021, being organized by the University of Chile on both occasions. On this occasion, we are very happy to host this great scientific event. There are many investigations and advances that have been developed in recent times around tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, and for this reason we consider it necessary to create spaces for meeting, dialogue and feedback to share the knowledge generated, the technologies developed and encourage collaboration”, said Dr. Cristian Acevedo, president of the organizing committee of ITMR 2023, researcher at CCTVal and CBDAL, and academic at the Department of Physics at USM.

This is the first time that this congress will be held in Valparaíso, a milestone for scientific and academic institutions that develop research and technology on these issues. This was stated by Dr. Caroline Weinstein, president of the scientific committee of ITMR 2023, director of the Master’s Degree in Bioactivity of Natural and Synthetic Products and of the Molecular Diagnostic and Therapeutic Innovation Laboratory, of the School of Chemistry and Pharmacy, of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Valparaíso, “this city has been the cradle of tissue engineering in Chile, under the leadership of Dr. Manuel Young, who catalyzed the collaboration between the USM and the UV 20 years ago and, somehow, this event symbolizes those beginnings”.

On the other hand, the researcher added that “tissue engineering is recognized by the European Medicines Agency as an advanced therapy. Thus, there are devices approved by the main regulatory agencies of high surveillance, therefore, it is vital to meet to discuss global advances on scientific-technological developments that will shape the therapies of the future and that will contribute to improving the quality of life of people, especially of the elderly who will require these therapies to repair, regenerate and replace tissues and organs”.

Fairs

In addition to scientific talks and applied research, ITMR 2023 will offer attendees a Health Technologies and Services Fair, which will take place in the Patio del Cañón, of the Federico Santa María Technical University, during the days of the congress. During this instance, supplier companies will present their equipment, inputs and capacities, becoming a strategic and conducive point for innovation and scientific and technological development. To date among the institutions registered are the Basal Impact Center, GenexPress, Thermo Fisher and Andes Import.

It is important to note that people who wish to participate, through the poster exhibition, may send their abstracts until August 25 to the email: [email protected]. The best papers will be selected by the Scientific Committee of the Congress, and will be published in a special issue of the Medical Sciences journal Ars Médica, published by the School of Medicine of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

The event, which will feature important exponents in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, will begin with a keynote talk by Dr. Jonny Blaker, leader of the biomedical materials research area of ​​the Henry Royce Institute (UK), of the Manchester University. Among the confirmed exhibitions, the round table “Women leaders in tissue engineering” also stands out, sponsored by the InES Genero project of the University of Valparaíso, which will include among its panelists Dr. Francisca Acevedo, director of the Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Bioproducts and Cosmetics from the University of La Frontera; Dr. Tania Bahamóndez, director of the Chilean Pharmacopoeial Research Center and the Antimicrobial Pharmacotechnics Laboratory, of the University of Valparaíso; Dr. Verónica Palma, from the Laboratory of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology (CTYBD), of the University of Chile; and Dr. Caroline Weinstein who will moderate the panel.

Likewise, ITMR 2023 will have a discussion on “Innovation in technological devices for tissue engineering”, led by Dr. Yusser Olguín, CCTVal researcher and professor of the USM Department of Chemistry and Environment, Dr. Tomás Corrales, CBDAL researcher, Eduardo Sáez, MD. Otolaryngologist and Rodrigo Céspedes, MD. Otorhinolaryngologist, a space that will be moderated by Dr. Acevedo.

Added to this, the presentations will be presented “Polymeric matrices based on marine collagen in tissue engineering”, by Dr. Nayeli Rodríguez, from the Yucatán Scientific Research Center (Mexico); “Biophysics with a focus on synovial joint modeling”, by Dr. Roberto Andresen, from the University of California Merced (USA); “Present and future perspectives on the use of tissues with therapeutic properties”, by Dr. Sebastián San Martín, from the Center for Biomedical Research, School of Medicine, of the University of Valparaíso; “Hemichannels as pharmacological targets for wound repair”, which will be dictated by Dr. Agustín Martínez, director of the Institute of Neuroscience, of the Faculty of Sciences, of the Interdisciplinary Center of Neuroscience of Valparaíso, of the University of Valparaíso; and “Smart dental biomaterials: From antibacterial therapies to tissue regeneration”, which will be presented by Dr. Santiago Orrego, from the Department of Oral Health Sciences, Temple University (USA).

For more information about ITMR 2023: · https://itmr2023.cl/