Renata Kelly da Palma carried out a three-month research stay in Brazil, at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (USP), in collaboration with the research group led by Prof. Dr Paulo Manuel Pêgo-Fernandes. During this period, she worked on the development of extracellular matrix-derived hydrogels to model and study Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
These hydrogels are biomaterials obtained from extracellular matrix components and are designed to reproduce some characteristics of the natural environment of tissues. They can be used to create more realistic experimental models for studying disease mechanisms and may also have future applications in fields such as 3D bioprinting and regenerative medicine.
The stay also contributed to strengthening international collaboration between TR2Lab/UVic-UCC and Brazilian research groups in the fields of tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and pulmonary research.
Collaborations and funding:
This research stay was funded by the José Castillejo mobility programme and was carried out in collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil.
During the stay, Renata also visited UniEVANGÉLICA University, in Goiás, where she gave lectures to PhD students and professors on the use of extracellular matrix-derived biomaterials and their application in pulmonary disease research.