The research project headed by Professor of Chemistry Arri Priimägi recently received the second grant awarded by the Emil Aaltonen Foundation to support cross-disciplinary research at Tampere University. The grant is worth one-third of a million, or €333,333.
The new research project combines expertise of Academy Research Fellow Teemu Ihalainen‘s group in mechanobiology and cell-material interaction and Academy Research Fellow Soile Nymark‘s group in cellular electrophysiology and electrical signaling both working at Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology of Tampere University and the expertise of ArriPriimägi’s group in light-controlled materials. Postdoctoral Research Fellows Chiara Fedele and Elina Mäntylä, along with two doctoral students who will be hired in early 2020, will be the primary researchers in the project.
The researchers will will be studying cells in different light-responsive materials. As a specific wavelength of light is capable of penetrating the human body, they will try to develop a material that reacts to a particular colour of light, so that light is able to travel deep enough without damaging human tissue.
The team of researchers believes that light-manipulated soft materials have the potential to become an important element of tissue engineering in the future. At this stage, their primary goal is to increase our understanding on the related phenomena and map out the opportunities offered by light-based tools.