Ioannis Papantoniou is a Chemical Engineer by training (graduated from the University of Patras, Greece) and is currently a Principal Investigator at the Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences at the Foundation of Research&Technology-Hellas and a visiting Professor at Prometheus, KU Leuven. He obtained his PhD at Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London funded by the National Scholarship Foundation of Greece. Subsequently he joined KU Leuven where he obtained funding to initiate an autonomous research track and is currently ATMP Research coordinator, within Prometheus – the KU Leuven division of skeletal tissue Engineering. He is active in addressing bioprocessing/translational challenges that would allow scalable and robust manufacturing of adult progenitor/stem cells, required for moving ATMPs for skeletal healing into the clinic. His task is to promote interfaces with industrial partners aiming at valorising research solutions generated within the platform along the entire ATMP bioprocess pipeline and has initiated several collaborations at the academia/industry interface. His research aims are to: Design and engineer progressively complex yet autonomous skeletal 3D living implants adopting breakthroughs in organoid technologies (Tissue engineered ATMPs); Develop a panel of metrics to enable quantitative definition of biologic events ensuring activation and maintenance of mechanism of action; Link therapeutic functionality upon implantation to the patient to in vitro quality attributes of skeletal ATMPs; Develop automated devices that can contribute to a cell therapy industry 4.0 equivalent. Integrate in silico derived tools for a self-regulated/adaptive manufacture of next generation living implants.
