Ir. D. (debby) Gawlitta

Biography

Debby Gawlitta was trained as a biomedical engineer at the Eindhoven University of Technology. Her PhD thesis was focused on generating engineered skeletal muscle tissue to model and monitor the development of pressure ulcers. In 2007, she moved to the department of Orthopaedics, University Medical Center in Utrecht, to work on bone and cartilage tissue regeneration within the Hospital's strategic impulse on regenerative medicine. During her postdoc, she received a prestigious Veni grant (Dutch innovation grant) to pursue (endochondral) bone regeneration from a cartilage template with bone marrow-derived stem cells. Her second research line is directed at co-culturing of different stem/progenitor cells for vascularization of engineered bone tissue. At this department, she was also involved in two European FP7 projects ‘HydroZONES’ (zonal cartilage regeneration) and ‘iDAC’ (antibacterial coatings for orthopedic prosthetic implants). In 2014, she moved to the department of 'Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery & Special Dental Care' to establish her own group focusing on craniomaxillofacial bone regeneration. She currently holds a position as Associate Professor, supervising her group in the RMCU (Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht). Research keywords include clinical translation, biomaterials, stem/progenitor cells, bioreactors, and 3D bioprinting. Further, Debby Gawlitta developed and coordinates the 2-year Master’s program RMT – Regenerative Medicine and Technology. Since 2012, RMT is a collaborative program of the UMCU, Utrecht University and Eindhoven University of Technology. Debby Gawlitta was trained as a biomedical engineer at the Eindhoven University of Technology. Her PhD thesis was focused on generating engineered skeletal muscle tissue to model and monitor the development of pressure ulcers. In 2007, she moved to the department of Orthopaedics, University Medical Center in Utrecht, to work on bone and cartilage tissue regeneration within the Hospital's strategic impulse on regenerative medicine. During her postdoc, she received a prestigious Veni grant (Dutch innovation grant) to pursue (endochondral) bone regeneration from a cartilage template with bone marrow-derived stem cells. Her second research line is directed at co-culturing of different stem/progenitor cells for vascularization of engineered bone tissue. At this department, she was also involved in two European FP7 projects ‘HydroZONES’ (zonal cartilage regeneration) and ‘iDAC’ (antibacterial coatings for orthopedic prosthetic implants). In 2014, she moved to the department of 'Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery & Special Dental Care' to establish her own group focusing on craniomaxillofacial bone regeneration. She currently holds a position as Associate Professor, supervising her group in the RMCU (Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht). Research keywords include clinical translation, biomaterials, stem/progenitor cells, bioreactors, and 3D bioprinting. Further, Debby Gawlitta developed and coordinates the 2-year Master’s program RMT – Regenerative Medicine and Technology. Since 2012, RMT is a collaborative program of the UMCU, Utrecht University and Eindhoven University of Technology.

Research Interest

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Prosthodontics and Special Dental Care