Bench to Bedside: Advancing Skin and Cartilage Tissue Engineering for Pediatric Patients
Speaker: Dr. Agnes Klar, Group Leader and Deputy Head at the Tissue Biology Research Unit (TBRU) at the University Children’s Hospital Zurich, Switzerland
Talk: Bench to Bedside: Advancing Skin and Cartilage Tissue Engineering for Pediatric Patients
Time: 10.10.2025, 9:00 am
Venue: Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, Abrahama 58, hall 042B
Agnes Klar is a leading researcher in regenerative medicine, specializing in skin and cartilage tissue engineering, wound healing, and tissue pathologies. She earned her MSc in Biological Sciences from the University of Konstanz (2009), her PhD from the University of Zurich (2014), and completed her habilitation at UZH in 2019.
Her group develops tissue-like constructs that closely mimic native human physiology, with expertise in cell-matrix interactions, extracellular matrix deposition, and tissue maturation—particularly relevant for chondrogenic stem cell differentiation, 3D bioprinting, and engineered cartilage grafts.
Dr. Klar has contributed to the development of a patented autologous skin substitute currently in Phase III clinical trials for burn injuries. She leads three Innosuisse-funded innovation projects on vascularized skin grafts and adipose tissue models, and is developing a culture device for large cell-based transplants. Her SNSF-funded research explores stromal-immune interactions in chronic wounds and stem cell biology in skin regeneration. She will soon launch PHA-Cure, a Swiss-Polish bilateral project to develop PHA-based wound dressings for diabetic foot ulcers.
She has published 47 peer-reviewed articles (H-index: 22; ~1155 citations), holds two international patents, and actively contributes to international consortia including MSCA, COST, and FP7 initiatives. As an educator, she supervises students across academic levels and teaches in both the Faculty of Science and the Medical Faculty at UZH, while also mentoring PhD candidates in the Life Science Zurich Graduate School.