Prof. Përparim Alikaj, Ph.D., is a highly experienced university professor specializing in geophysical methods and a renowned exploration geophysicist both in Albania and internationally. He has served as the Head of the Geophysics Group at the Faculty of Geology and Mining, Polytechnic University of Tirana for many years. Additionally, he has held the position of Chief Scientist at Quantec Geoscience Ltd., an international geophysical company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Valbona Aliko, Full Professor in Animal EcoToxicoPhysiology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, Albania. Leader of NanoToxicology NanoAlb Research Group and Coordinator of NanoAlb PhD Programme-Quartz, Albanian Academy of Science. Research interests focused on studying the mechanisms of adaptive response of animals to environmental stress (heavy metals, pesticides, nanoparticles), by using multi-biomarker approach and designing & bio-functionalizing biosensors with possible application in monitoring environmental pollution and biota health

Prof. Dr. Makis Angelakeris is a professor at the School of Physics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. His main scientific interest stems from the synthesis of magnetic thin films, multilayers and nanoparticles. Under this research scheme, he also works also works on structural, magnetic, electric, magneto-optic characterization of magnetic nanostructures. Within the last 10 years he is also involved in Biomagnetism applicability focusing on Magnetic Particle Hyperthermia and Magneto Mechanical Stress.

Ülkü Anık received her Ph.D. degree in Analytical Chemistry from Ege University in 2003. Currently, she is a Full Professor at the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University (MSKU). She is also the founder and the director of Sensors, Biosensors and Nano-diagnostic Systems Lab in MSKU. Her current research focuses on nanomaterial modified/plain diagnostic platforms, biosensors, nanomaterial based electrochemical/bioelectrochemical systems and biofuel cells.

Fabiana Arduini is a Full Professor at Department of Chemical Science and Technologies, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, founder of start-up SENSE4MED, DG at ISO9001 Certified Laboratory LabCap, University of Rome "Tor Vergata”, Editor of Green Analytical Chemistry Journal, Elsevier, Associated Editor of Microchemical Journal, Elsevier, Specialty Chief Editor Micro- and Nano- Sensors, Frontiers in Sensors. Her research activity deals with the development of miniaturised electrochemical devices mainly using screen-printed electrodes modified with nanomaterials and paper-based analytical tools applied in environmental, biomedical, agrifood, and defense sectors, with over 200 articles published in peer-review journals, H index 62, Scopus source, > 10 patents, coordinators of several national/international projects including Horizon Europe Pathfinder project Phoenix-OoC (March 2024- February 2027). Her name is listed in the top 2 of most cited researchers in the world.

Dr Aristeidis Bakandritsos (1977, Greece) is the Group Leader and senior researcher at the Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute - RCPTM of Palacky University Olomouc and at VSB-TUO, CEET, MELab in Ostrava (Czech Republic). He received his BSc in 2001 from Chemistry Dept (A.U. of Thessaloniki, Greece) and PhD in 2006 in chemistry from the NKUA & N.C.S.R. “Demokritos”, Athens Greece. He worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Patras (Materials Sci. Dept.), and as a visiting scientist at the Materials Sci. Dept., Cornell University. In 2012 he was elected at the Dept. of Materials Sci., University of Patras as a lecturer and later as an assistant professor until 2015-2016, when he joined RCPTM as a senior researcher and later as the head of a research division. In 2020 he also received a senior researcher position in VŠB–Technical University of Ostrava, Czech Republic. He is mentor in several Marie Curie projects and coordinator or PI in European Horizon 2020 projects. Research interests include the functionalization of nanomaterials and their application in energy storage, catalysis, and biomedicine. Results have been published in more than 130 articles (h-index 39), in peer-review journals.

Dr. Genc Basha is currently working as a Research Scientist and Honorary Lecturer of Medicine at Life Sciences Institute, the Dpt of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada. Genc received his MD degree from University of Tirana, Albania in 1985. Following his residency program and training at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, Genc obtained his PhD at the University of Leuven, Belgium in 1998 with focus on Translational Oncology, Cancer Prevention and Control. Genc then pursued a Postdoctoral Program at the Departments of Medical Genetics, Microbiology and Immunology, Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, CANADA, from 1999-2006 where he was recognized by UBC and the international scientific community for discovering novel pathways in the area of inflammation and immunity. He then further applied his knowledge for therapeutic purposes at the NanoMedicines Group, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UBC where he conducts his research since 2006. As Research Scientist, Genc offers an extensive expertise in Drug Development and Translational Nanomedicine with a keen interest in Gene and Cell Therapy. He is currently focused on optimizing methods of exploiting the potential of nucleic acids (siRNA and mRNA) using lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for the treatment of human diseases (suppressing inflammation, targeting leukemia genetic mutations and more). As well, Genc holds an appointment with the Undergraduate Medical Education, UBC-Faculty of Medicine in teaching year 1 and 2 medical students.

Christopher Bell gained his PhD in human genomics from Imperial College London, investigating genetic susceptibility to type 2 diabetes and obesity under the supervision of Prof. Philippe Froguel. His post-doctoral training was with Prof. Stephan Beck at the UCL Cancer Institute, University College London, where they pioneered the epigenomic analysis of common human disease. This included publishing some of the very first Epigenome-wide Association Studies (EWAS) as well as ground-breaking integrative analyses of the DNA methylome within common disease-associated loci. He subsequently furthered his epigenomics expertise interrogating the deeply-phenotyped TwinsUK cohort, with Prof. Tim Spector, at King’s College London, and then as an independent group leader at the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit. He is a medical graduate of the University of Otago, New Zealand and, through training with the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia, in Sydney, gained his fellowship of genetic pathology.

Slađana Blažević works as a Project Manager at the Business Development Department at BioSense Institute. She obtained her bachelor’s degree at the University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Philosophy. She worked for international companies in the agriculture industry. Throughout her career path, she was successful at creating the link between sales, marketing, business development, supply chain, shopper marketing, business analytics, and market research. Since joining the Business Development Department of the BioSense Institute in July 2022, she has been working on the implementation of large-scale Horizon Europe projects.

Gustau Catalan is an ICREA Research Professor at ICN2 in Barcelona (Catalonia), where he leads the Oxide Nanophysics laboratory. His research covers emerging properties of ferroelectrics, multiferroics and antiferroelectrics at the nanoscale. Much of the emphasis of his research has been on flexoelectricity, on one hand, and domain wall physics on the other. Reseach highlights include the seminal discoveries of flexoelectricity in semiconductors and in bones, and the existence of topological antivortices in antiferroelectrics domain walls. The focus of his work at the moment is the interaction between light and polar materials, which will be the theme of his talk.

Gianni Ciofani, Ph.D., is Senior Researcher Tenured at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia -Italian Institute of Technology, IIT- (Pontedera, Italy; since 2019), where he is Principal Investigator of the Smart Bio-Interfaces Research Unit (since 2017) and Coordinator of the Center for Materials Interfaces (since 2021). He has been Associate Professor at the Polytechnic University of Torino (Torino, Italy; 2015-2019) and Visiting Professor at Waseda University (Tokyo, Japan; 2021) and at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 2024). His main research interests concern smart nanomaterials for nanomedicine, microphysiological systems, and nanomedicine in altered gravity conditions. He is coordinator or unit leader of several projects (about 6.5 MEur granted): in particular, he was awarded a Starting Grant and three Proof-of-Concept Grants by the European Research Council (ERC). Thanks to grants from the Italian Space Agency and the European Space Agency, he had the opportunity to carry out four experimental campaigns onboard the International Space Station. In 2018, his real-scale model of the blood-brain barrier was highlighted in the Annual Report on the ERC Activities and Achievements.

Isidora Čolić works as a project associate at the Center for Business Innovation and Development and is currently pursuing an LLM in Human Rights at the University of Vienna. Isidora’s passion for sustainability and human rights developed during her time in the nonprofit sector as a project manager. She has gained significant experience in implementing global social development projects that include cultural heritage, diversity, human rights, sustainable development, and indigenous issues in Mexico and Colombia. In addition to projects, Isidora has enhanced her expertise in the field of communications and has participated in the creation and implementation of several crowdfunding campaigns, as well as social media campaigns. Isidora has been a part of the BIOSENSE Institute since August 2023 and is involved in activities within the Know4Nano, Climate Farm Demo, ClimateSmartAdvisors, and Mobifree projects. Her main responsibilities include supporting the team at the Center for Innovation and Development on various Horizon Europe projects, participating in the preparation, development, and implementation of domestic and international scientific research projects and other institutional projects, as well as organizing and/or providing technical support to events.

Dr. Sabato D'Auria is director of research at the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) and the head of the Laboratory of Molecular Sensing at the Institute of Food Science in Avellino, (near Naples), Italy. The scientific interests of dr. D’Auria’s Lab are the identification, isolation, production, manipulation and biophysical characterization of biomolecules to use as stable and specific probes for the design and realization of advanced sensing devices.

Graduated in Chemistry in 1993 at the University of Amsterdam. PhD student at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, from 1994 to 1998 (supervisors: Prof. Wim Nieuwpoort and Prof. Ria Broer). Post-Doc in the group of Prof. Francesc Illas of the University of Barcelona with a Marie Curie fellowship from 1998-2000 (subject: magnetism in low-dimensional Heisenberg systems). Post-Doc in the Quantum Chemistry group of the University Rovira i Virgili (2000-2005) with a Ramón y Cajal fellowship. Presently ICREA Research Professor in the same group.

Alfredo de la Escosura-Muñiz holds a PhD in Chemistry (2006) from the University of Oviedo (Spain). Most of his post-doctoral career has been spent at Prof. Merkoçi’s group at ICN2 (Barcelona, Spain), where he specialized in Nanobiosensors. He has participated in +25 national and international projects (5 as PI) and is the coauthor of over 95 scientific publications (+4100 citations; h-index: 39) and 4 patents. As of December 2023, he holds a position as Associate Professor in the Nanobioanalysis Group, Department of Physical and Analytical Chemistry, University of Oviedo (Spain) where he is also the Group Leader. His research interests focus on the development of biosensing systems based on nanoparticles and nanochannels for point-of-care diagnostic applications

Nunzio Denora earned his PhD in Pharmaceutical Technology from the University of Palermo in 2004. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at Kansas University, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor in 2006. His academic journey progressed, and in 2019, he was promoted to Associate Professor. As of July 2023, he holds the position of Full Professor in Pharmaceutical Technology and Legislation at the University of Bari, where he leads a cutting-edge research laboratory focused on advanced drug delivery systems. Throughout his career, Professor Denora has authored over 205 peer-reviewed publications and is the inventor of 10 patents. He also serves as the Coordinator of the Industrial PhD program in "Sustainable Technologies for Medicines and Diagnostics Development" and plays an active role in shaping pharmaceutical education and research. In addition, he is the Secretary of the Italian Society of Pharmaceutical Technology and Legislation (SITELF). His research is at the forefront of pharmaceutical innovation, focusing on the development of advanced drug delivery systems using state-of-the-art technologies such as 3D printing, prilling, and microfluidics.

Mariangela Di Donato obtained a phD in physical chemistry at the University of Salerno, Italy in 2003. From 2005 to 2010 she worked at the Free University Amsterdam, the Netherlands, studying ultrafast light induced processes in photosynthetic and photochromic proteins through transient absorption spectroscopy. Since 2010 works at LENS, an interdisciplinary laboratory for laser spectroscopies in Florence. Her research encompasses the analysis of the ultrafast dynamics of different molecular systems and materials used either to harvest and exploit solar energy or having biomedical applications, such as photoswitching systems used to create photoactivable drugs or photosensitizers for photodynamic and photothermal cancer therapies.

Fabio Di Francesco received a degree in physics and PhD in bioengineering from the University of Pisa, where he is currently associate professor in analytical chemistry. His research interests are at the interface of analytical technologies, nanomaterials and medicine, with an emphasis on the identification, in easily accessible body fluids (breath, oral fluid, sweat …), of chemical markers with clinical interest and the development of sensors and low cost technologies for the translation of research results into the clinical practice and everyday life. He is responsible of many research projects at regional, national and EU level.

Dr. G. Dodbiba earned his Ph.D. in materials-process engineering in 2004. He was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow from 2004 to March 2006. From 2004 to 2009, he served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geosystem Engineering at the University of Tokyo. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Systems Innovation at the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Engineering.
Dr. Dodbiba's research focuses on the behavior of materials, minerals, solid wastes, and effluents in aqueous systems, intersecting physics, physical chemistry, and colloidal chemistry. He has authored over 120 peer-reviewed papers on the physical and chemical processing of composite materials.

My research background is in the processing of functional ceramics and hybrid systems and am currently Professor of Materials Engineering at London South Bank University, while also being the Associate Dean for Research and Enterprise. My first degree was in Chemistry from Edinburgh which was followed by a PhD in Materials Science at Cambridge in 2001. Since then I have published over 150 publications, a high proportion in high-impact journals such as Advanced Materials and Energy and Environmental Science, supervised over 25 PhD students and ~200 3rd year project and MSc students.

Sidorela Dunolli is a Clinical Embryologist specializing in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), currently serving as Lead Embryologist at the Medical Reproduction Center of the “Koço Gliozheni” University Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital in Tirana. She has a strong academic background in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of Human Assisted Reproduction, complemented by advanced international training at IVI Valencia and CooperSurgical. From 2022 to 2023, she conducted a study comparing the accuracy of artificial intelligence (AI) and embryologists in embryo selection. Her expertise includes IVF, ICSI, embryo cryopreservation, and preimplantation genetic testing (PGT-A/PGT-M). She focuses on optimizing embryo assessment, selection, and preservation through evidence-based laboratory practices and high ethical standards. Actively engaged in continuous professional development, she regularly participates in scientific trainings and conferences, including those organized by ESHRE, aiming to improve clinical outcomes by combining data-driven precision with compassionate patient care. Her long-term interests include integrating genetic and clinical data to improve fertility treatments.

Yasuaki Einaga received his BS (1994), MS (1996), and PhD (1999) from the University of Tokyo. After 2 years as a research associate at the University of Tokyo, he started a faculty career as an assistant professor in Keio University in 2001, where he was promoted to full professor in 2011. He has been also a research director of JST-CREST (2011-2014), JST-ACCEL (2014-2020), and NEDO (2020-). He was awarded "The Chemical Society of Japan Award for Creative Work" in 2016 and “Awards for Science and Technology” from The Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2023 for his pioneering work in diamond electrodes. His research interests include functional materials science, photochemistry, and electrochemistry.

Arzum Erdem Gürsan received the PhD degree on Analytical Chemistry in Ege University (Izmir, Turkey) in 2000. She has been working as a Full Professor since 2009 at Analytical Chemistry department in the Faculty of Pharmacy of Ege University.
Prof. Dr. Arzum Erdem Gürsan who is the principal investigator at the research team @nanoBioSensLab (Ege University, Izmir, Turkey), has initiated many national and international collaborative research on development and applications of electrochemical (bio)sensors based on drugs, nucleic acids, enzymes, proteins, toxins etc. She is the Project investigator many national/international projects from 2002 up to now. In 2021, she was awarded as the one of national research leaders on health sciences of all by TÜBİTAK. She has authored more than 225 papers in refereed SCI-expanded journals and conference proceedings, 30 invited talks in international meetings and conferences. In addition, she is the co-author of 20 book chapters and review papers. She has 9 national patents approved between 2018-2025. She has received more than 8500 citations according to the records on Web of Science (WoS) obtained in August 2025 with h-index: 48.
Prof. Arzum Erdem Gürsan received "Incentive Award of TÜBİTAK" in 2006, and "Science Award of TÜBİTAK" in 2015 by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK). She was elected associate member of Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA) fort he period of 2007-2016 and elected principal member of TÜBA since 2016.
Prof. Arzum Erdem Gürsan was elected member for the Special Committee in Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA)- Women In Science and Engineering (WISE) for each term in the period between 2017 and 2025. She was elected as the fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) in December, 2017. In April 2024, she has been appointed as the Scientific Committee member representative for Türkiye by the selection of the Committee of Senior Officials in COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). In July 2025, she has been appointed as the member of Advisory Scientific Board for International Basic Sciences Programme of UNESCO.
The recent research of Prof. Arzum Erdem Gürsan is centred on the development of novel transducers and chemical and biological recognition systems by using different nanomaterials (e.g, graphenes, magnetic nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, gold and silver nanoparticles, dendrimers, nanowires, nanorods etc.) designed for electrochemical sensing of nucleic acid (DNA, miRNA) hybridization, and also the specific interactions between drug and DNA, or protein and DNA, aptamer-protein and also the development of integrated analytical systems for environmental monitoring, food safety, industry and biomedical monitoring.
More details available in web site: http://www.arzumerdem.com

Mario is a Reader in Computational Medicine at King’s College London, and Head of Bioinformatics for the School of Life Course & Population Sciences. His interests lie in the development and application of statistical and computational genomics methods to disentangle the network of susceptibility factors – and their interactions – that lead to complex disease in humans, with a particular focus on metabolism, skin cancer, and renal diseases. Recently his team has been focusing on leveraging next generation sequencing technologies to assess the influence of rare and structural variants on complex traits, and on characterisation of the microbiome using metagenomics data to investigate the interplay between the gut microbiota and host metabolism.

Andrea C. Ferrari earned a PhD in electrical engineering from Cambridge University, after a Laurea in nuclear engineering from Politecnico di Milano, Italy. He is Professor of Nanotechnology and the Director of the Cambridge Graphene Centre and of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Graphene Technology. He is Fellow of Pembroke College, the American Physical Society, the Institute of Physics and the Materials Research Society. His research interests include nanomaterials growth, modelling, characterization, and devices. He was awarded the Royal Society Brian Mercer Award for Innovation, the Marie Curie Excellence Award, the Philip Leverhulme Prize, The EU-40 Materials Prize, The Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award. He is also the Chairman of the Executive Board of the EU Graphene Flagship

Gianluca Fiori is Full Professor at the University of Pisa, specializing in modeling, electrical and noise characterization of nanoscale CMOS devices, and the design of advanced devices using innovative architectures and materials—particularly two-dimensional materials (2DMs). He is a recognized expert in device performance assessment using custom multi-scale, atomistic simulators, and in the fabrication of ultra-flexible electronic devices. GF is the recipent of two ERC projects, i.e., PEP2D and SKIN2DTRONICS concerned with the exploitation of 2DMs for the fabrication of flexible and conformable devices and circuits.

Ilaria Fratoddi is a Full Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at Sapienza University of Rome, where she leads the "Nanosynthesis and Characterization Laboratory (NSC_Lab)" in the Department of Chemistry. She is an expert in Inorganic and Nanomaterials Chemistry, with a focus on the chemical synthesis, structural analysis, and functional study of innovative and nanostructured materials. Her research aims to develop knowledge-based materials for advanced technological applications. Her interests include the design and synthesis of organometallic complexes, conjugated rigid-rod polymers, nanostructured polymers and copolymers, functionalized metal nanoparticles, metal oxides and related nanocomposites, and nanohybrid systems. She also specializes in their structural characterization and application in fields such as optoelectronics, sensing, photonics, nanomedicine, and biotechnology.

Jose A. Garrido is an ICREA Research Professor and leader of the ICN2 Advanced Electronic Materials and Devices Group, which explores novel electronic materials, such as graphene and other 2D materials, and their potential in electronic and bioelectronic applications.
He received his Master’s and PhD degrees in Telecommunication Engineering from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid in 1996 and 2000, respectively. From 2001 to 2004 he worked as a postdoc at the Walter Schottky Institute, Technische Universität München (Germany). He obtained his habilitation in experimental physics at this university in 2010 and from 2011 to 2015 held a lecturer (Privatdozent) position at its Department of Physics.
In 2015 Jose A. Garrido joined the ICN2 where, in addition to his role as Group Leader, he is Vice-Director. He is the coordinator of thei-VISIONproject funded byLa Caixa Foundation, where 5 institutions join forces in the development of a retinal implant to restore vision. Since October 2022, he has also coordinated the EIC Pathfinder MINIGRAPH project, in which 7 institutions from 5 countries work together to develop and validate a new generation of brain implants with closed-loop neuromodulation capabilities enabled by high-density arrays of graphene microelectrodes.
Jose A Garrido is also the founder, Chief Scientific Officer, and member of the Board of Directors of INBRAIN Neuroelectronics, an ICN2 spin-off that aims at the commercialization of graphene-based neural devices for medical applications. Employing ICN2-patented technology, INBRAIN has made a tremendous step towards the clinical use of graphene-based BCI therapeutic technology with the recent approval by MHRA (England regulatory approval body) of the first-in-human clinical study using graphene neural interfaces. Additionally, together with ICN2, the company received €2.5M in the framework of the EIC Transition program sponsored by the European Commission to accelerate the clinical translation of graphene transistors for brain-computer interfaces.

Dr. Neus G. Bastús is a physicist with a strong interdisciplinary focus on materials chemistry and nanoscience. She is currently Group Leader of the Inorganic Nanoparticles Group at ICN2 and holds the position of CSIC Research Scientist. Her research focuses on the colloidal synthesis of advanced inorganic nanomaterials through innovative wet-chemistry strategies that enable precise control over composition, morphology, and structural complexity, to develop high-performance materials for applications in energy, catalysis, biomedicine, and environmental sustainability. Dr. Bastús earned her PhD in Physics from the Universitat de Barcelona in 2008. In 2009, she joined the group of Prof. Horst Weller at the University of Hamburg, supported by a Beatriu de Pinós Fellowship (AGAUR), where she expanded her expertise to include the synthesis of semiconductor nanocrystals and hybrid nanostructures for energy and catalytic applications. Upon returning to Spain, she was awarded a Marie Curie Career Integration Grant, which supported the consolidation of her research at ICN2. In 2013, she obtained a Ramón y Cajal contract, ranking first nationally in the Materials Science area. This position enabled her to establish an independent research line within the Inorganic Nanoparticles Group, focused on the development of novel nanostructured materials using sustainable and scalable synthetic approaches. Since 2022, she has been a member of the Spanish Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), and currently serves as Chair of the ICN2 Equal Opportunities Committee, where she leads institutional initiatives to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in science.

Prof. Dr. Pedro Gomez-Romero, FRSC, is Full Professor of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) (2006-) and Head of the NEO-Energy Lab (www.neoenergy.cat) at the Catalan Institute of Nano-science and Nanotechnology, ICN2 (CSIC-BIST) (www.icn2.cat) in Cerdanyola, Barcelona (Spain) (2007-).
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Georgetown University, USA, 1987, with Distinction. Sabbatical at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL, Colorado, USA (1998-99). Vicedirector of MATGAS technology Center (2010-2013). Member of the Materials Science Committee of CSIC (2012- 2014). He is currently member of EuroScience, the Royal Society of Chemistry, The Electrochemical Society (ECS), International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE) and the Asociación Española de Comunicación Científica (AECC). Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) since 2014. Winner of the CIDETEC Award for Research in Electrochemistry 2016.
His research is focused on the design, development and application of materials and devices for energy storage and conversion (hybrid supercapacitors, Li and post-Li batteries (Na, Zn), flow cells, solar-thermal energy, nanofluids and nanopastes). This includes a variety of materials from inorganics (Polyoxometalates, LiFePO4) to conducting polymers to nanocarbons, with special emphasis on hybrid nanostructures and nano-composite materials with inorganic clusters or nanoparticles and polymers or carbons. Along this line, Gomez-Romero’s group pioneered the use of Polyoxometalates (POM) in energy storage applications. His most relevant work focuses on Hybrid electrode materials and devices for fast and extended energy storage. The recent creation of a spin-off company "Napptilus Battery Labs” (NBL) aims at putting all the knowledge generated in the lab to work in the development of fast-charging and durable hybrid energy storage devices.

Dr. Maria Guix received her PhD in Chemistry, M.S. degree in Nanotechnology and B.Sc. degree in Chemistry from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). During her PhD she worked in the Prof. Merkoçi’s group at Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), working on the integration of nanomaterials in biosensing platforms. As a PhD candidate, she did two short internships related to the development of catalytic nanomotors, first in EMPA (Switzerland) and then in the University of California San Diego (USA) under the supervision of Prof. Joseph Wang. She later joined Prof. Oliver Schmidt’s group as a postdoctoral researcher at IFW Dresden, developing biocompatible micromotors for biomedical applications. Afterwards, she moved to Purdue University to work on the automation of magnetic microrobots for safe manipulation tasks by using visual-based control methods. She was a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) for 4 years under the supervision of Prof. Samuel Sánchez’ group, focusing her research line in the development of advanced functional living robots. She recently moved to the University of Barcelona at Prof. Josep Puigmartí group as Ramon y Cajal senior researcher.

Biologist by the University of the Basque Country (2005) and PhD in Chemistry by the Autonomous University of Barcelona (2013). He carried out the doctoral thesis in the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona, focused on the development of polymer-based microfluidic biosensors with dual detection (optical and electrochemical). In December 2013 he joined the Chair of Materials Science and Nanotechnology (TU Dresden, Germany) as postdoc, where he gained experience in the use of nanomaterials to boost the sensitivity of field-effect transistors for biodetection. In October he started leading the biosensorics group of the same Chair, supervising projects related to point-of-care diagnostic platforms, flexible microelectronics, and gas sensors toward electronic nose development. In January 2024 he became part of the Health Unit of Tecnalia (Spain), leading the research line of biosensors and microelectronics for diagnostics and for the monitoring of biological and biomedical processes.

Fatih Inci is an associate professor at Bilkent University, Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology (UNAM). Earlier, he worked as an academician and postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School-Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard-MIT. His scholarly pursuits are centered around advancing microfluidics, biosensing, and microneedle technologies for biomedical applications. Dr. Inci has published 100+ publications including research and review papers, book chapters, and editorials, as well as he edited 2 books. He also holds a notable portfolio of 26 national and international patents, including two licensed products. His research has not only graced the covers of 13 esteemed journals but has also received acclaim from a multitude of prestigious institutions and organizations that include National Institutes of Health (NIH)–National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and Science–AAAS, as well as renowned publications including Nature Medicine, AIP, JAMA, Newsweek, and Popular Science. Actively engaged in research projects, he has played pivotal roles in securing over 50 grants, accumulating a substantial total budget exceeding $8 million USD from national and international entities. In addition, his contributions have earned him 50+ national/international awards and accolades, from organizations such as from National Science Foundation (NSF), Junior Chamber International, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK), Health Institutes of Türkiye (TÜSEB), Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA), Science Academy, European Molecular Biology Organization-European Science Foundation, Horizon 2020-European Commission, Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, Harvard Medical School-Brigham & Women’s Hospital, American Chemical Society, METU Mustafa Parlar, Association of Science Heroes, Doktorclub, Istanbul University, and Istanbul Technical University

Dr. Cecilia Jimenez is Scientific Researcher at IMB-CNM (CSIC). She holds a BSc in Analytical Chemistry (1989) and a PhD in Chemistry (1993). She joined the Chemical Transducers group of the IMB-CNM, CSIC (GTQ) in January 2000 and she held the position of GTQ Director from 2003 to 2013, member of the CSIC Area Commission for Physical Science and Technologies from 2008 to 2012 and Vice Director of the IMB-CNM from 2016 to 2021. She is currently the coordinator of the Platform PTI Digital Science from CSIC.
Her research activities focuses on the design and manufacture of smart chemical sensors based on microelectronic technology (Ion selective Field Effect Transistors, ISFETs, Thin Film microelectrodes) and their integration into integrated analytical microsystems and Lab on Chip (LoC) for applications in clinical diagnosis, monitoring of biomarkers in biological fluids, and agri-food&environmental monitoring. She has leaded several international and European projects (4 of total: 9), and 15 national and regional projects (total: 36). She has been responsible of 13 contracts with companies (total: 21) in the instrumentation and environmental control sector. She has published more than 100 articles in international journals in the field of sensors and microsystems and 3 book chapters (Scopus h 32, cites 2.450), supervised 8 PhD Theses (2 more ongoing), presented over a hundred communications to conferences (10 invited) and co-authored 7 patents (1 licensed). She is the founder (2024) of the spin-off AIQUOS, participated by CSIC, devoted to smart neuromorfic sensors for water monitoring.

Trained by field-leading menotors Robert Full (HHMI) and Robert Wood, Ardian’s formal studies at U.C. Berkeley and Harvard University span biomechanics, robotics, and soft active materials. He led an independent Max Planck Research Group before founding the Soft Kinetic group at the Swiss Federal Labs for Materials Science and Technology. Ardian pioneered robust locomotion discoveries underpinned by control appendages enabling rapid disturbance rejection and multi-modal transitions. His group is best known for translating nature’s principles—inertial appendage control, traction from microstructured surfaces, and embodied compliance—into resilient robots capable of agile transitions. Ardian’s work has been featured in leading high impact journals and has been awarded with numerous Swiss NSF and Cyber Valley Max Planck grants.

Dr Suela Kellici is Associate Professor of Materials Engineering at London South Bank University. She leads the Materials Analysis and Device Design (MADD) group, a multidisciplinary team of chemists, physicists and engineers translating advanced modelling into functional materials and devices. MADD leverages in‑house modelling platforms to guide green continuous flow synthesis, state‑of‑the‑art flow reactors for scale‑up, and clean‑room prototyping for energy storage, conversion and sensing applications.
At her Nano2D Lab, she develops eco‑friendly flow synthesis of 2D materials, from graphene to carbon quantum dots for scalable production in energy, environmental and biosensing devices. Her work earned the IChem Global Awards finalist for Innovation in Production of 2D Materials.
A Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Higher Education Academy, she secures competitive funding from the EU, EPSRC and industry. Suela champions diversity in STEM through targeted outreach and mentoring of emerging materials engineers.

Dr. Filiz Kuralay has been working as a Professor at Hacettepe University, Department of Chemistry. She received her M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Analytical Chemistry department of the same university in 2003 and 2009, respectively. She worked as an Associate Professor at Ordu University, Department of Chemistry between 2013 and 2019, and then she was an Associate Professor at Hacettepe University, Department of Chemistry between 2019 and 2021. In 2010-2012, she was a postdoctoral fellow at University of California, San Diego. Her research interests mainly focus on (bio)sensors, electrochemistry and nano/micromotors. She was elected as the Associate Member of Turkish Academy of Sciences in 2015. She was the recipient of The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye Incentive Award in 2017.

Sevinc Kurbanoglu is currently working as an Associate Professor at Ankara University Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Analytical Chemistry, in Turkiye. She graduated from the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, in 2008. She got her master’s degree from the same university in 2010. She received her Ph.D. degree in Analytical Chemistry from the Pharmacy Faculty of Ankara University in 2016 under the supervision of Prof. Sibel A. OZKAN and co-advisor Prof. Dr. Arben Merkoçi. She worked as a visiting researcher in Prof. Dr. Lo GORTON's Laboratory at Lund University, Sweden; Prof. Dr. Arben Merkoçi’s Laboratory at Barcelona Autonoma University; the Catalan Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Institute; and Prof. Dr. Frieder W. Scheller’s Laboratory at the Department of Analytical Biochemistry at Potsdam University. She is a member of ICPLASTIC- ISO compatible, efficient and reproducible protocols/equipment for mICro-nanoPLASTIC detection through machine-learning: Core group of Cost Action CA23131. Working Group 2 and 4. She has published over 100 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and 60 book chapters. Her research focuses on electrochemical nanobiosensors, molecularly imprinted polymers, aptamer-based enzyme-labeled nanobiosensors, and the design of hybrid electrochemical biosensors

Marcel Langer is a postdoctoral researcher in the Laboratory of Computational Science and Modeling (COSMO) at EPFL in Switzerland, where he develops machine learning models for materials science, focusing on long-range interactions and the role of symmetries. He earned his Ph.D. in computer science from Technische Universität Berlin, in collaboration with the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, for his work on applying graph neural networks to thermal transport simulations. He has been a visiting researcher at UCLA's Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics, and holds degrees in physics from Imperial College London (M.Sc.) and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (B.Sc.). He is also a recipient of the Walter Benjamin fellowship.

Prof. Sachiko Matsushita received her B.Sc. (1996) and Ph.D. (2000) in Applied Chemistry from the University of Tokyo under Prof. Akira Fujishima's guidance in self-assembled nanoparticle structure fabrication and application. In 2001, she became a post-doctoral researcher in Prof. Toyoki Kunitake’s group at RIKEN and widened her research focus to photonic crystals. After her experience as a lecturer and associate professor at Nihon University, she joined the Department of Metallurgy & Ceramics Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology (currently Institute of Science Tokyo) as an associate professor (2010), and decided to commit to energy issues. After developing a new thermal energy conversion system, semiconductor-sensitised thermal cell (STC), she founds elleThermo, Ltd. (2023) for the practical application of STC

Dr. Mariana Medina Sánchez earned her degree in Mechatronics Engineering from the University of San Buenaventura in Bogotá, Colombia, where she also worked as an assistant professor and researcher while pursuing postgraduate studies in education and biomedical engineering. She later moved to Barcelona, Spain, to complete her master’s and PhD studies under Prof. Arben Merkoçi at the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, focusing on nanomaterials-based and inkjet-printed electrochemical biosensors for disease diagnostics. After her PhD, she joined IFW Leibniz in Dresden, Germany, as a postdoctoral researcher and was soon promoted to group leader under Prof. Oliver Schmidt. Her research centered on medical microrobots for in vivo fertilization and targeted drug delivery, including sperm-based micromotors and real-time deep-tissue tracking systems. She received an ERC Starting Grant for her project MicroGIFT. Since 2020, she has led an independent research group at IFW Leibniz and, in 2022, began heading a joint group with TU Dresden and B CUBE focused on bioinspired microrobots and microsensors. In 2024, she was appointed Ikerbasque Research Professor and Group Leader at CIC nanoGUNE in San Sebastián, Spain.

Paola Minghetti graduated in Pharmacy and Industrial Pharmacy cum laude, obtained her PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences. She is a full professor in Pharmaceutical Technology and Regulatory Affairs at Università degli Studi di Milano. Since October 2023, she is the Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Science; from 2020 to 2023 she was the Dean of the School of Pharmacy. She is also involved in the Hospital Pharmacist Post-Graduated School. She is an Italian Pharmacopoeia expert and member of the AIFA Evaluation and Authorization Secretariat and of the Minister of Health Veterinary Drugs Evaluation and Authorization Group.

Dr. Mir is a consolidated Senior Researcher at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia and at the CIBER-bbn, leading the Biosensors line within the Nanobioengineering Lab and Assistant Professor at the University of Barcelona. Her research interest focuses on the area of ​​electrochemical biosensors for biomedical applications, integrated in microfluidics for lab-on-a-chip, point-of-care, implantable sensors and organ-on-a-chip platforms for disease modelling. She has participated and managed 12 EU, 4 industrial and 6 national projects, being the principal investigator in some of them. She has published 1 book, 2 chapters and 50 peer-reviewed scientific journals, with a H-index of 20.

Hirotomo Nishihara is a full professor at Tohoku University, Japan. Having obtained his academic degrees from Kyoto University (Japan), he spent most of his career working for Tohoku University up to date. He has received numerous scientific awards, including the prestigious Gottfried Wargener Prize in 2019 and the JSPS Prize in 2020. In 2022, he took his innovations into the business sphere by establishing a startup company, 3DC. As the Chief Science Officer, he is dedicated to the industrialization of a novel porous carbon material, graphene mesosponge, which he developed. His research interests include nanoporous materials and carbon-based materials

ICREA Research Professor Josep Nogués earned his degree from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) in 1986. After obtaining his PhD at the Kungliga Tekniska Höskolan (RoyalInstitute of Technology) in Stockholm (Sweden) in 1993, he moved to the University of California San Diego (USA) to complete his postdoctoral studies. Four years later he returned to the UAB as an associate researcher, becoming an ICREA research professor in 2001 and a founding member of the former Catalan Institute of Nanotechnology (ICN) shortly thereafter. His Magnetic Nanostructures group was formally integrated into the ICN structure in 2006.

Hiroaki Onoe, received his Ph.D. in Mechano-Informatics at The University of Tokyo under the supervision of Prof. Isao Shimoyama in 2006. Since 2007, he moved to University of California Berkeley and worked with Prof. Richard Mathies in Department of Chemistry as a visiting scholar. Since 2009, he began to work with Prof. Shoji Takeuchi at Institute of Industrial Science at The University of Tokyo as an assistant professor. Since 2014, he has joined to Keio University, Japan, and is now a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. His research interests include microfluidics, biofabrication, organ-on-a-chip, functional nanomaterials and self-assembly technologies.

Sibel A. Ozkan is currently working as a Full Professor of Analytical Chemistry at Ankara University, Faculty of Pharmacy. She is the active member of European Chemical Society-DAC member on behalf of Turkish Chemical Society. She is the member of European Pharmacopoeia-EDQM- Chromatography Section. She is the member of PortASAP: - European network for the promotion of portable, affordable and simple analytical platform: Core group of Cost Action CA 16215. Working Group 4. She has published more than 385 original and review papers and Editor of 9 scientific books from HNB Publishing (2012), Springer (2015), Bentham (5 Volumes, 2018-2019), Elsevier (2019), CRC (2022) and more than 50 book chapters in different years (for Elsevier and Springer). She received Ankara University Encouragement Award (2003), Turkish Pharmacists Association-Scientific Award (2008), Supervisor of The Best PhD Thesis Award (Health Sciences) in Turkey from High Council of Education of Turkey in 2017, Ton Duc Thang University Woman in Science 2019 Award (Vietnam) and Ankara University Science Award (2021). She is the Editor of the Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis (SCI) and Regional Editor (Europa) of Current Pharmaceutical Analysis (SCI). In addition, she is an Editorial Board member of Talanta (SCI), Chromatographia (SCI), Biosensors&Bioelectronics X and other journals.

Giulia Palermo is a computational biophysicist and a Professor at the University of California Riverside in the Department of Bioengineering and Chemistry. She is a native of Italy where she earned her Ph.D. in 2013 from the Italian Institute of Technology. During her doctoral studies, she was awarded an early career fellowship to join the group of Prof. Ursula Roethlisberger at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL). In 2016 she became a post-doc at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) working with Prof. J. Andrew McCammon, thanks to a Swiss National Science Foundation post-doctoral fellowship.
Her group is best known for pioneering computational studies of the CRISPR-Cas9 system. By applying and developing cutting-edge computer simulations and Artificial Intelligence (AI) approaches, the lab focuses on unraveling the mechanisms of action and engineering innovative genome editing systems that are revolutionizing the life sciences. She is a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar and has received several prestigious honors, including the Corwin Hansch Award for Outstanding Scientists Under 40, the NSF CAREER Award, and the Sloan Research Fellowship in Chemistry.

Dr Petković completed the PhD (Dr.Rer. Nat.) in Chemistry in 2002/10/21 at University of Leipzig, Faculty of Chemistry and Mineralogy, Germany (Universität Leipzig Fakultät für Chemie und Mineralogie) Magister in Biomedical Engineering in 2000/10/02 at University of Belgrade (Serbia) and Bachelor in Biochemistry in 1994/10/04 at University of Belgrade, Faculty of Chemistry. She is a Research Professor at the COHERENCE Center for Light-based Research and Technologies, Department of Atomic Physics, VINČA Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia. Published 100 journal articles, cited more than 2000 times (h-index 22, according to Scopus database) and one book. Organised around 20 events related to science education and the promotion of science. Supervised 5 PhD theses, 3 MSc dissertations, and one work of course, completing LSc/BSc. Participated and/or participated as the investigator in 8 projects, and as the WP leader in the GlioLighT Pathfinder Open project. Engaged as an expert evaluator for H2020, Horizon Europe, the Foundation Polish Science, Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation of Montenegro. Dr Petković is a former President of the Scientific Council of the VINČA Institute of Nuclear Sciences, a former member of the Management Board of the Institute of Archeology (Belgrade, Serbia), the president of the trade union “Independence” of the Institute of Nuclear Sciences “Vinča“and the vice-president for natural and medical sciences of the Association of Institutes of Serbia

Fetah Podvorica is Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Prishtina and Corresponding Member of Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosova. Since 2014 he has been visiting professor at University of Paris, former University of Paris 7, and previously was visiting professor at Ecole Superieure de Physique et de Chimie de Paris (ESPCI); during the period 2003-2013. He did his PhD thesis at the University of Paris 7 in 2000 and his Habilitation he obtained in 2010 at the University of Paris 6. His research interests include: electrochemical or chemical modification of material’s surfaces with 2D organic thin layers and their use for different applications; the use of Electro-Fenton method for the degradation of organic pollutants in waste water. He has 2 patents, 1 book and 4 book chapters, more than 50 published papers in peer review journals, H index: 26 and over 5900 citations (scholar). He was Associate Editor in the Springer journal, Chemistry Africa and is member of Advisory Boards of several journals.

Mamas Prodromidis is a full Professor of Analytical Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry (University of Ioannina, Greece). His research is focused on the development of electrochemical (bio)sensors, the generation of nanoparticles with spark discharge, the development of diagnostic devices for point-of-care applications, the design & fabrication of screen-printing integrated electrochemical cells and bipolar electrochemistry. He has co-authored more than 140 articles, reviews, and book chapters (Citations >6000, H-index >42) and he has given several invited lectures at international meetings and seminars. Since 2017 he is included in the “World's Top 2% Scientists” list released by Stanford University and since 2020, he is Editor in Chief of Microchimica Acta.

Dr. Javier Ramón Azcón - ICREA Professor & Group Leader, Biosensors for Bioengineering (B4B). Dr. Javier Ramón has served as Group Leader at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) in Barcelona, Spain, since 2017. He leads the ‘Biosensors for Bioengineering’ group, which focuses on integrating sensor technology and nanotechnology with tissue engineering. His team aims to develop organs-on-a-chip (OOC) platforms by coupling fully functional tissues with microscale biosensor technology. They are pioneering OOC platforms integrating biosensors for disease modeling (diabetes, muscular dystrophies) and drug discovery. Principal Investigator of ERC Starting Grant DAMOC developing multi-organ chips, and CaixaHealth project TATAMI targeting rare diseases. Founded spin-off Vitala; collaborates globally with academia (Tohoku), hospitals (Sant Pau), and industry (NovoNordisk, Grifols). h-index: 34 | 3,789+ citations | ORCID: 0000-0002-3636-8013

Francesco Ricci is a professor at the Chemistry Department of the University of Rome, Tor Vergata. His research interests lie in the fields of electrochemical sensors, DNA functional nanotechnology, DNA-based sensors, aptamers, conformational switching probes and smart drug-release. After the PhD in Chemistry earned in 2005 at the University of Rome, Tor Vergata, Francesco Ricci spent 2 years as a visiting post-doc researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Francesco Ricci has been awarded an International Marie Curie Outgoing Fellowship (2010), an ERC Starting Grant (2013) and an ERC Consolidator Grant (2019). He is also the recipient of the inaugural 2017 ACS “Advances in Measurement Science Lectureship” Award and the 2017 “Heinrich Emanuel Merck Award on Analytical Science”.

Pilar Rivera-Gil is an independent group leader at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF, Barcelona), where she specializes in nanomedicine, biosensing, and advanced drug delivery. She earned her PhD in Pharmacy from Freie Universität Berlin and carried out postdoctoral research at the Institute of Biophotonics (Philipps-Universität Marburg) and at ICMAB-CSIC (Barcelona). Her research focuses on plasmonic and silica-based nanomaterials for imaging, controlled release, and theranostics. She has authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications, co-invented patents in nanotheranostics, and leads competitive European and national research projects. She also coordinates teaching in biomedical sciences and supervises PhD students in nanomedicine.

Dr. Laura Rodriguez-Lorenzo is a PI Research Scientist at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), thanks to the award of a Scientific Employment Stimulus contract (2020.04021.CEECIND) in 2020. She has been a member of the Water Quality group since 2018. She has strong expertise in Raman spectroscopy and SERS monitoring, as well as the design of hybrid plasmonic composites, nanomaterials functionalization, nanoparticle’ design to modulate cell-nanoparticle interactions, and safe-and-sustainability-by-design approaches. She is PI in European (FRONTSH1P, ONE-BLUE) and national (PRR-Smartgnostic-PPS3) projects of tasks focused on developing SERS monitoring systems for antibiotics and dissolved CO2. She is also involved in other major competitive European and national projects (LABPLAS, D4runoff, PRR-Bioeconomia Azul, NASCADIA FCT). Her major collaborations include research institutes in Switzerland (Adolphe Merkle Institute), Spain (CINBIO-UVigo and Instituto de Investigacións Mariñas - CSIC), and Portugal (Universidade de Aveiro). She was awarded a L’Oreal Fellowship “For Woman in Science 2013” and “the 100 Most Influential Young People in the Francophone Swiss Zone” in 2015 by L’Hebdo Journal. She has published 91 peer-reviewed papers, with an h-index of 32, and she is co-author of 6 book chapters and two patents related to biosensors and nanoparticle characterization (WO2014020293A1) and SERS-based sensor for H2S (WO2025078867), respectively.

Rogdakis Konstantinos is an Assistant Professor in Nanoelectronics at the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the Hellenic Mediterranean University (HMU). He has more than 15 years research experience in the academic sector working on nanoelectronics, spintronics and optoelectronics. He possesses extensive hands-on experience on emerging low dimensional electronic systems including nanowire transistors, GaAs single spin quantum-bits, as well emerging phenomena in functional oxide and superconductive/ferromagnetic interfaces towards beyond-CMOS technologies. He has served at various academic research positions in high reputation European institutions including the Foundation of Research and Technology in Greece, the Institut Néel CNRS in France and the London centre for Nanotechnology – University College of London in United Kingdom. Prof. Konstantinos Rogdakis received his undergraduate degree in Applied Mathematics and Physical Sciences and his master’s degree in Microsystems and Nanodevices both from National Technical University of Athens, Greece in 2005 and 2006, respectively. He obtained his PhD in Nanoelectronics from Grenoble Institute of Technology in France, in 2009. He is a member of Technical Chamber of Greece. He is currently the team leader of innovative printed electronics at the Nanomaterials for Emerging Devices research group in HMU. His current research interests include 2D materials engineering in various printed device concepts including high performing solar cells, functional sensors and thin film memristors/transistors for neuromorphic computing towards energy efficient, intelligent Internet of Things and wearables.

I am an Associate Professor of Energy Engineering and Materials Devices in the School of Engineering and Design. Before LSBU, I worked at the Organic Semiconductor Centre at the University of St Andrews, UK. I received my MSc and PhD from the Advanced Technology Institute at the University of Surrey, UK.

Dr. Slavica Savić Ružić is a Senior Researcher at the Center for Sensing Technologies of the BioSense Institute and co-coordinator of the Know4Nano project. She obtained her BSc in Physical Chemistry from the Faculty of Physical Chemistry at the University of Belgrade and her PhD in Materials in Electronics from the Faculty of Technical Sciences at the University of Novi Sad in 2009. Her experience includes participation in numerous national and international projects, where she coordinated a bilateral research project, as well as one funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. In 2012, she was a visiting research scientist (postdoc) at Pontificia Universidade Católica (PUC) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is currently serving as the WP leader for two projects funded by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia: IDEAS-Microlabaptasens (2022–2024) and PRISM-Multisense (2023–2026). Prior to this, she also led the WP for the Horizon 2020 Twinning project NANOFACTS (2021–2024). Her research interests include materials science, advanced ceramic materials processing and characterization, solid-state chemistry, and physics. Her current activities focus on the synthesis and characterization of MOx as gas sensors, as well as (bio)sensors based on 2D materials for agricultural applications, medical devices for breath analysis, healthcare, and more. She is the author and co-author of 56 scientific papers in highly ranked journals, numerous conference papers, and one book chapter.

Dr. Yeşeren Saylan completed her undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral studies in the Department of Chemistry at Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. In her Ph.D. thesis, she developed an optical biosensor for real-time hemoglobin detection using the molecular imprinting technique. During her doctoral training, she was awarded the TÜBİTAK international research fellowship and conducted part of her research at one of the world’s most prestigious institutions—Stanford University School of Medicine, Early Detection of Cancer Center. During her time at Stanford, she was also involved in multiple research projects focusing on the detection of various biomolecules using microfluidic systems and plasmonic biosensors. Her efforts extended to the clinical validation of these platforms, thereby bridging the gap between lab-scale innovations and real-world applications. Furthermore, Dr. Saylan was appointed as a visiting researcher at Harvard Medical School to further advance her research endeavors. Upon returning to Turkey, she continued to expand this knowledge and experience in her own research laboratory.
Dr. Saylan’s research is primarily centered on optical biosensors, microfluidics, and polymeric materials. Her current research focuses on the utilization of nano-sized fingerprint structures of biological entities to develop bio-mimicked and bio-inspired sensors for precisely addressing existing real-world problems in environmental monitoring and medical applications. By facilitating an interdisciplinary space, I aim to integrate those fingerprint features with innovative, user-friendly, sensitive, and specific detection platforms at nano-scale. In this regard, she wisely manipulate different molecules including protein, bacteria, and cells in small volumes, and integrate nano-scale tools with multifunctional nanotechnology modalities to record minute detection events.
She has published her findings in high-impact journals, reflecting the global relevance and rigor of her work. Her scholarly output includes 53 scientific publications and 28 book chapters. Appointed as an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry, Division of Biochemistry at Hacettepe University in December 2025, Dr. Saylan aims to translate her accumulated expertise into the development of biosensing platforms for novel biomolecular targets. Her goal is to create affordable, user-friendly, and highly accurate biosensing systems that are accessible to broader populations. She is deeply committed to transforming lab-based technologies into practical tools for daily life, which she considers the cornerstone of her scientific mission. The Biochemistry Division at Hacettepe University offers one of the few laboratory infrastructures in Turkey capable of supporting such interdisciplinary research. Dr. Saylan integrates collaborative research efforts across scientific domains to foster the development of high-tech, application-oriented solutions.

Tomoko K. Shimizu received her B.Eng. from Keio University, Japan, and her M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, USA. She conducted postdoctoral research at RIKEN, Japan, and later served as a senior researcher at the National Institute for Materials Science. In April 2018, she was appointed Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Physics and Physico-Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University. Her research centers on surface science and materials characterization, with a particular emphasis on scanning probe microscopy and related spectroscopic techniques. In 2018, she received the Young Scientists’ Award of the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education. Her current work focuses on gas adsorption on oxide catalyst surfaces, structural characterization of self-assembled organic porous thin films, and investigation of technologically relevant nanomaterials.

Dritan Siliqi obtained his M.Sc degree in chemical engineering at Tirana University (Albania) and Chemistry at Bari University (Italy). After he obtained a PhD (Troisieme Cycle) in crystal chemistry of solids at Université Paris VI, Paris, France. He was (1985-1992) an associated professor/researcher at Tirana University (Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences) and currently, he is a senior scientist at the Institute of Crystallography and head of 2Cryst-Lab. During his scientific career, he was visiting professor and scientist in international groups such as Membrane Protein Laboratory (MPL). c/o Diamond Light Source Ltd. (Didcot, Regno Unito), Protein Crystallography Station c/o Los Alamos National Laboratory (Los Alamos, USA), Beamline cSAX12 c / o Paul Scherrer Institute Villigen, Svizzera, EMBL c/o DESY Hamburg, Germania, Institut für Physik der kondensierten Materie. Lehrstuhl für Kristallographie und Strukturphysik (Erlangen, Germania), ISIS – Neutron and Muon Source Science and Technology Facilities Council Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (Didcot, Regno Unito), The Maastricht Multimodal Molecular Imaging Institute (M4I), Division of Nanoscopy, Maastricht University (Paesi Bassi).

Alessandro Silvestri received his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Milan (Italy) in 2017. He was a postdoctoral researcher at the Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (Potsdam, Germany) and CIC biomaGUNE (San Sebastian, Spain). Since June 2023, he has been an Assistant Professor in Chemistry at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. His research interests comprise the synthesis and chemical functionalization of nanomaterials and their application in electrochemical biosensors

Alessandro Silvestri received his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Milan (Italy) in 2017. He was a postdoctoral researcher at the Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (Potsdam, Germany) and CIC biomaGUNE (San Sebastian, Spain). Since June 2023, he has been an Assistant Professor in Chemistry at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. His research interests comprise the synthesis and chemical functionalization of nanomaterials and their application in electrochemical biosensors

Zdeněk Sofer has been a Full Professor at the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Czech Republic, since 2019. He also received his Ph.D. at the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague in 2008. During his Ph.D., he spent one year at Forschungszentrum Julich (Peter Grünberg Institute, Germany), followed by postdoctoral experience in University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. His research interests include semiconductors and 2D materials, their synthesis, crystal growth, chemical modifications and functinalization. He is particularly focused on various applications of two-dimensional materials including energy storage and conversion. He has published more than 600 papers, received more than 20,000 citations, and has the h-index of 85. He was the recipient of the Rector award for young researcher in 2013 and 2016 as well as the Neuron Impulse award in 2016 and the award of the Czech Science Foundation President and the UCT Prague rector award in 2019.

Carsten Sönnichsen, born 1973 in Hamburg (Germany), studied physics in Hamburg and Cambridge. In 2001, he received his Ph.D. from the Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU) in Munich, Germany (working for Jochen Feldmann). Following his experience in an international management consulting in Munich, Germany, he joined the Paul Alivisatos group in Berkeley as a postdoc. In 2005, he started his own group at the University of Mainz where he now holds a chair in physical chemistry. The group emphasizes on the production and application of nanoparticles as markers and sensors for biological molecules, optical single particle spectroscopy and electron microscopy. The work is funded among others by an ERC starting grant.

Jordi Sort leads the ‘Group of Smart Nanoengineered Materials, Nanomechanics and Nanomagnetism’ (with ca. 20 researchers) as an ICREA Research Professor at UAB. After finishing his PhD in 2002 in the field of “magnetic interfacial effects” (Extraordinary Award), Prof. Sort performed two postdoctoral stays, at SPINTEC (Grenoble) and at Argonne National Laboratory. His research is focused on a wide variety of materials (thin films, lithographed structures, porous materials and nanocomposites) with emphasis on their magnetic, magnetoelectric and mechanical performance. He received awards from the Catalan and Spanish Physical Societies as well as the Federation of European Materials Societies. So far, Prof. Sort has supervised 17 PhD Theses, has published 352 articles (11275 citations in WoS, h = 53), has issued 6 patents and has managed 38 research projects, being Coordinator of 2 European Training Networks (ITN), and PI of a CoG, a PoC and an AdG from the ERC.

Winnie E. Svendsen is a Professor in Micro- and Nanotechnologial Systems and Innovation and Head of the Nano-Bio Integrated Systems Group at the Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine at the Technical University of Denmark. Winnie’s research interests involve the development of sensors for biological and environmental applications at the point of use, with a strong focus on innovation.

My primary interest is identification of genetic determinants of drug response and translating that information into practical treatment strategies: Discovery to application. The MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study (MWCCS), formerly The Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) cohort, a multi-center longitudinal observational cohort, currently provides the perfect laboratory for conducting pharmacogenomics (PGx) research. I have nested several PGx studies within WIHS, providing me with the opportunity to examine how PGx factors interact with other pharmacokinetic factors to determine drug exposure and treatment outcome. In particular, my work with WIHS has enabled me to examine PGx variations associated with ethnicity which is an understudied, but high priority area of research. Besides PGx studies in HIV, I have studies in the areas of pediatric bone marrow transplant, ophthalmology and in vitro fertilization. In addition to discovery work, I am leading projects with an overarching vision of creating the UCSF Health-School of Pharmacy service for translating known PGx findings into clinical practice. At present, I am completing CLIA-certification of a gene panel that can provide PGx guidance for the use of 42 medications in UCSF Health. Following CLIA validation, the clinical application will be launched first with lung transplant service to pre-emptively genotype patients wait listed for transplant and use PGx to guide tacrolimus dosing post- transplant. I am leading several spin off projects related to clinical application of PGx at UCSF: a cost-effectiveness analysis of PGx in transplant and development of clinical decision support (CDS) structure for delivering the PGx-based treatment recommendations to clinicians.

Alexandra Teixeira joined the Medical Devices group at INL in August 2018 to work on an FCT project related to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Currently, and since 2020, she is a PhD student in Health Sciences at the School of Medicine of the same university. Her PhD is being developed between three institutes: INL, ICVS (University of Minho), and CINBIO (University of Vigo). Throughout her PhD, she has acquired extensive knowledge and experience in three major areas, such as microfluidics, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and, more recently, genetics and molecular biology; her focus is to promote the integration of these areas in order to improve diagnosis in AML, and more precisely, minimal residual disease (MRD) in this hematological disease. The main aim of her thesis is to develop and integrate a microfluidic device for the isolation of leukemic blasts and a SERS substrate for the detection of MRD-related mutations in AML. Her current focus is to understand the impact of autophagy genes in AML and, more precisely, their impact on patient survival.

Francesco Trotta is currently full professor of Industrial Chemistry at the department of Chemistry of the University of Turin, Italy. He is member of the Italian Chemical Society (SCI). He is also part of the Society for Molecular Imprinting (SMI) and of the Italian Scientific Society (ISA), president of the National Association of Chemistry and Technology of Cyclodextrins. (CD.TE.C) and cofounder and President of the Green Sciences for Sustainable Development Foundation (Venice). He was a member of the International Scientific Board of the International Symposium Cyclodextrins. "Chairman" of the several international conferences and international summer schools on cyclodextrin chemistry, polymer chemistry and green chemistry. He was invited speakers to several domestic and international conferences. He was editor of a Book from Wiley and member of the Editorial Board of Polymers, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Acta Scientific Pharmaceutical Sciences. Over the years he acted as an examiner of numerous scientific articles for a great number of high impact journals. He is author or co-author of 292 scientific publications, 20 industrial patents, 8 book chapters, 2 items of the Encyclopedia of Membrane and more than 250 communications to national and international conferences. He received 11,485 citations and h-index 61 on scopus.com (August 2025). Recent Standford University Scientists Ranking recognize prof. Trotta in the Top 2% of World Scientists.

Majlinda Vasjari is currently professor in Analytical Chemistry Group at Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana. She obtained a Ph.D. in Chemistry at University of Tirana (1997, Albania) and followed various postdoctoral researches in various european universities supported by TEMPUS program, DAAD, Erasmus mundus, etc. She is/was coordinator of national and international EU projects (Erasmus+ Program, Twinning, Ceepus network, COST Action), as well as bilateral projects Albania-Italy, Albania-Turkey, etc. Her research interests include environmental studies and nanotechnology (designing sensitive and selective modified analytical sensors and biosensors using nanomaterials, biomolecules, plant tissue, etc). She has more than 60 published papers in peer review journals, 1 book chapter. Since 2020 she is Co-coordinator of the Albanian Unit of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (NanoAlb), next Academy of Science of Albania.

Kledi Xhaxhiu is a full time professor at the Chemistry Department, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana. He is also acting as a co-coordinator of the Albanian Unit of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (NanoAlb). For 1.5 year he was deputy minister of the environment of Albania. Kledi Xhaxhiu studied Food Chemistry at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana. Elaborated the diploma thesis at the Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry-Biology, University of Siegen, Germany. Completed PhD at the same university and faculty at the Department of Inorganic Chemistry. Participated in an internship at the Intermediate Products Department, BASF A.G. Ludwigshafen, Germany. He Post-doctorated at the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. He has co-authored over 65 publications in international and national scientific journals and has presented in more than 40 international and national scientific conferences. He is an as editorial board member of 6 scientific international journals and member of scientific/advisory board of 14 international conferences. His research interests of include syntheses and structural characterization of solid compounds, thermal expansion and thermal behavior of solids, physical properties of solid compounds and their composites with conducting polymers, such as: thermoelectric and photo-sensorial; adsorption-desorption of heavy metals on layered/channeled solids, adsorption-desorption of organic pollutants from clays and fly ash; carbon paste electrodes for targeted determination and quantification of electro-active compounds in aqueous solutions; sub- and supercritical extraction of essential oils from plants and fruits. Actually cooperates with several research groups in distinguished universities abroad.

Dr. Yilmazer is working in the Biomedical Engineering Department of Ankara University as an Associate Professor. She is also the vice director of the Stem Cell Institute of the same university since 2016. In 2008, she completed her MSc degree in Cancer Immunotherapy at the University of Nottingham (UK) and, in 2012, she obtained her PhD in the Nanomedicine Lab based in the School of Pharmacy, University College London (Prof. K. Kostarelos). During her PhD, she focused on artificial envelopment of adenoviral vectors and how this technology affects the in vitro and in vivo behaviour of viral particles. She also had opportunity to work with a variety of delivery vectors including carbon nanomaterials. She continued her postdoctoral study in the same lab and for the first time in literature, she showed that direct in vivo reprogramming towards pluripotency in mouse liver tissue is possible via non-viral overexpression of defined factors. This provided a proof-of-evidence of in vivo reprogramming of adult somatic cells towards a pluripotent state with high efficiency and fast kinetics. In July 2013, she moved back to Turkey where she established her own research group in Ankara University. She has been selected as the Best Young Investigator in Turkey by the Turkish Society of Medical Biology and Genetics in 2013. In 2018, she has been selected as a Young Investigator by the Turkish Academy of Sciences and in 2019 she has been awarded Scientific Encouragement Award by the Ankara University.

Chiara Zanardi is Full Professor of Analytical Chemistry at the Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems of the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and associated to the Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity of the National Research Council of Italy. She received the degree in Industrial Chemistry from the University of Bologna and the PhD in Chemical Sciences from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy. Her expertise mainly concerns the application of innovative materials and nanomaterials in amperometric sensing for the monitoring of biomarkers for human health, of environmental pollutants and of drugs of abuse. She is the co-author of more than 100 papers printed on peer-review journals, two patents, one book and three book chapters dealing with modified electrodes in electroanalysis

Dr. Ziberi is a full time professor at the Physics department of Physics, University of Tetova.
He earned his BSc in Physics in Tirana Albania in 1998 and his MSc in 2001 and PhD in 2006 at the University of Leipzig in Germany. From 2002 until July 2010 he worked as a scientific employee at the Leibniz Institute for surface modification in Leipzig, Germany, working on surface engineering and nanostructuring of different materials using low energy ion beams. Dr. Ziberi is board member of the institute Alb-Shkenca and of the NanoAlb excellence group of ASA in Tirana. He was awarded the Fulbright scholarship in 2018 at Harvard Medical school, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, working on combination of radiotherapy and imunnotherapy using immunogenic biomaterials loaded with nanoparticles for cancer treatment. He is a Global Health Catalyst and member of the Global Oncology University. He is reviewer in a number of scientific journals, has more than 40 publications and over 100 contributions in international conferences, from which more than 20 are invited. Dr. Ziberi was member of scientific infrastructure and bio-nanotechnology group of the framework program HORIZON2020 in Brussels and evaluator of CEEPUS programs.