Nerea García de Albéniz takes home the FEMS Master Thesis Award

Nerea García de Albéniz, BBT PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Carles Mas-Moruno and Dr. Emilio Jiménez  (CIEFMA), has been the winner of  FEMS Master Thesis Award 2022 that was awarded during the Junior EUROMAT 2022, held in Coimbra (Portugal) from July 19th to the 22nd, 2022.

The student has won with her work on "Laser-assisted surface modification of zirconia-based materials to enhance osteoblast response for dental applications", under the direction of Dr. Carles Mas-Moruno (BBT) and Dr. Joan Josep Roa (CIEFMA), during her studies on the Master in Advanced Materials Science and Engineering - AMASE at UPC, where she researched how to improve the osseointegration of zirconia dental implants.

The aim of the thesis was to modify the surface of the zirconia to create a topography that would control the adhesion of bone cells. Specifically, a nanosecond laser was used to create lines parallel to the zirconia surface, and it was studied how these patterns affected the behavior of cells. In addition, different characterization techniques were used to examine the topographies created with the laser and to evaluate changes in the microstructure and mechanical properties of the material.

The award is endowed with 300 euros, sponsored by the company FlubeTech.