The University Hospital Basel is one of the leading medical centers in Switzerland with high internationally recognized standards. The close cooperation of the University Hospital Basel with Switzerland's oldest university and the global, leading life science companies in Basel guarantees interdisciplinary treatment concepts and innovations in all medical disciplines at the highest level. This knowledge transfer also benefits teaching and research as well as education and training to a pronounced degree.

The Laboratory of Tissue Engineering belongs to the Department of Biomedicine in the University Hospital Basel which ensures close interaction between laboratory and clinical applications. The core competence of the multidisciplinary group lies in stem cell and chondrocyte biology as well as in the engineering of cellular grafts based on autologous cells and porous 3D scaffolds to repair cartilage and bone tissues.

This innovative technique has been developed through a tight collaboration between the research groups of Prof. Ivan Martin and Prof. Andrea Barbero and the orthopedic surgeon PD Dr. med. Marcus Mumme.

Portrait Ivan Martin

Ivan Martin Head of Tissue Engineering Research Group Director of Department of Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel

Prof. Dr. Ivan Martin studied Biomedical Engineering at the University of Genova where he obtained his PhD in 1996. Between 1996 and 1999 he was a postdoctoral associate at Harvard/MIT. He joined the Department of Biomedicine (DBM) at the University Hospital of Basel in 1999 as leader of the Tissue Engineering Research Group, in close coordination with the surgical units. In 2007 he was appointed Professor for Tissue Engineering at the University of Basel and from 2021 he has now been appointed as Director of the DBM. From 2004 to 2009 he was the first president of the European section of the Tissue Engineering Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS), where he now coordinates the Strategic Alliance Committee. In 2018 he was elected as member of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences. He is currently Chair of the ‘Mesenchymal stromal cell committee’, member of the ‘Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Committee’ of the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) and member of the editorial boards of 6 international journals. His group includes scientists from the biological, engineering and clinical fields, dedicated to develop solid scientific basis for innovative translational strategies in regenerative surgery. In this field he is author of more than 280 peer-reviewed papers on international journals (H-index of 94), inventor on 12 patent applications and recipient of grants from the main funding bodies, including the European Research Council. The developed science and technology have been translated into different clinical trials for cell-based cartilage and bone repair, and into the founding of a spin-out company for the commercialization of bioreactors for 3D cell culture (Cellec Biotek AG).

Research

PD Dr. med. Marcus Mumme studied medicine at the University of Hamburg in Germany and obtained the medical degree in 2007. Between 2008 and 2014 he worked as resident surgeon in the field of orthopedic and trauma surgery with internships in different Swiss, French and German hospitals. With a clinical specialization on pediatric and regenerative knee surgery, he worked since 2015 as consultant and since 2019 as senior consultant for regenerative knee surgery and deputy head of pediatric sports orthopedics.

Since 2010, PD Dr. med. Marcus Mumme is part of the Tissue Engineering group of Prof. Ivan Martin with special focus on the translation of new regenerative treatments from bench to bedside. In 2019 PD Dr. med. Marcus Mumme received the “Venia legendi” for Orthopedic and trauma surgery of the University of Basel.

Markus Mumme - UKBB

Portrait Markus Mumme

Deputy Head of Regenerative Knee surgery, University Hospital Basel and Pediatric Sports Orthopedics, University Children’s Hospital Basel

Prof. Dr. Andrea Barbero studied Biology at the University of Genova and obtained his PhD in Biochemistry and Chemical Chemistry at the University of Milano in 2000. Between 2001 and 2005 he was a postdoctoral associate at the Tissue Engineering lab lead by Prof Ivan Martin at the University of Basel and continued to work in Prof Ivan Martin’s lab as research associate until 2020. In 2010 he received the title of Private Lecturer in Regenerative Medicine and in 2017 the title of Honorary Professor from the School of Medicine (University of Basel). In 2021 he become research group leader of the Cartilage Engineering research group at the Department of Biomedicine (University of Basel). The common denominator of the research projects performed in his lab is related to the establishment of three-dimensional culture systems, combining interdisciplinary efforts in cell biology, engineered technologies and materials science. These systems are used as model to investigate fundamental aspects of cartilage and intervertebral disk development, and as grafts to induce tissue regeneration. In this field, he is author of more than 90 peer-reviewed papers in international journals (h-index 40, 1-10-index 77) and recipient of grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Research

Portrait Andrea Barbero

Andrea Barbero Head of Cartilage Engineering Research Group Department of Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel