The Institute for Biomedical Engineering (INEB) is a private non-profit association with the statute of public interest founded in 1989. The mission of INEB is to generate knowledge by promoting research, advanced training and technology transfer in biomedical engineering. INEB is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary research institution where integrative engineering solutions are applied to improve human health, involving specialists in biomaterials, tissue regeneration, nanomedicine, bioimaging, medical signals, geoepidemiology, biology and medicine. In 2008 INEB established the consortium i3S – Institute for Research and Innovation in Health, together with the University of Porto, the Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology (IBMC) and the Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of UPorto (IPATIMUP). In 2014, i3S was among the 11 national institutions rated as “Exceptional” by the national Foundation for Science and Technology.

Ana Paula Pêgo got her Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry and Biomaterials from the University of Twente (The Netherlands) in 2002. In 2003 she moved to INEB, where she became a Principal Investigator in 2012. In 2015, INEB joined i3S, where Ana leads the nanoBiomaterials for Targeted Therapies (nBTT) group. By using nanomedicine strategies, the nBTT group aims at providing in situ and in a targeted manner the required signals to promote nervous tissue regeneration. The research on new biomaterials for application in neurosciences includes the development of new polymers for the design of alternative vectors to viruses for efficient nucleic acid delivery and preparation of nerve grafts for spinal cord injury treatment. Societal and ethical issues that concern Regenerative Medicine and NanoMedicine are also topics in which Ana Pêgo is involved. She has also been appointed the Scientific Director of the Bioimaging Centre for Biomaterials and Regenerative Therapies of INEB and she is an Invited Associate Professor at the Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar and at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto.

In CARTHAGO, INEB will apply dendrimer-based technology for delivery of nucleic acids to joint tissues.