Nuno Neves to Serve as an Associate Editor of Artificial Organs

It is with great pleasure that I welcome Dr. Nuno M. Neves as an Associate Editor of Artificial Organs. Dr. Neves is an Associate Professor with Habilitation at the Research Institute I3Bs of the University of Minho in Portugal. He serves as the Director of the 3B's Research Group—a unit of excellence dedicated to biomaterials, biodegradables, and biomimetics—and is a member of the Board of Directors of the PT Associate Laboratory ICVS/3B's. Dr. Neves' academic foundation is rooted in Polymer Engineering and Science, with a PhD prepared in cooperation with the University of Twente, and a Habilitation in Tissue Engineering, Regenerative Medicine, and Stem Cells. His global perspective has been shaped by significant research appointments abroad, including a sabbatical at the University of Tokyo and a Visiting Professorship at the University of Trento. Currently, he directs the Doctoral Program in Tissue Engineering, Regenerative Medicine, and Stem Cells at the University of Minho and serves as the ERASMUS scientific coordinator for Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Neves' research focuses on the development of biomaterials from natural origin polymers such as starch or chitosan, as well as synthetic polymers like PCL, PLA, and PBS, which serve as scaffolds for the regeneration of bone 1-4, cartilage 5-7, kidney 8, 9, and thymus 10, 11. His scientific contributions represent a sophisticated synthesis of materials science, molecular biology, and pharmaceutical engineering. His work has fundamentally redefined the role of a “scaffold” from a passive structural support to an active, “instructive” microenvironment capable of directing cellular fate and delivering therapeutic payloads with high spatiotemporal precision 12-14. By using specific antibodies, substrates or decellularized ECMs he achieved sustained, localized microenvironments that replicate the physical scale, composition, stimulation and topography of the native extracellular matrix in various disease contexts and advanced therapies 15-20. Dr. Neves has demonstrated extensive leadership in large-scale research initiatives, serving as the Project Leader for the GENOSTEM Integrated Project regarding adult mesenchymal stem cells and as a leader for two Scientific Research Vectors of the EXPERTISSUES Network of Excellence. He was also the PI for the Horizon 2020 project Flexpol, focused on antimicrobial flexible polymers. His extensive portfolio of coordinated projects includes MICRO-NANO, which explored microfabrication of nanostructured materials; Naturally Nano, centered on electrospinning for specific biomaterials applications; and CartiScaff, which targeted the tissue engineering of non-articular cartilage. He further advanced the field through CellStrain, a project developing new bioreactors for tissue-like substitutes; OsteoGraphy, which created 3D patterned co-culture systems for vascularized bone; and MaxBone, focusing on maxillofacial reconstruction. His recent clinical and translational contributions include SPARTAN, involving TNF-capturing devices; Cells₄IDs, a cell-based therapy for inflammatory diseases; and RenalRevive, which addresses advanced therapies for patients in the transition from acute to chronic kidney disease. As a result of these funded projects, Dr. Neves currently supervises a multidisciplinary team of over 10 postgraduate researchers. His mentorship spans a diverse range of technical fields, including Materials Science and Engineering, Polymer Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Chemistry. Furthermore, he provides expert guidance to researchers in Biological Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Biochemistry, Biology, and Applied Biology, as well as the medical sciences of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. He has authored over 260 publications (Scopus) with more than 12 400 citations and the H-index of 57, reflecting his significant impact in the field. He brings a wealth of leadership experience from the European Society for Artificial Organs (ESAO), where he has served on the Board of Governors and currently leads the Tissue Engineering Working Group. As Associate Editor, Dr. Neves will focus on tissue engineering, biomaterials, and bioartificial organs. We are honored to have Dr. Neves join the Artificial Organs editorial team and look forward to his contributions. The author declares no conflicts of interest.