Dr. Anna Sandak, InnoRenew CoE research group leader and associate professor at the University of Primorska, successfully attained a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant.

Within the awarded project, Bioinspired living skin for architecture (ARCHI-SKIN), researchers will develop a protective biofilm made from engineered living materials. Recognized as one of the most stable biological systems on earth, most biofilm studies focus on preventing their formation. The beneficial use of biofilms for protection has largely been unexplored. Dr. Sandak and her team aim to change this during the five-year ARCHI-SKIN project. ARCHI-SKIN researchers will explore the design principles underlying fungal biofilm to advance knowledge about the biological system’s chemistry-structure-properties.  Mechanisms of biofilm formation, structure, function and performance will be studied. The ARCHI-SKIN project will use cutting-edge tools in life cell imaging, data science and machine learning. The idea is to develop a bioactive protective coating system that works in harmony with nature and benefits from the synergetic efforts of living fungal cells, bio-based ingredients and bioinspired concepts for materials design.

Read more about the project in an interview with Dr. Anna Sandak, ERC Recipient; ARCHI-SKIN project, published in Tromba, a magazine for the production and dissemination of news about science, creativity and innovation.