Cellularis Biomodels
Cellularis Biomodels is a deep-tech biotech company developing advanced 3D in vitro models that closely mimic human disease. Combining bioengineering, 3D biofabrication, and cell technologies, Cellularis creates physiomimetic platforms for preclinical drug screening and target discovery. These human-relevant models enhance predictive accuracy, reduce reliance on animal testing, and accelerate the development of next-generation therapies.
Team
Vítor M. Gaspar, CEO and co-funder
Vítor M. Gaspar is the CEO and co-founder of Cellularis Biomodels deep tech company (Ílhavo, Portugal) where he supervises a team of 4 research scientists, 5 junior level staff scientists and administrative personnel. He the lead inventor of 1 commercial product of Cellularis and co-inventor of 7 patents licensed to the company. He is also an Assistant Professor at the Chemistry Department of University of Aveiro, Portugal and Director of the Master’s Degree in Biotechnology. He is an integrated member of the directing board of the Associate Laboratory CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials, and the coordinator of CICECO Group 5 – Biomimetic, Biological and Living Materials, as well as a senior researcher on the COMPASS Research Group. His research focuses on the development of engineered human living materials and cell-dense tissue mimetics for in vitro disease modelling, regenerative medicine applications and cell-based therapeutics. Particularly, he has been pioneering cell surface modification techniques for processing cells at multiple scales and densities, to generate heterotypic living architectures. He has been applying state-of-the-art biofabrication technologies to rapidly generate tissue mimetic models at micrometer/millimeter scale for pre-clinical screening of therapeutics. He serves as an ad hoc reviewer for several international journals and has received various honors and awards both at academic and industrial level. He has been locally coordinating multiple European research projects, including those from EIC Pathfinder programme, Cluster 1 Health and RIA initiatives.
João F. Mano, Co-founder and chief scientific officer
João F. Mano is a co-founder and chief scientific officer of Cellularis Biomodels deep tech company (Ílhavo, Portugal). He is co-inventor of 7 patents that were licenced to the company. He is also full Professor at the Chemistry Department of University of Aveiro, Portugal, and researcher at the Associate Laboratory CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials, where he is directing the COMPASS Research Group. His research focuses on the application of advanced biomaterials and cells to advance multidisciplinary concepts in the field of regenerative and personalized medicine. Specifically, he utilizes biomimetic and nano/micro-technology approaches to develop polymer-based biomaterials and surfaces for the creation of biomedical devices with enhanced structural and multi-functional properties. He also engineers microenvironments to regulate cell behavior and organization, with the goal of clinically applying these technologies in advanced therapies and drug screening, or in the bioengineering of disease models. He serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Materials Today Bio (Elsevier). He has been coordinating multiple national and European research projects, including 2 Advanced Grants and 3 Proof-of-Concept Grants from the European Research Council. João F. Mano has received different honours and awards, including two honoris causa doctorates (Univ. of Lorraine and Univ. Utrecht), the George Winter Award 2020 from the European Soc. for Biomaterials and he was elected fellow of the European Academy of Sciences (FEurASc), FBSE and FAIMBE.