Meet the Cell-Instructive Materials Team
A great team of biochemists, chemists, and material scientists is working together on exciting and cutting-edge research at the forefront of soft materials and their active, self-assembled components.
Group Leader
Dr. Jasmina Gačanin
Group Leader Peretti-Schmucker Research Group, Cell-instructive MaterialsPostdoctoral Reseacher
Dr. Nico Alleva
PostdocMeet Nico - Precision self-assembling systems and rheology modification
PostDoc, EcoRheo NxG (CLARIANT), HEAL-X BIOINK (BMFTR), Catalight (SFB)
I am interested in the design and synthesis of DNA- and peptide-based biomaterials with programmable self-assembly, with a particular focus on DNA–polymer conjugates, nanoscale patterning on DNA origami, and the development of robust purification strategies. In addition to DNA-based systems, my research also explores peptide self-assembly, particularly in the context of rheology modifiers, thereby broadening the scope of tunable biomaterial properties. Across the majority of my projects, I employ atomic force microscopy (AFM) as a primary characterization tool—particularly under liquid conditions—thereby developing strong expertise in fluid-phase imaging and analysis.
Nico Alleva earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Biomedical Chemistry from the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. During his studies - including a semester abroad at the Polymer Science and Engineering Department at the University of Massachusetts - he focused on polymer chemistry and its potential in developing new material classes. During his PhD at the Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research in the group of Prof. Tanja Weil, he worked on DNA-Polymer hybrid materials, making them available for research approaches and created highly defined self-assembling DNA-Polymer architectures. He focused on the optimization of the formation and purification by introducing a versatile, robust and efficient grafting to method, reaching high yields and developed a new purification protocol using anion exchange chromatography obtaining highly pure materials. In his PostDoc he joined the Cell-instructive materials group and is part of the CataLight research team, working on DNA-Catalyst Systems for Liposome Nanoreactors as well as on the characterization and modification of self-assembling peptide systems within the Heal-X and EcoRheo NxG projects.
Meet Mohadeseh - Biopolymer hybrids and 3D printing
PostDoc, HEAL-X BIOINK (BMFTR)
I am interested in designing novel self-healing hybrid materials as bioinks for 3D printing that mimic the extracellular matrix and facilitate communication at biointerfaces for tissue engineering.
Mohadeseh (Baran) Bagherabadi began her academic journey in Chemistry at Sharif University of Technology. She received an exceptional talent award direct admission to the Master's program in Polymer Chemistry at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, where she worked under the supervision of Prof. Gholamhossein Zohuri on catalyst copolymerization. In 2021, she joined Technische Universität Darmstadt as a Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher (STIMULUS ITN), pursuing her PhD focused on the development of multifunctional mesoporous materials for wound dressing applications. Her work in the group of Prof. Annette Andrieu-Brunsen concentrated on sensing and on-demand photorelease of antimicrobial peptides for infection control. Currently, she is a postdoctoral researcher in the Cell-Instructive Materials group led by Jasmina Gačanin, within the Synthesis of Macromolecules department headed by Prof. Dr. Tanja Weil at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPIP). Baran is part of the HEAL-X Bioink project, where she is developing biohybrid materials for 3D printing applications, specifically as bioinks tailored for neural cell engineering.
Dr. Patrick Roth
PostdocMeet Patrick - Self-assembly for rheology modification, Data digitalization
PostDoc, EcoRheo NxG (CLARIANT), HEAL-X BIOINK (BMFTR, Digitalization)
Patrick Roth studied Chemistry at the Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz (Germany) and received his master's degree in 2020. During his master studies he had the opportunity to work in the laboratories of Prof. Dr. H. Frey and Prof. Dr. P. Besenius on "hyperbranched PEGs" and "trigger-responsive self-assembling supramolecular polymers" respectively. He joined the Department of Prof. Dr. Tanja Weil for his master thesis on "depsi-peptide functionalized biopolymers for hydrogel synthesis" in 2019 and completed his PhD on "rational control of structure formation in supramolecular peptide assemblies" as part of the Synthetic Life-Like Systems in 2025. After his graduation, he joined the Cell-instructive Materials group as a postdoctoral researcher. He is engaged in the development of new rheology modifiers within the EcoRheo NxG project and the digitalization of research data within the BMFTR project HEAL-X Bioink.
PhD Student
Meet Thunchanok - Self-assembling peptides and active cell matrices
PhD Candidate, HEAL-X BIOINK (BMFTR)
I would like to advance the development of functional biomaterials for next-generation biomedical applications, with a particular focus on developing bioink components and hydrogel platforms that combine self-healing, bio-inspired, and functional properties, making them suitable for advanced 3D bioprinting applications
Thunchanok completed her Bachelor's degree with honors in Materials Science from Chulalongkorn University (Thailand) in June 2019. In September 2021, she joined the research group of Prof. Hiroharu Ajiro at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology (Japan) as a recipient of the prestigious Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship. Her master's research focused on the synthesis and characterization of novel ester-free poly(trimethylene carbonate) multilayer films, assembled via Schiff base linkages and modified with allyl-derived groups. She completed her Master's degree in September 2023.
In April 2024, Thunchanok began her PhD studies in the Cell-Instructive Materials group led by Jasmina Gačanin, within the Synthesis of Macromolecules department headed by Prof. Dr. Tanja Weil. Her current research explores self-assembling peptides as functional components in bioinks. She is involved in the "HEAL-X Bioink" project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), which aims to develop a self-healing, bio-inspired, and multifunctional hydrogel platform for next-generation 3D bioprinting applications.