About Jasmina
Cell-Instructive Materials | Gačanin Peretti-Schmucker Research Group
Group Leader
Innovating soft materials: Precision scaffolds, green performers, and active matrices
Biography
Jasmina Gačanin, prize holder of Karl-von-Frisch-Preis (VBiO) and Scheffel-Preis (Literarische Gesellschaft), received her B.Sc. (2013) and M.Sc. (2015) degrees in Biochemistry, Ulm University, Germany, as a scholarship holder of the “Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes”. Following, she developed multifunctional hydrogels for medicine during her dissertation in the group of Prof. Dr. Tanja Weil at Ulm University and graduated with summa cum laude in 2020. Jasmina continued her work as a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Prof. Weil at the MPI-P in Mainz as project responsible at the MPI-P, within the framework of two industrial cooperations: BMBF projects "Next Generation Injectable, Adaptive Hydrogels" (InGel-NxG) and "New bio-based rheology modifiers” (Kosmogel). In 2023, Jasmina has been appointed as a “Peretti-Schmucker Fellow”, with the position donated by The Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation. The research project addressed an urgent need in the treatment of skin through newly developed innovative biomaterials – hydrogel-cell formulations as living biomaterials for the next-generation treatment of skin related conditions, wound healing, or tissue engineering.
In 2023, Jasmina was appointed as a group leader at MPI-P and leads the new cell-instructive materials group focusing on the development of multifunctional 3D biohybrid materials for medical applications, with focus on regenerative medicine and personal care. In 2024, Jasmina secured together with project partners from academia (TUDa, NMI) the BMFTR-funded collaboration: “HEAL-X BIOINK”, self-healing, bio-inspired hydrogel platform for next generation 3D bioprinting, with mentors from industry. Her group is working on the sub-project “Synthesis of mammalian cell-compatible hydrogels for 3D printing” and is focusing on the development (design, synthesis, characterization) of hydrogels and their components, as well as the material/cell interactions, and finally their combination to functional, self-healing and printable hydrogels as HEAL-X Bioink. In the same year, she started supporting the Catalight B08 project. In 2025, Clariant Personal Care and the Cell-Instrucive Materials group continue their close collaboration with a new project “Eco-Rheo NxG”, as a continuation to Kosmogel, for the development of sustainable rheology modifiers.
Recently, Jasmina has been awarded a prestigious research grant - The Peretti-Schmucker Fellowship - donated by The Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation in memory of Elsa Peretti, designer and philanthropist founder, as well as dermatologist and friend of the Foundation, Dr. Yvonne Schmucker.Building on the success of the research conducted by Dr. Gačanin, the Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation is extending this collaboration, with funding for a three-year research project on skin biomaterials. The Gačanin Peretti-Schmucker Research Group was installed in 2026 and the team focuses on the development of environmentally friendly and self-healing soft material systems for dermatology. The project, at the MPI-P hosted in the Department for the Synthesis of Macromolecules led by Prof. Tanja Weil, is going to be a collaboration with Ulm University, covering fundamental research and material engineering to medical applications.
Contact:
- gacanin@mpip-mainz.mpg.de
- 06131 379 311
Profession
2026 - Present: Peretti-Schmucker Fellow and Peretti-Schmucker Research Group by The Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
2023 - Present: Group Leader, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
2023 - 2024: Peretti-Schmucker Fellow, by The Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
2022: Postdoctoral Researcher - Research Stay (May-Aug), Clariant Innovation Center - Industrial & Consumer Specialties, Frankfurt, Germany.
2020 - 2023: Postdoctoral and Senior Postdoctoral researcher, Project Responsible for two BMBF-funded projects at the MPI-P, Dept. Prof. Weil, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
Education
Okt 2015 - Jun 2020: Dr. rer. nat. (summa cum laude), Ulm University, Germany; and jointly at the MPI-P, Mainz
2010 - 2015: B.Sc. and M.Sc., Biochemistry, Ulm University, Germany, as a scholarship holder of the “Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes”.
Selected Honors and Awards
2026: Peretti-Schmucker Fellowship and Research Group (The Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation)
2023: Peretti-Schmucker Fellow (The Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation)
2022: Nominated & selected for Sign up! Career Building Program 2023 "For Leadership"; Max Planck Society and cooperation partner EAF Berlin
2021: Nominated & selected for Sign up! Career Building Program 2022 "For Your Career"; Max Planck Society and cooperation partner EAF Berlin
2021: Award: best oral presentation "Supramolecular crosslinking: Advanced hydrogels for tissue engineering", SupraBio Konferenz (Online), May 2021.
2020: Poster award 3rd place “Crosslinking materials for responsive hydrogels designed for use in inflammatory joint disease treatment” – GDCh Online Ceremony for 100 years polymer science and twitter poster session (Online), September 2020.
2020: 10 % the most frequently downloaded works in 2018-2019, WILEY: i) Gačanin, J. et al. „Autonomous Ultrafast Self‐Healing Hydrogels by pH‐Responsive Functional Nanofiber Gelators as Cell Matrices“, Adv. Mater., 2019, 31, 1805044 and ii) Gačanin, J. et al. “Biomedical Applications of DNA‐Based Hydrogels“
Adv. Funct. Mater., 2019, 1906253.
2011 - 2015: Scholarship (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes)
2010: Karl-von-Frisch-Award (VBiO - Verband Biologie, Biowissenschaften & Biomedizin in Deutschland,(Association for Biology, Biosciences & Biomedicine in Germany)).
2010: Scheffel-Award (Deutsche Literarische Gesellschaft (German Literary Society)).
Invited Lectures and Talks
09/2025: Molecular innovation - supramolecular gelators unlock new functions for advanced 3D materials and applications, AmnioPrintCare workshop, Belgrade (Serbia)
12/2024: Introducing functions with supramolecular gelators: From molecules towards 3D materials and applications. SIIRI (SFB/Transregio 298) Implant Lecture Series; Hannover.
Selected talks on conferences
2025: Shaping supramolecular gelators as gateway to new functions: from molecules towards 3D soft matter and applications, ESB Conference, Turin, Italy.
2024: Cell-instructive materials: functional hydrogel platforms by guided assembly; MSE Conference, Darmstadt
2024: Cell-Instructive Materials: versatile biohybrids & their guided assembly to functional hydrogels; 3DMM2O Conference, Schöntal, Germany.
Teaching activities
2025/2026: WiSe Allgemeine Chemie (“General Chemistry”) Seminar for Biochemists as part of for the bachelor's degree programs in Chemistry, Economic Chemistry, Chemistry Education, Biochemistry, and Molecular Medicine by M. Lindén, S.Krause, S. Rau at Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
10/2024: WiSe Biopolymers Lecture (Master Chemistry and Biochemistry) at Ulm University, Ulm, Germany, each. Together with Prof. Weil and Dr. Ng.
10/2022, WiSe Biopolymers Lecture (Master Chemistry and Biochemistry) at Ulm University, Ulm, Germany, each. Together with Prof. Weil and Dr. Ng.
10/2021, WiSe Biopolymers Lecture (Master Chemistry and Biochemistry) at Ulm University, Ulm, Germany. Together with Prof. Weil and Dr. Ng.