Maria Pereira, Ph.D., Head of Research at Gecko Biomedical, is responsible for the research activities and for the translation of the core technologies from the academic to the industrial settings.

Maria holds a PhD in Bioengineering systems under the scope of the MIT-Portugal program, where she focused on the development of biomaterial-based solutions for unmet medical needs in the fields of tissue adhesion and drug delivery. Maria managed several multi-center collaborations leading to multiple high impact publications. In 2014, she integrated MIT’s Technology Review Magazine list of Innovators Under 35 Award) and in 2015, she was recognized by Forbes Magazine as part of the 30 under 30 list in Healthcare and by TIME Magazine as a Next Generation Leader.

Nature-Inspired Biomaterials for Tissue Repair in Cardiovascular Applications: a Translational Story