Katarzyna Polak-Krasna is a Lecturer in Biomedical Engineering at the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG). Her research interests are in smart materials development, characterisation and modelling. She works on many subjects, such as; programmable scaffolds for spinal cord injury repair, mechanical properties of soft and hard tissue, finite element modelling, biodegradation of polymers, bioresorbable vascular stents, piezoelectric materials, additive manufacturing and electrospinning. She uses AFM to determine mechanical properties of polymer membranes and electrospun nanofibres.
Kate with one of her polymers (PIM-1)
Biography: Kate did her MSc Eng degree in Biomedical Engineering with specialisation in Biomechanics at Wroclaw University of Science and Technology. She worked on spinal cord structures and Finite Element modelling of denticulate ligament, a structure stabilising spinal cord in spinal canal. She obtained her PhD in the field of electrospun biomaterials for tissue engineering applications from Leuphana University Lueneburg in Germany. After that she worked at University of Bath in the UK in the field of Polymers and Materials Science for actuation and hydrogen storage applications. Her second postdoc at NUIG was in the field of bioresorbable materials for vascular stent applications. In 2019 she was appointed a Lecturer in Biomedical Engineering at NUIG and has since been working on smart materials development, characterisation and modelling.
Twitter: @DrPolakKrasna
Website: http://www.nuigalway.ie/science-engineering/staff-profiles/katarzynapolak-krasna/