Dr. Manasa Nune is an Associate Professor in the Manipal Institute of Regenerative (MIRM), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Bengaluru. She holds a doctorate from the Centre for Nanotechnology & Advanced Biomaterials (CeNTAB), SASTRA University, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. Post that, she worked as a Post-doctoral Research Associate at the Chemistry of Physics & Materials Unit of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore. She is also the Ph.D. Co-Ordinator and Member Secretary for the Institutional Committee for Stem Cell Research (IC-SCR) of MIRM, MAHE. Her research interests are in biomaterials and tissue engineering applications for neural, hepatic, reproductive tissues regeneration etc; Extracellular matrix-based scaffolds, cell-free therapies and 3D bioprinting

She is one of the 20 Indian women scientists invited to participate in the inaugural ASEAN-INDIA Women Scientists Conclave (AIWSC) co-organized by Singapore’s Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) with India’s Department of Science & Technology and Anushandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) with the support of the ASEAN Secretariat held from 24-26 April 2024, Singapore. Got American Chemical Society (ACS) membership as an appreciation in recognition for being an ACS peer-reviewer in March 2024. Received SBAOI-MAHE Young Scientist Award and first prize for her talk at the International Conference on Biomaterials, Regenerative Medicine and Devices (BIO-Remedi 22) held at IIT Guwahati from 14^th-18^th December 2022. Awarded Life member of the Society for Biomaterials & Artificial Organs India (SBAOI) and the Society for Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine India (STERMI). Certificate of Appreciation awarded for being the resource person for the faculty development program titled "Institutional Committee for Stem Cell Research: Guidelines and Screening Procedures for Protocols" organized by Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Mangalore on January 28^th 2022 & July 2^nd 2021. Received about 7 research grants and published about 28 articles, 2 book chapters and made 57 conference presentations. She has an H-index of 14 with more than 680 citations for the publications. Editorial Board member for ‘Scientific Reports’ from September 2024. Guest editor for special issues in ‘JoVE’ and ‘Frontiers in Neuroscience’ journals. Peer-reviewed for 47 journals. Supervised/supervising 6 Ph.D., 4 Project Assistants, 1 M.Tech., 16 M.Sc., 1 PG Diploma & 10 B.Tech. students.

Key research focus of the lab

Tissue engineering is the study of the growth of new tissues or organs from cells and scaffolds to produce a fully functional organ for implantation. Biomaterials designed should be in close contact with biological systems, tissues, and fluids and serve the medical purpose of replacing a damaged organ or treating a disease. Manasa Nune’s lab majorly focuses on the areas of biomaterials & tissue engineering applications below

·       Fabrication of nanofiber substrates for applications in uterine tissue engineering

·       Designing novel bio inks and substrates for nerve tissue engineering applications

·       Development of 3D bioprinted scaffolds for liver tissue engineering

·       Exploring the nanomaterials applications in ovarian tissue regeneration

·       Development of in vitro 3D tumor models for understanding cancer microenvironment