dr. ir. D. Gawlitta
dr. ir. D. Gawlitta
Research Programs
Biography
Biography
Dr. Debby Gawlitta is an associate Professor working on maxillofacial tissue regeneration, particularly focusing on bone regeneration. She is inspired by the natural mechanisms of the body for bone development and repair that she aims to adopt in her regenerative strategies. Translation of the regenerative strategies to clinical practice is driving current research.
Consequently, she aims to mimic the process of endochondral bone regeneration (via a cartilage intermediate - such as seen in the growth plate) to ultimately restore defects in patients. Recently, she showed the potential of allogeneic cells in this regenerative approach and currently studies the impact of the interaction with the immune system, devitalization and avenues for scale-up and clinical translation (see also here). The use of allogeneic cells would ease therapeutic interventions in patients. Furthermore, her group is focusing on vascularization strategies for bone regeneration to be able to create engineered bone tissue that is large enough to treat patient defects.
Research keywords include bone regeneration, clinical translation, biomaterials, stem/progenitor cells (MSCs), osteoimmunology, bioreactors, and 3D bioprinting.
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Dr. Gawlitta was trained as a biomedical engineer at the Eindhoven University of Technology. Her PhD thesis was focused on generating engineered skeletal muscle tissue to model and monitor the development of pressure ulcers.
In 2007, she moved to the department of Orthopaedics, University Medical Center in Utrecht, to work on bone and cartilage tissue regeneration within the Hospital's strategic impulse on regenerative medicine. During this postdoctoral period, she received a prestigious Veni grant (Dutch innovation grant) to pursue (endochondral) bone regeneration from a cartilage template with bone marrow-derived stem cells.
In 2014, she moved to the department of 'Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery & Special Dental Care' to establish her own group focusing on craniomaxillofacial bone regeneration. She currently holds a position as Associate Professor, supervising her group in the RMCU (Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht). In 2016, she received a start-up grant from the AO Foundation and in 2021 she received an OTP grant from NWO to extend and continue her endochondral research line in the XLbone project. She has published over 60 peer-reviewed papers.
Further, Debby Gawlitta developed and coordinates the 2-year Master’s program RMT – Regenerative Medicine and Technology. Since 2012, RMT is a collaborative program of the UMCU, Utrecht University and Eindhoven University of Technology.
Side Activities
2024- present Council member TERMIS-EU (Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society)
2023-present Board member NBTE (Dutch society for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering)
2019-present Member executive committee of Strategic Research Program ‘Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cells’, UMC Utrecht
2019-present Member of the internationalization committee of the UMC Utrecht
2022-present MDR Young Talent Committee
2012-present Coordinator of Master's program 'Regenerative Medicine and Technology'
2010-present Teaching of various annual Bachelor, Master’s, PhD and Summer school lectures in the Biomedical Sciences, Veterinary Sciences, and Medicine curricula on e.g. Biomechanics, Bone Tissue Engineering and Bioreactors.
Reviewer for several journals, including Tissue Engineering, Biofabrication, Biomaterials, Biomedical Materials Research
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Former Member of the UMC Utrecht Young Academy
Member of the local organizing committee of the ESB 2018 (annual meeting of the European Society for Biomaterials)
Former Board Member NVMB (Dutch Society for Matrix Biology)
Fellowship and Awards
2024: ZonMW (Care Research Netherlands & Medical Sciences of Dutch Research Council) Open competition grant ‘NutriBone’, (lead applicant, €750,000)
2023: RegMed XB/Strategic Vascular Alliance Valorisation Voucher (€25,000)
2022: NWO-TTW Open Technology Program 'Bridging the gap: aXelerated Large bone defect healing (XLbone)' No. 19260 (€ 839,935)
2018: H2020-MSCA-COFUND 'RESCUE' No. 801540 (co-applicant, € 3M)
2017: NWO Gravitation program 'MDR: Materials-driven research' (faculty member, € 18.8M)
2017: AO grant (AOCMF-17-17G) ‘MACRON: Mandibular Condyle Regeneration’ (€ 350,000)
2016: AO Foundation start-up grant (S-16-130G) ‘Clinical translation of endochondral bone regeneration’ (€ 107,000)
2016: Selected for the Research Talent Program of the UMC Utrecht
2014: Internal grant of UMC Utrecht for translational research (€ 33,300)
2013: NWO (Dutch Science Foundation) Graduate Program grant (€ 800,000)
2012: Selected for the Steyn Parvé program for stimulation of excellent female scientists of UMC Utrecht
2010: Veni: personal innovational incentive grant entitled ‘Mimicking nature: growing bone from cartilage’ was awarded by STW (Dutch technology foundation) (€250,000)
2008: Award for best thesis at the faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology
2000: Award for internship at foreign institute (Eindhoven University of Technology)
Research Output (58)
de Kort Willem W B, Haakma Wisse E, van Es Robert J J, Gawlitta Debby, Driehuis Else, Gansevoort Merel, Willems Stefan M 18 Sep 2023, In: Journal of Clinical medicine. 12 , p. 1-14 14 p.
van Dijk Lukas A., Janssen Nard G., Nurmohamed Silke J., Muradin Marvick S.M., Longoni Alessia, Bakker Robbert C., de Groot Florence G., de Bruijn Joost D., Gawlitta Debby, Rosenberg Antoine J.W.P. 16 Jan 2023, In: Clinical Oral Implants Research. 34 , p. 177-195 19 p.
Lim Khoon, Zreiqat Hala, Gawlitta Debby 15 Jan 2023, In: Acta Biomaterialia. 156 , p. 1-3 3 p.
de Silva Leanne, Bernal Paulina N., Rosenberg A. J.W., Malda Jos, Levato Riccardo, Gawlitta Debby 15 Jan 2023, In: Acta Biomaterialia. 156 , p. 250-268 19 p.
de Silva Leanne, Longoni Alessia, Staubli Flurina, Nurmohamed Silke, Duits Anneli, Rosenberg Antoine Jwp, Gawlitta Debby 2023, In: Advanced Healthcare Materials. 12
de Wildt Bregje W M, Cramer Esther E A, de Silva Leanne S, Ito Keita, Gawlitta Debby, Hofmann Sandra 21 Oct 2022, In: Bone. 166 , p. 1-12 12 p.
Khokhani Paree, Belluomo Ruggero, Croes Michiel, Gawlitta Debby, Kruyt Moyo C, Weinans Harrie 30 Jun 2022, In: Tissue engineering. Part C, Methods. 28 , p. 420-430 11 p.
Bouten Carlijn V C, Cheng Caroline, Vermue Ijsbrand M, Gawlitta Debby, Passier Robert 6 May 2022, In: Tissue Engineering. Part A. 28 , p. 525-541 17 p.
Longoni Alessia, Utomo Lizette, Robinson Abbie, Levato Riccardo, Rosenberg Antoine J W P, Gawlitta Debby 28 Dec 2021, In: Advanced Science. 9 , p. 1-14
Soliman Bram G, Major Gretel S, Atienza-Roca Pau, Murphy Caroline A, Longoni Alessia, Alcala-Orozco Cesar R, Rnjak-Kovacina Jelena, Gawlitta Debby, Woodfield Tim Bf, Lim Khoon S 8 Nov 2021, In: Advanced Healthcare Materials. 11