Aurelien Forget

Associate Lecturer in Macromolecular Chemistry, Queensland University of Technology

I obtained my Master of Science in Polymer Chemistry from the University Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, France, in 2009. During my studies, I had the opportunity to conduct research internships in several international laboratories in the USA and in Germany where I stayed to pursue my Doctoral studies. I was awarded my Ph. D. with Summa Cum Laude (highest grade) at the University of Freiburg in 2014 with the thesis "Synthetic Extracellular Matrix for Controlled Endothelial Cell Organisation". Later that year, I was offered a Postdoctoral Associate position at the University of South Australia. In 2017, I accepted a position at the Queensland University of Technology as Associate Lecturer in Chemistry, and I have also been granted an Honorary Visiting Research Fellow position at the Queensland Eye Institute, Brisbane, and an Adjunct Research Associate position at the University of South Australia, where I have ongoing projects and collaborations. In addition to my research activity, I have been consulting for different companies: Biotech Connection Bay Area and Markets and Markets.

My research tries to answer fundamental questions to understand the interaction between polymers (plastics, hydrogels) and living organisms (bacteria, human cells). I have developed biomedical applications in 3D bioprinting, 3D cell cultures, wound dressing and active containers for the transport of cells and tissue transplants. These findings have been published in several top-tier journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Science and Angewandte Chemie, but also been the subject of several granted patents.
I am particularly interested in Mechanobiology, an emerging field of science at the interface of biology and engineering that focuses on understanding how physical forces and changes in the mechanical properties of cells and tissues contribute to development, cell differentiation, physiology, and disease. To further this understanding, I have developed a polysaccharide-based hydrogel system that enables to encapsulate cells in a mechanically tailorable environment and allows for its therapeutic delivery through a minimally invasive procedure.