A/Prof Elena Juan Pardo is the Laboratory Head of the Translational 3D Printing Laboratory for Advanced Tissue Engineering (T3mPLATE), at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research. She is an Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Western Australia (UWA). 

After starting her career as a materials engineer, working on fusion reactors, Elena decided to transfer her engineering skills to the medical world. With extensive experience in biomaterials and biofabrication, Elena has focussed her research on tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and in vitro modelling.

A/Prof. Elena Juan-Pardo has over 15 years’ experience in developing biomaterials and 3D printing technologies for tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and 3D in vitro disease models. She has worked in 3 different continents and acquired a wide set of interdisciplinary skills at the interface between engineering, biology and medicine. A/Prof. Juan-Pardo is passionate about bringing the latest advances in biomaterials, 3D printing and bioprinting to the clinic for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. She is an internationally recognised expert in a novel biofabrication technique called melt electrowriting (MEW), a high-resolution 3D printing technique that she exploits to design personalised scaffolds or templates for the regeneration of heart valves, vascular grafts and other cardiovascular medical devices. MEW scaffolds combined with hydrogels allow the tailoring of the biomechanical properties of newly designed devices to obtain native tissue-like mechanical properties to restore function while stimulating the endogenous regenerative response.

Her current research involves the development of a pioneering 3D printing technology, known as melt electrowriting, which enables the production of highly controlled cellular scaffolds for tissue engineering and biomedical applications.