Lorenzo Moroni
Prof. Lorenzo Moroni studied Biomedical Engineering at Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy, and Nanoscale Sciences at Chalmers Technical University, Sweden. He received his Ph.D. cum laude in 2006 at University of Twente on 3D scaffolds for osteochondral regeneration, for which he was awarded the European doctorate award in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering from the European Society of Biomaterials (ESB). In 2007, he worked at Johns Hopkins University as a post-doctoral fellow in the Elisseeff lab, focusing on hydrogels and stem cells. In 2008, he was appointed the R&D director of the Musculoskeletal Tissue Bank of Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute, where he investigated the use of stem cells from alternative sources for cell banking, and the development of novel bioactive scaffolds for skeletal regeneration. From 2009 till 2014, he joined again University of Twente, where he got tenured in the Tissue Regeneration department.
MERLN Institute
Since 2014, Moroni works at Maastricht University, where he is a founding member of the MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine. In 2016, he became full professor in biofabrication for regenerative medicine, followed by an appointment as the CTR Department Chair and Vice-Director of the Institute. Since 2022, Lorenzo Moroni is the Scientific Director of the MERLN Institute.
Moroni's
Biofabrication Group /
Moronilab at MERLN focuses on developing biofabrication technologies to generate libraries of 3D scaffolds able to control cell fate. This passes through the design of biomaterials, 3D scaffolds, and surface properties to better understand cell-material interactions. Applications spans from developing new approaches for tissue and organ regeneration to advanced human 3D in vitro models that can be used to understand fundamental (path)physiological mechanisms and study new advanced therapies. Additionally, Moroni is leading several international scientific consortia projects, including ‘Pulse’, ‘Screened’, and ‘3D-Mentor’
.
Grants & Awards
Moroni has received more than 30 grants and awards over the course of his career. In 2014, he received the prestigious Jean Leray award for outstanding young principal investigators from the ESB and the ERC starting grant. In 2016, he also received the prestigious Young Scientist Award for outstanding principal investigators from TERMIS followed by the TERMIS and ISBF mid-career awards. In 2017, he was elected as faculty of the Young Academy of Europe and in the top 100 Italian scientists within 40 worldwide by the European Institute of Italian Culture. Since 2024, Moroni is an international fellow at the International Union of Biomaterial Societies and at TERMIS. In 2025, Moroni received the prestigious
ERC Advanced Grant for his research project MECCANO.
Publications
