Mina conducted her PhD at the University of Sheffield, working in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering. During her PhD, she focused on the development of poly (glycerol sebacate)-co-poly(ethylene glycol) biomaterials for biomedical applications and 3D printing, and was also involved in a project creating a 3D human skin model mimicking the dermal-epidermal junction. Mina joined the Armstrong Group in April 2024 as a Postdoctoral Research Associate and heads up the development of innovative biomaterials for the biological integration of artificial muscles as part of the EPSRC-funded emPOWER project.
Valeria obtained her BSc (Hons) in Clinical Biochemistry from Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Mexico, in 2019. In 2020, she joined the Perriman Group at the University of Bristol for her PhD, supported by CONACYT, the University of Bristol, and Cytoseek Ltd. Her research focused on engineering artificial membrane-binding proteins to enhance the immunomodulatory activity of NK cells against in vitro cancer models. Valeria joined the Armstrong Group in April 2025 for a short-term project exploring drug-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in ovarian cancer, using biomimetic GelMA hydrogels to model the tumour microenvironment and assess the impact of chemotherapy on cellular behaviour.
Email Address: v.sandovaltorres@bristol.ac.uk