The Team
team
The team behind Vasc-on-Demand
Our team is a unique blend of young, dynamic academics and experienced industry experts, including all inventors of the technology. By combining the latest scientific knowledge with practical industry experience, we develop pioneering solutions in the life sciences. Our ultimate goal is to bring the first artificial human blood vessels to the market.
Meet our team and learn more about our work. Together, we are shaping the future of drug development and academic research.
Dr. Matthias Ryma
Project Coordinator & Inventor
Matthias Ryma completed his Masters in Biology and his PhD at the Department for Functional Materials in Medicine and Dentistry, University Hospital Würzburg under the supervision of Prof. Jürgen Groll. His dissertation received three awards, including the prestigious “Kulturpreis Bayern,” with the highest grade summa cum laude. During his PhD, Ryma developed and refined the technology that is going to bring the first artificial human blood vessels to market. Ryma has gained broad interdisciplinary knowledge in the fields of biology, biofabrication, tissue engineering, and material science. As the inventor of the technology, he is committed to advancing this innovation and utilizing it for the launch of a start-up that will enable commercial exploitation. Given his qualifications and interdisciplinary experience in biology and fabrication, Ryma will manage the technological part of the project additionally with the overall project leadership.
Alexander Radüchel
Project Management & Business Development
Alexander Radüchel has a Bachelor’s degree in business management and economics, and a Master’s degree in business information systems. Previously, he served as Team Leader IT Logistics Consultancy in the automation industry, where he was realizing big and complex projects around the world, built up and developed teams and made sure that projects were fulfilled in time, budget and quality. He has extensive knowledge and certifications in project management, requirements engineering, testing, consulting, and has experience working with international customers. As project manager for
Vasc-on-Demand, Radüchel will coordinate communication processes, oversee project management, and lead the creation of the business plan and resulting start-up. Additionally, he will be responsible for communication, marketing, and sales.
Patrick Kuntschke
Product Development
Patrick Kuntschke holds a degree in plastic and elastomer engineering from the University of Applied Sciences Würzburg, where he gained practical experience and knowledge about various manufacturing methods. He joined the R&D department of a company that produces plastic-bonded magnets after completing his diploma thesis. He successfully launched several products into the mass market. He has additional training in quality management and experimental design. With his extensive experience in product development from raw materials to final components, he will be instrumental in advancing the current prototypes and ultimately enabling mass production of our products. Furthermore, his industrial network will be beneficial in identifying potential collaborations for the project.
Katinka Theis
Chemist
Katinka Theis completed her Master’s in Chemistry with focus on
poly(2-oxazoline) synthesis in her Master’s project. She is currently earning her PhD under the guidance of Prof. Jürgen Groll at the Department for Functional Materials in Medicine and Dentistry, University Hospital Würzburg. Her PhD work involves synthesizing poly(2-oxazoline) and biocompatible hydrogel formulations as well as microgels. This background makes her an excellent fit for the team to develop the necessary materials and biocompatible matrix formulations. Moreover, she supervised several students during her doctoral studies, presented parts of her work in international conferences and acquired communication and leadership skills. Taking this and her pro-active and highly motivated work ethics into account, we are lucky to have such a well-suited chemist to our team for the leadership of the chemical tasks within the development activities.
Leanne de Silva
Biology
Leanne de Silva recently completed her PhD thesis at UMC Utrecht, where she specialized in vascularization and tissue engineering. With a strong background in these fields, Leanne is an invaluable asset to our team. She will be leading the biological activities in the development of our artificial blood vessels.
Her responsibilities include creating use cases, conducting biological characterizations, and preparing prototypes and manuals for our pilot customers. Leanne’s expertise and dedication are crucial as we work towards bringing our pioneering solutions to the market.
