Dr. Zahra Kafrashian (She/her)
Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik komplexer technischer Systeme
Forschungsinteressen
I started my postdoctoral research at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex technical Systems. In my postdoc, I focus on developing functional hydrogels and soft polymers that combine multiple properties, such as electrical conductivity and mechanical response which can be used for sensing and actuation.These materials have strong potential in soft robotics.
Vita
My name is Zahra, and I am a biomaterials scientist with a background in polymer science and engineering. I completed my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Polymer Science and Engineering. During my master’s studies, I became interested in how polymers can be used in biomedical applications. My research focused on bone tissue engineering, where I worked on electrospinning core–shell PLGA/Pluronic fibers.
In my PhD, I worked on developing hydrogel-based optical fibers to deliver light inside the body. Using multimaterial printing, I designed fibers with different functions built into specific parts of the material. I also explored the use of living materials, such as engineered bacteria, inside these fibers.