Category: Press release

The ARCHI-SKIN project, led by Dr. Anna Sandak, InnoRenew CoE, UP IAM Materials research group leader and representative of the University of Primorska, is featured in the new report by the European Research Council (ERC), “ERC Frontier Research on Biotechnology: From discovery to innovation”. The project is highlighted in the section on sustainable biomimetic and biomass technologies as an innovative approach to protecting materials from environmental degradation.

Researchers working within the ARCHI-SKIN project are exploring the potential of fungal biofilms as eco-friendly, self-healing coatings for protecting engineered surfaces. They are studying how fungal biofilms form and function and how these properties could be replicated in protective materials. Their research combines time-lapse microscopy, mathematical modelling and computational tools to develop a high-throughput screening system for identifying fungal candidates suitable for different surfaces.

The ERC report highlights the potential use of these coatings in the building sector, where they could help extend the lifespan of materials while protecting them from environmental degradation. In the future, fungal biofilms could also contribute to the breakdown of pollutants through bioremediation.

Funded by the ERC under Horizon Europe, ARCHI-SKIN runs from September 2022 to August 2027. Researchers are investigating how living fungal cells and bio-based ingredients can be combined to develop protective coatings for biomaterial, concrete, plastic and metal surfaces.

The full ERC report is available here.

InnoRenew CoE, UP IAM researchers participated in the Sustainable Waste Management in Materials Science (SWMMS 2026) conference, held 21-23 September 2026 in Poznań, Poland.

Dr. Anna Sandak, InnoRenew CoE, UP IAM Materials research group leader, delivered a plenary talk titled “Nature has no waste – rethinking materials design through living systems”, presenting research carried out within the ARCHI-SKIN, REMEDY, LIVEMAT and STAR projects.

Dr. Anna Sandak, delivered a keynote lecture entitled Engineered Living Materials as Integrated Bioprocessing Systems: From Living Cells to Resilient Cities.

In her talk, she explored engineered living materials (ELMs) from the perspective of integrated bioprocessing, focusing on fungal biofilms and microbial consortia that can be organised within materials to form living coatings, printable inks, and composite structures. These systems enable microorganisms to grow and produce their own structural matrices, creating functional materials directly during cultivation. By controlling growth conditions, formulation, and spatial organisation, living cells can be retained within the material, where they continue to perform functions such as sensing, regeneration, and bioremediation, reducing the need for extensive downstream processing while enabling materials that remain active over time.

The Biopartitioning and Purification Conference (BPP) has evolved from its original focus on aqueous two-phase partitioning to a broader platform covering diverse bioseparation techniques since BPP 2013 in Vancouver. Today, it brings together academia and industry to advance the separation of high-value bioproducts alongside topics such as biomass processing, waste valorisation, novel bioproduct development, technoeconomic analysis, life cycle assessment, and regulatory frameworks.

Dr. Anna Sandak delivered a keynote lecture titled “Living Interfaces: Fluid–Solid Interactions in Engineered Living Materials”, highlighting the emerging role of bio-based and living materials in fluid–solid interaction research.

The annual conference brought together researchers and innovators working on the modelling, testing and application of phenomena at the fluid–solid interface. Its broad scientific programme covered topics including combustion processes, renewable energy sources, flow through porous materials, catalytic combustion, filtration, fuel cells, turbine component cooling, energy storage systems and cost-effectiveness analysis.

Engineered Living Materials: How Anna Sandak Is Making Buildings Self-Heal

A researcher from InnoRenew CoE, UP IAM attended the deCYPher hands-on summer school “Fundamentals in Integrating Synthetic Biology, Data, and AI”, held 6–8 July 2026 in Ghent, Belgium.

Klara Gregorič, InnoRenew CoE, UP IAM researcher, attended the international summer school, which brought together students and researchers from different count several European universities and research institutions. The summer school focused on three main themes: automated literature scraping and data collection, automated microbial cloning and best practices in research data management. The programme combined lectures, interactive sessions and group work, providing participants with practical skills and conceptual foundations for integrating synthetic biology with modern data and artificial intelligence approaches.

Effective research data management and the use of automated literature scraping can be directly applied to the ARCHI-SKIN project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC), as these techniques facilitate more efficient identification and retrieval of relevant scientific literature while supporting robust research data management practices, which are essential for the effective implementation and overall quality of the project.

The ARCHI-SKIN delivered lectures
Anna Sandak – Wool as a functional biological interface
Jakub Grzybek & Ana Gubenšek – Mycelium-based composites: from growth to performance
Wojciech Pajerski- Understanding wool – a chemical perspective
and a practical hands-on training
Jakub Grzybek & Ana Gubenšek – Wool & Mycelium Composites
Jakub Grzybek – Phase Change Materials and Wool