The world’s leading researchers, industry experts and clinicians in the field of biomaterials will come together virtually for this year’s 11^th World Biomaterials Congress jointly hosted by King’s College London, Queen Mary University of London and Dublin City University.

The event, which has attracted over 4,000 delegates from across the globe is the largest gathering of expertise in the field of biomaterials.

The UK is a world-renowned leader in pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing, which is the third largest in Europe, and the sixth largest in the world, nine of the world’s top 10 medical technology companies have a base here and the biomaterials and medical technology sector is recognised as one of the five global emerging hubs.

The upcoming event has been organised by Professor Lucy Di Silvio, King’s College London, in collaboration with Professor Liz Tanner, QMUL and Professor Nicholas Dunne, DCU and will take place from 11–15 December 2020. Professor Lucy Di Silvio was also awarded a fellowship with the international union of societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering.

The conference has been in the planning stages since 2012 from initial application to the present day. It was originally scheduled as an in-person conference in Glasgow, but owing to Covid-19, the conference organisers quickly pivoted to a virtual event.

King’s College London is particularly pleased to play a strategic role in this global scientific conference as the university is renowned for driving the education agenda of the biomaterials and medical technology sector and has also developed an international reputation for research innovation and entrepreneurial excellence in this area.

Speaking in advance, Lucy Di Silvio, Professor of Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences and Chair of WBC2020 said:

"The discipline of biomaterials converges at the interface of materials science, engineering, and medicine, and research in the area has transformed medicine, particularly in the areas of pharmaceutics and medical device technology. With an interdisciplinary focus crossing academic research, medicine, life sciences and industry, King’s hosting of the Olympics of Biomaterials is a testament to the UK’s international reputation for biomaterial and medical device research as demonstrated by the interdisciplinary research at King’s, to translate world-class scientific research discoveries and innovations for patient and societal benefit."