Berit Løkensgard Strand

Berit Løkensgard Strand is Professor at NTNU's Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, where she leads research on alginate biomaterials and biomedical applications. Her work focuses on fundamental properties of biopolymers and their functionalization for cell encapsulation and tissue engineering.

Key research areas:

• Alginate hydrogel design and functionalization
• Cell encapsulation technologies for diabetes treatment
• Mineralized composites for bone tissue engineering
• Nanocomposite biomaterials
• Host responses to biomaterials

Her group has developed alginate-based encapsulation systems for pancreatic islet transplantation that have progressed to clinical trials. Recent work explores nanostructured composites combining alginate with cellulose nanomaterials, and advanced characterization of host-biomaterial interactions using proteomic approaches.

She maintains extensive collaborations with international research institutions and industry partners in biomedicine.