Elise Vanden Elsacker

Elise Vanden Elsacker is a Research Assistant Professor (10% role) and postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Bio-engineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel. She also held a Postdoctoral Research Associate position at Newcastle University’s Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment (2021–2022). Her work focuses on fungal-engineered living materials, particularly mycelium composites for sustainable architecture and self-healing materials. She leads the EU-funded EIC Pathfinder project "FUNGATERIA" and collaborates on the MycoMatters SBO project. Elise earned an MSc in Architecture from KU Leuven (2012), completed a PhD at VUB (2021, cum laude), and received the BiR&D Cross-Disciplinary PhD Thesis Award.

Education

• MSc Architecture, KU Leuven (2012)
• PhD in Bio-engineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (2021)

Research Interests
Elise pioneers mycelium-based materials for sustainable construction, emphasizing:

• Self-healing properties through fungal viability
• Bioremediation of textile waste via fungal-bacterial co-cultivation
• 3D-printed biofabrication and robotic fabrication techniques
• Integration of mycelium into architectural designs (e.g., Bioknit pavilion)

Her work bridges microbiology, materials science, and architecture, addressing global sustainability challenges through living materials.

Grants & Projects

• EIC Pathfinder "FUNGATERIA": €6M project (2022–2026)
• FWO Junior Postdoctoral Fellowship (ongoing)
• MycoMatters SBO project (2024–2028)

Labs & Collaborations
Part of the Microbiology and Bio-engineering group at VUB, collaborating with Newcastle University’s Living Construction Lab and the Royal Danish Academy. Co-leads the Fungateria consortium involving 7 European institutions.