Katharina Maniura

Prof. Dr. Katharina Maniura is an Adjunct Professor at ETH Zürich's Department of Health Sciences and Technology and Head of the Laboratory of Biointerfaces at Empa (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology). Her research focuses on biomaterials, biointerfaces, and the biological response to engineered materials, with applications in regenerative medicine and infection prevention.

Her research interests span biomaterials, biointerfaces, tissue engineering, surface modification, and in vitro modeling of cell and bacterial responses to materials. She develops predictive in vitro systems to assess biocompatibility and antimicrobial properties of novel materials, with a particular emphasis on soft, regenerative materials and cell-scaffold interactions.

Katharina Maniura is actively engaged in academic service, including editorial work and leadership in professional societies. She is a past president and honorary lifetime member of the Swiss Society for Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine (SSB+RM), a member of TERMIS, the European Society for Biomaterials (ESB), and Dechema. Since 2015, she has served as an Associate Editor for the journal Biointerphases.

She teaches at ETH Zürich in the D-HEST program, offering courses such as "Principles in Tissue Engineering" (master level, spring semester) and "Biocompatible Materials" (bachelor/master level, autumn semester). She leads a research team at Empa's Laboratory 404 – Biointerfaces, where she supervises research on cell-material and bacteria-material interactions.

The laboratory under her leadership focuses on developing advanced biomaterials and understanding their interactions with biological systems for safe and effective medical applications.