Meital Zilberman

Professor Meital Zilberman is a tenured faculty member at Tel Aviv University's Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, holding appointments in both the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. She serves as Head of the Biomaterials Group and has established herself as a leading researcher in polymeric biomaterials and drug delivery systems. During 2015-2020, she served as president of the Israel Society for Medical and Biological Engineering (ISMBE).

Professor Zilberman received her B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering (Cum Laude) and her M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from the Technion in Israel. She continued her training as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas before joining Tel Aviv University in 2002, where she established research and teaching activities in biomaterials and drug delivery.

Her research program focuses on polymeric biomaterials, active implants and scaffolds for tissue engineering, and drug-delivery systems. The Zilberman Lab combines polymer science, drug delivery, and tissue engineering to create novel active implants and scaffolds that provide both tissue support/regeneration and localized drug delivery. Recent work emphasizes hydrogels due to their similarity to the extracellular matrix, with particular attention to natural polymers like gelatin and alginate for their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and promotion of cell proliferation.

Analyzing her recent publications reveals a strong focus on dual-composite hydrogels for medical applications, particularly wound healing and tissue regeneration. Her work demonstrates expertise in developing soy protein-based wound dressings with controlled release of analgesics and antimicrobials, as well as gelatin-alginate systems for surgical sealants and bioadhesives. The research consistently addresses the critical formulation-structure-properties-function relationships in biomaterials design.

• JULUDAN prize from the Technion for outstanding research with technological applications
• Journal of Wound Care (JWC) world first place innovation award for wound care innovation

Professor Zilberman has supervised more than 50 graduate students and 60 undergraduate students throughout her career. Her research has been continuously funded by competitive governmental agencies including the Israel Science Foundation (ISF) and Israel Ministry of Health (MOH), as well as applied research grants from Kamin (Israel Ministry of Trade), MAFAT, and Momentum Fund. She teaches four graduate and undergraduate courses in biomaterials, polymeric biomaterials, drug-eluting biomedical devices, and natural polymers in medical applications.

The Zilberman Lab maintains active research in developing novel biomaterials for wound healing, tissue engineering, and drug delivery applications. Current projects include dual-composite hydrogels with functional fillers, hemostatic biodhesives based on natural polymers, and catheter-injectable hydrogel scaffolds for tissue engineering. The lab combines fundamental materials science with translational medical applications, aiming to address unmet clinical needs through innovative biomaterials design.