Roland Zengerle

Prof. Dr. Roland Zengerle serves as Full Professor for Application Development at the Institute of Microsystems Technology within the Faculty of Engineering at Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg, concurrently holding the position of Director at Hahn-Schickard Institute for Microanalysis Systems in Freiburg. His academic leadership spans microsystems engineering with a focus on translational research bridging fundamental science and clinical applications.

Zengerle's research expertise centers on Microfluidics, Lab-on-a-Chip systems, Bio-MEMS, Electrochemical Energy Systems, and Tomographic Reconstruction of Mesoporous Materials. He pioneers hybrid manufacturing techniques integrating molten metal printing with polymer processing to develop point-of-care diagnostic platforms and advanced energy systems. Current projects include UTI-Diag for urinary tract infection diagnosis and PhotonMed, a 32-million-euro medical technology initiative where his MEMS Applications Laboratory develops centrifugal microfluidic solutions.

Analysis of his recent publications reveals a dominant trend toward multi-technology integration: centrifugal microfluidics combined with 3D bioprinting for organoid-based drug testing, molten metal printing for flexible electronics, and bead-based immunoassays for infectious disease detection. The work demonstrates strong clinical translation focus, particularly in cancer diagnostics (circulating tumor cell isolation), infectious disease testing (TB diagnostics), and regenerative medicine (spheroid/organoid handling).

His laboratory has secured significant funding for high-impact projects including:

• UTI-Diag: Molecular diagnostics for urinary tract infections
• PhotonMed: Medical technology innovation consortium
• livMatS: Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems

Zengerle actively mentors researchers through Freiburg's Master Lab program and Writer's Studio initiative while promoting young talent via Bootcamp training. His group maintains strategic alliances with Hahn-Schickard spin-offs and industry partners, leveraging university cleanroom facilities and specialized service centers for microfabrication.

The MEMS Applications Laboratory operates as a hub for interdisciplinary innovation, combining microfabrication expertise with clinical insights to develop commercializable diagnostic solutions. Current infrastructure supports centrifugal microfluidic cartridge development, 3D-bioprinting of tissue models, and electrochemical sensor integration, with ongoing work focused on automating complex biological workflows for point-of-care applications.