Tribute

for the attribution of the TAInstruments Industrial Research Award 2014

to Leon Olde Damink

The Industrial Research Award 2014 founded by TAInstruments is assigned to Dr. Leon Olde Damink from Matricel GmbH. The prize is attributed for the fourth time, this year on occasion of the International symposium held in Berlin commemorating the 40th anniversary of GEFTA, the German Association for Thermal Analysis.

The prize acknowledges a series of scientific and applicational work on the healing of damaged nerve guides. Basically being a medical research, his work faced multiple difficult material research aspects. These aspects were related to the problems of material compatibility with human tissues, their healing potential, and, among furthers, the tissue regeneration potential for dermal wounds. This was the decisive point where thermal analysis and its characterization potential came into the game.

By attributing this scientific award to Leon Olde Damink, we value especially this well-thought-out application of thermal methods to a much larger field of development of new materials. The implantation of nerve substitutes would have been impossible without a well-designed material characterization of the utilized collagen. As a second point for justifying our decision, we highly estimate the potential of future research work which will be basing on this well-reflected chemical and thermoanalytical approach and wish the best success for this work.

Leon Olde Damink, born in 1965 in The Netherlands, was graduated in Chemical Technology in 1988 at the University of Twente. In 1993 he received his Ph.D. with a study in the field of biomaterials. He developed a non-toxic chemical method for the cross-linking of collagen.

Afterwards, he started his industrial career in companies engaged in biomaterials used for regenerative medicine. In 2011, he joined Matricel, where he actually has the position of the head of the R&D department. He is author or co-author of more than 20 original papers on biomaterials and presented his results in many cases as an invited lecturer.

The Board of the German Association for Thermal Analysis warmly congratulates Dr. Damink on this honour and wishes him and his family health and happiness as well as much success for all his personal and scientific activities.


On behalf of the GEFTA Board
Michael Feist
Chairman

Attribution of the TAInstruments Industrial Research Award 2014 to Leon Olde Damink Larger version (new Window)

nach oben