DC8: Ana Centeno Duarte
THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (UCAM), United Kingdom
- Host institution: THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (UCAM), United Kingdom
Department: The Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy - Supervisor: Prof. Serena Best, e:mail: smb51@cam.ac.uk
- Contact: Enquiries regarding the application process may be directed to Prof. Serena Best or Prof. Ruth Cameron, e:mail: rec11@cam.ac.uk
- Research Project 8
ANA CENTENO DUARTE
I am originally from Portugal, I completed both my bachelor's and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering at Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon. During my master’s, I had the opportunity to spend a semester abroad at Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea, where I discovered my interest in biomaterials and therapeutic release systems. Consequently, for my master’s thesis, I was able to explore this new curiosity by developing a hydrogel-based ocular drug delivery system to address diabetes related complications, gaining hands on experience in material design and optimization, physicochemical and mechanical characterization, and the interaction between biomaterials and biological environments. In 2025, I had the opportunity to continue expanding my master's thesis research by working for six months as a research fellow.
At the beginning of 2026, I joined the SHIELD Doctoral Network, hosted at the Cambridge Centre for Medical Materials, University of Cambridge.
My current research focuses on developing and characterizing a multifunctional antibacterial coating for percutaneous bone conducting hearing implants. Ideally, it will be able to not only reduce biofilm formation and bacterial invasion but also promote a stable integration with both the surrounding soft tissue and bone.