Mariana Medina Sánchez

Mariana Medina Sánchez
943 574 009
Senior Scientists
Ikerbasque professor
Group Leader

Background:

  • 2005 Bachelor on Mechatronics Engineering, San Buenaventura University, Bogotá, Colombia
  • 2010 Master on Nanotechnology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain
  • 2013 PhD on Biotechnology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain
  • 2014 - 2016 Postdoctoral researcher, IFW -IIN, Germany
  • 2016 - 2024 Group leader, Micro- and Nanobiomedical Engineering Group, IFW - IIN, Germany
  • 2024 - present Ikerbasque Research Profesor and Group Leader at CIC nanoGUNE, Spain

Research interests:

  • Development of small scale medical devices including ultrasensitive biosensors and medical microrobotics
  • Biomedical Engineering, Micro- and Nanotechnology, Microrobotics, Biosensing

Short CV:

Dr. Mariana Medina Sánchez earned her degree in Mechatronics Engineering from the University of San Buenaventura in Bogotá, Colombia. Following the completion of her diploma studies, she dedicated almost five years to serving as an assistant professor and researcher at the same university. Concurrently, she pursued postgraduate studies in education and biomedical engineering.

Her academic journey then led her to Barcelona, Spain, where she undertook master’s and PhD studies under the guidance of Prof. Arben Merkoçi at the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. During her time in Barcelona, Dr. Medina Sánchez focused on the development of nanomaterials-based and inkjet-printed electrochemical biosensors for various disease diagnoses.

Upon completing her PhD thesis, she joined the Leibniz Institute in Dresden, Germany (IFW Leibniz), as a postdoctoral researcher. Here, she contributed to the advancement of magnetically actuated microcarriers for immotile sperm transport and played a crucial role in developing ultrasensitive rolled-up microsensors for nucleic acid detection. Within two years, she was promoted to the position of group leader under the mentorship of Prof. Oliver Schmidt. Dr. Medina Sánchez spearheaded efforts related to medical microrobots, focusing on in vivo assisted fertilization and targeted drug delivery. Her work encompassed designing optimal microbots, studying sperm-based micromotors in complex environments, and recently, advancing real-time and deep-tissue tracking of these micromotors—a pivotal step toward their application in living organisms. Recognized for her contributions, she secured a prestigious grant from the European Research Commission in the ERC Starting category for her project MicroGIFT. 

Since 2020, Dr. Medina Sánchez has held the position of an independent group leader at the IFW Leibniz. In 2022, she expanded her research endeavors by leading a Joint Dresden Concept group comprising IFW Leibniz, the Center for Molecular Bioengineering (B CUBE), and the Technische Universität Dresden. Their collaborative efforts focus on bioinspired medical microrobots and microsensors.

In a significant development this year, Dr. Medina Sánchez was appointed as an Ikerbasque Research Professor and Group Leader at CIC nanoGUNE in San Sebastián, Spain, further solidifying her role in the scientific community.

Highlighted Publications:

Experimental Observation of Berry Phases in Optical Moebius-strip Microcavities. J. Wang, S. Valligatla, Y. Yin, L. Schwarz, M. Medina-Sánchez, S. Baunack, C. Hua Lee, R. Thomale, S. Li, V. M. Fomin, L. Ma, O.G. Schmidt. Just accepted in Nat. Photonics. 2022

Self-assembled sensor-in-a-tube as versatile tool for label-free EIS viability investigation of cervical cancer cells. E. Ghosh, A. I. Egunov, D. Karnaushenko, M. Medina-Sánchez, O.G. Schmidt. Frequenz, 76, 11-12, 2022.

Multifunctional 4D-printed sperm-hybrid microcarriers for assisted reproduction. F. Rajabasadi, S. Moreno, K. Fichna, A. Aziz, D. Appelhans, O.G. Schmidt, M. Medina-Sánchez. Adv. Mater. Just accepted. 2022

Imaging and control of nanomaterial-decorated micromotors, A. Aziz, R. Nauber, A. Sánchez-Iglesias, L. M. Marzán, O.G. Schmidt, and M. Medina-Sánchez. International Conference on Manipulation, Automation, and Robotics at Small Scales, pp. 1-6, doi: 10.1109/MARSS55884.2022.9870252.

Real-Time Tracking of Individual Droplets in Multiphase Microfluidics. B. Ibarlucea, J. Schütt, L. Baraban, D. Makarov, M. Medina-Sánchez, and G. Cuniberti. Book: Microfluidics and Nanofluidics - Fundamentals and Applications. DOI: 10.5772/intechopen. 106796, 2022.

Continuous monitoring of molecular biomarkers in microfluidic devices, A. Idili, H. Montón, M. Medina-Sánchez, B. Ibarlucea, G. Cuniberti, O.G. Schmidt, K. W. Plaxco, C. Parolo. Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science, 187, 1.

Electronically integrated microcatheters based on self-assembling polymer films. B. Rivkin, C. Becker, B. Singh, A. Aziz, F. Akbar, A. Egunov, D.D. Karnaushenko, R. Naumann, R. Schäfer, M. Medina-Sánchez, D. Karnaushenko, and O.G. Schmidt, Science Advances. 2021. 7(51), eabl5408.

Self-sufficient self-oscillating microsystem driven by low power at low Reynolds numbers, F. Akbar, B. Rivkin, A. Aziz, C. Becker, D. D. Karnaushenko, M. Medina-Sánchez, D. Karnaushenko, and O. G. Schmidt, Science Advances. 2021, 7, eabj0767

Dual Ultrasound and Photoacoustic Tracking of Magnetically Driven Micromotors: From In Vitro to In Vivo, A. Aziz, J. Holthof, S. Meyer, O.G. Schmidt, and M. Medina-Sánchez. Advanced Healthcare Materials. 2021, 10, 2101077.

Rolled-Up Metal Oxide Microscaffolds to Study Early Bone Formation at Single Cell Resolution, R. Herzer, A. Gebert, U. Hempel, F. Hebenstreit, S. Oswald, C.Damm, O.G. Schmidt, and M. Medina‐Sánchez, Small. 2021, 17(12), 2170053.

A rotating spiral micromotor for noninvasive zygote transfer. L. Schwarz, D.D. Karnaushenko, F. Hebenstreit,R. Naumann, O.G. Schmidt, and M. Medina‐Sánchez, Advanced Science, 2020, 7(18), 2000843.

Sperm Micromotors for Cargo Delivery through Flowing Blood, H. Xu, M. Medina-Sánchez, M. F. Maitz, C. Werner, and O.G. Schmidt, ACS Nano, 2020 14 (3), 2982-2993.

Sperm-hybrid micromotor for targeted drug delivery. H. Xu, M. Medina-Sánchez, V. Magdanz, L. Schwarz, F. Hebenstreit, and O.G. Schmidt, ACS Nano, 2018, 12(1), 327-337.

Medical microbots need better imaging and control M. Medina-Sánchez, O.G. Schmidt, Nature, 2017, 545, 406-408.

Cellular Cargo Delivery: Toward Assisted Fertilization by Sperm-Carrying Micromotors. M. Medina-Sánchez, L. Schwarz, A. K. Meyer, F. Hebenstreit, and O.G. Schmidt, Nano Letters, 2016, 16 (1), 555-561.

Social profiles:

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LinkedIn: Mariana M.

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Updated on May 8, 2024.