The Hybrid Biofunctional Materials Laboratory focuses on the design of hybrid biomaterials responsive to specific stimuli, designed as such to gain a better understanding of cell-material interactions, propose advances in tissue engineering techniques, and seek solutions in the field of translational medicine. Thanks to the combination of inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) with organic polymeric materials, biological molecules such as proteins, extracellular matrix, etc., and living cells, complex hybrid biosystems can be created in a highly controlled manner, providing novel solutions for pre-clinical model design. The inorganic NPs are designed to provide the physical properties of interest including responses to externally applied physical changes, while the organic compounds (polymers, proteins, etc.) contribute with structural support for cell growth, controlled porosity and/or specific responsiveness. One of the current central topics of the group is the development of hybrid functional inks for the fabrication of in vitro 3D printed models that can be used as ideal platforms to better understand the causes behind different diseases and perform drug screening studies. Thanks to our novel designs of biofunctional materials, we can generate in vitro models in a 3D tissue conformation which can mimic the specific physical forces and stress factors that cells experience in the human body.