Author: Lea Primožič

Dr. Ihab Malat, Dr. Anja Černoša and Dr. Anna Sandak recently published a new scientific article entitled “Surface colonization of Aureobasidium pullulans: a multimodal microscopy study toward living coating development” in Scientific Reports journal.

In the article they investigate surface colonization dynamics of Aureobasidium pullulans using a multimodal microscopy approach. They evaluated fungal growth on plastic and pine wood substrates through digital imaging, fluorescence observation and quantitative fluorescence measurements.

The study provides new insights into substrate-dependent colonization behavior and supports further research on the development of fungal-based living coatings for protective and functional applications.

Read the article here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-48101-5

REMEDY project partners gathered and attended the General Assembly and the second progress meeting, held on 23 March 2026, at the Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana.

The meeting began with the General Assembly, where partners reviewed the status of the six-month reporting period and provided a summary of the project’s first year. Discussions focused on the intellectual property management strategy, selected booster activities, including go to market support, networking and coaching for public speaking, as well as engagement with regulatory bodies.

The second part was dedicated to the project’s second progress meeting. Dr. Anna Sandak and Dr. Sonja Jantar presented the project management aspects, followed by a technical overview. Then project partners presented progress within individual work packages. This was followed by a presentation on innovation potential and exploitation by the project coordinator and a presentation on dissemination and communication activities by Dr. Lea Primožič.

The meeting provided an opportunity for an in-depth review of the project’s progress and alignment on the next steps for its successful implementation.

Anna Sandak is serving as the collection’s Guest Editor for the Discover Materials journal from Springer Nature. This Collection will showcase cutting-edge research at the nexus of synthetic biology, nanotechnology, biomaterials, and artificial intelligence, spotlighting breakthroughs that advance the design, control, and application of engineered living materials.
Learn more about the collection and how to contribute:
https://link.springer.com/collections/dadicecbca

The EIC Engineered Living Materials (ELMs) portfolio is proud to have contributed to the European Commission’s Call for Evidence supporting the upcoming Advanced Materials Act, which aims to reinforce Europe’s open strategic autonomy, reduce dependencies on critical resources, and boost EU competitiveness.
Projects including REMEDY, Bio-HhOST, BIOACTION, Fungateria, LoopOfFun and SUMO actively supported this contribution, highlighting the need for targeted actions to strengthen Europe’s R&I ecosystem, enable industrial scale-up, attract investment and ensure regulatory preparedness.
The EIC ELM portfolio strongly supports the objectives of the Advanced Materials Act and welcomes the Commission’s ambition to accelerate the development, production and uptake of advanced materials across the EU.

The work on Engineered Living Materials and the REMEDY project was introduced by Anna Sandak to students from Spain, Slovenia, and Italy during three seminars:

• Innovative coatings in the sustainable construction sector, at the Faculty of Engineering of Gipuzkoa, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Spain.
• Engineering Growth: From Biological Systems to Architectural Applications at the Department of Visual Arts and Design, Faculty of Education, University of Primorska, Slovenia.
• Biobased materials in the built environment: current performance and emerging trends at the Faculty of Engineering, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy.

We were pleased to disseminate our research and engage with students from diverse disciplinary and educational backgrounds.

Dr. Anja Černoša, InnoRenew CoE, UP IAM researcher, welcomed at InnoRenew CoE, a group of representatives from the Slovenian Third Age University.
She presented the ARCHI-SKIN project, which develops bioinspired protective coating based on living fungal biofilms and other natural components. She also explained the concept of Engineered Living Materials and probiotic architecture researched in the REMEDY project. Additionally, she outlined other ongoing projects at InnoRenew CoE. Then they toured the building and laboratories, where she introduced interesting aspects of the architecture and explained the main functions of the laboratories.
The visitors were also greeted by Dr. Anna Sandak, InnoRenew CoE, UP IAM researcher and coordinator of the ARCHI-SKIN project, and by Dr. Andreja Kutnar, acting department chair of InnoRenew CoE, UP IAM.

Dr. Wojciech Pajerski, InnoRenew CoE, UP IAM researcher, participated at the Safe and sustainable by design conference 2025 (SSbD25), held 10 – 12 November 2025, in Dübendorf, Switzerland.

He presented the REMEDY project, funded by EIC, and highlighted its relevance for the development of engineered living materials (ELMs) within the Safe and sustainable by design (SSbD) framework.

The event gathered 125 participants from 21 countries and featured over 100 presentations showcasing practical approaches, innovative assessment tools, and cross-sector collaboration to advance safer and more sustainable innovation.

The event fostered dialogue between researchers, industry, and policymakers. It was organized by Empa and the IRISS project.