Paola Prof. Brun has a degree in Biology and has completed a doctorate program at the University of Padova. She worked as a research fellow at the University of Birmingham, Laboratory for Liver Studies and currently she is working at the Department of Molecular Medicine as an Associate Professor of Hostology and Embryology. She teaches Histology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Padova. The initial research projects of Dr. Brun focused on extracellular matrix function and in particular on hyaluronic acid (HA), studying its influence on cell growth and its ability to protect cells from the oxygen free radical damage that develops in inflamed tissues. Her interests then shifted to the investigation of the biocompatibility of different forms of synthetic HA with multiple types of cells, utilizing them as three-dimensional constructs in cell/tissue implants. During her post-doctoral program and her stay in Birmingham at the Laboratory of Liver Studies, Dr. Brun studied the development of fibrosis and tissue repair in chronic inflammatory. After returning to Italy, she continued to study fibrosis and tissue engineering. Presently, her studies are concentrated on: - development of fibrosis in chronic diseases - tissue regeneration using artificial tissues of various types - biomedical applications of low temperature plasma, for the treatment of human tissue infections. Prof. Brun participates in numerous funded research grants, both on the national and European level and, as such, collaborates actively with various international research groups. The results obtained from her research have been very well published at international meetings and in peer-reviewed scientific journals