3D printing organs: science fiction or reality?

Printing a new organ from your own cells sounds like science fiction. But how close is it to reality? Come to the first lecture in the Chemistry at Five series on 14 May 2026 at 5:00 p.m. at the Brno University of Technology Centre Tržnice on Zelný trh. Lucy Vojtová from CEITEC and FCH BUT will guide you through the world of tissue engineering, 3D bioprinting and its possibilities.

3D printing organs: science fiction or reality?

📅 14 May 2026 at 5:00 p.m.
📍 Brno University of Technology Centre Tržnice

Printing a new organ from your own cells using a 3D printer sounds like science fiction. Modern medicine, however, is no longer just about pharmaceuticals. Today, scientists can work with stem cells, design biomaterials, and use 3D printing to create structures that resemble real tissues. This lecture will explain how tissue engineering and bioprinting work, what we are already able to “grow” in the laboratory, and why creating a fully functional organ is still so challenging. And where could this take us in the future?

Speaker: Lucy Vojtová, CEITEC and FCH BUT

Assoc. Prof. Lucy Vojtová, Ph.D., studied chemistry at the University of Pardubice and has built her professional career at Brno University of Technology, where she obtained both her Ph.D. and habilitation in macromolecular chemistry. After a three-year postdoctoral stay at Columbia University, she returned to Brno in 2001 and began developing research at the interface of materials chemistry and medicine.

She currently leads the Advanced Biomaterials group at CEITEC BUT. Her research focuses on tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, particularly on the development of dynamic biomaterials and their processing using 3D/4D bioprinting for the regeneration of bone, cartilage, and skin. Her work is highly international and interdisciplinary, involving collaboration with both academic and applied sectors.

She is the author of more than 100 scientific publications and holds 9 patents. She serves as Chair of the Society for Bioimplantology within the Czech Medical Society of Jan Evangelista Purkyně, which has long organized an international conference in the field of bioimplantology and regenerative medicine. She is also actively involved in teaching and supervising students.

She has received numerous awards for her work, including the Silver Medal of the Rector of Brno University of Technology. In 2025, she was recognized within the EEA and Norway Grants for the ProfiBone project and also by the Director of CEITEC BUT for her contributions to science communication and entrepreneurship.

Published	2026-05-04
Link	https://www.fch.vut.cz/en//f81551/d327106