Dr Helder Marcal

Dr Helder Marçal is an international recognized expert in Biopharmaceutical Engineering, tissue engineering and Regenerative medicine technologies using stem cells. His research spans multidisciplinary fields of Biomedical Engineering, Theranostics, Biomaterials, Tissue regeneration in space, Biogerontology and Autoimmunity. 

Dr Marcal is translating biomedical applications for the treatment of autoimmune arthritis (spondyloarthritis). In autoimmune arthritis, these are associated with with the HLA-B27 phenotype that causes the susceptibility for autoimmune tissue destruction. Dr Marcal has identified the mechanism of how tissue destruction is enabled. This technology leads the field for the development of biotherapeutics to help halt the pathogenesis of these conditions. Dr. Marçal has been a finalist for inventor of the year UNSW Australia. His research has been highlighted at the Powerhouse Museum, The Sydney Morning Herald, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, ABC Catalyst, The Sunday Telegraph, NASA TV, New York Times, to name a few.

Dr. Marçal completed post doctorate studies at the McGowan Regenerative Medicine Institute in the United States. He has established international collaborations involving these technologies in the field of regenerative and translational medicine and presents at numerous international conferences. Dr. Marçal’s knowledge and skills span across innovative areas and he holds 7 patents in these fields. Dr. Helder Marcal also specializes in tissue regeneration in Space Medicine and the impact of space travel on human physiology (mission to Mars) especially, the impact of microgravity and its effect on stem cells and tissue regeneration. Dr. Marcal introduced the area of Bioastronautics to Australia at the Powerhouse Museum in 2000 in collaboration with NASA. He has been a visiting fellow at Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology, Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).