MALEKI Hajar (Homa)
Chaire de Professeur Junior
Expertises
Dr. Hajar Maleki is a biomaterials scientist whose research spans porous materials, regenerative medicine, and localized cancer therapy. She obtained her PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Coimbra, Portugal (2015) as a Marie Curie Fellow, where she focused on the design of mechanically reinforced silica–polymer hybrid aerogels for aerospace applications. During her doctoral studies, she also conducted research at Biocant – Biotechnology Innovation Center (Portugal) on nanoparticle–cell interactions and antibacterial nanomaterials.
In 2016, she was awarded the prestigious FWF Lise Meitner Fellowship from the Austrian Science Fund and joined the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Austria (2016–2018) as a postdoctoral researcher under Prof. Nicola Hüsing. During this period, she expanded her expertise toward bioinspired porous materials, silk-based aerogels, and biomaterials for tissue engineering and bone regeneration.
In 2019, she moved to the University of Cologne, Germany, where she established her independent research program on Functional Bio-Inspired Porous Materials supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Her work pioneered theragenerative aerogels and hydrogels capable of combining therapeutic and regenerative functions for bone repair, infection control, and cancer treatment. She completed her habilitation in 2023 in the field of biomaterials and regenerative medicine and led an interdisciplinary research group affiliated with the Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC).
Dr. Maleki has secured approximately €2.5 million in competitive research funding, authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications (including 35 as senior author), accumulated approximately 6,300 citations (h-index 34), and has been recognized among the World’s Top 2% Scientists in Nanoscience and Materials Chemistry for three consecutive years (2021–2025). She is a Fellow of the Young Academy of Europe (YAE) and was named a 2023 ACS Materials Au Rising Star in Materials Science.
In 2026, she was appointed Chaire de Professeur Junior (CNRS Tenure-Track Professor), France, following a highly competitive national selection process. Her current research focuses on intelligent stimuli-responsive biomaterials, nanoengineered porous materials, and theragenerative systems for tumor microenvironment modulation, localized cancer therapy, and tissue regeneration.
