Grand Opening of the new building of the Baltic Biomaterials Center of Excellence in Riga, Latvia

The Grand Opening of the new building and premises of the Baltic Biomaterials Center of Excellence (BBCE) (Horizon 2020, grant agreement No 857287) in Riga, Latvia, took place on 20th January 2025. The building is placed in the Riga Technical University (RTU) student campus in Ķīpsala. This modern building will serve as BBCE’s headquarters and it will house research and development activities in the field biomaterials, focusing on technogies to repair bones and soft tissues, as well as for treatments in facial, oral, and jaw surgery, orthopedics, and other biomedical areas.

Our Institute is an international partner of BBCE and has been involved since the initiation of this project (in 2020) as a reliable contributor to the success of the Center.

The international partners in the BBCE project, our Institute at FAU and AO Research Institute in Davos, Switzerland, were noted for their key role in enhancing the scientific excellence of BBCE researchers. In recognition of such substantial contributions and their active involvement in BBCE, RTU awarded Honorary Doctorate Diplomas to Professor Mauro Alini, Emeritus Scientific Advisor at the AO Research Institute, and to Professor Aldo R. Bocaccini, FAU.

Ms. Marcela Arango-Ospina (Ph.D. student) and Dr. Zoya Hadzhieva (Post-Doc) attended the ceremony in Riga representing our Institute and visited the new laboratories on site. Prof. Boccaccini, principal investigator of FAU in this project, attended online. The BBCE Steering Committee and Project meetings were held on 21-22nd January. During the visit, there were also meetings with different members of the BBCE to discuss our current and future collaborations. Prof. Boccaccini said: “we congratulate BBCE coordinator Prof. Janis Locs and everyone at BBCE for this great success. We are proud to be part of this vibrant Center as international partner and we look forward to expanding our collaborations in future.”
The press release from RTU is available here: https://www.rtu.lv/en/university/for-mass-media/news/open/baltic-biomaterials-centre-of-excellence-new-building-officially-opens