Prof. Dr. Cem Bülent ÜSTÜNDAĞ

Dr. Üstündağ is a Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Yıldız Technical University (YTU), Turkey. He earned his B.Sc. degree in Ceramic Engineering from Dumlupınar University, Turkey, in 1999, followed by an M.Sc. degree in Materials Science & Engineering from Gebze Technical University in 2003. He holds dual Ph.D. degrees: one in Materials Science & Engineering from Yıldız Technical University (2011) and another in Biomaterials from Tohoku University, Japan (2013).

In 2001, Dr. Üstündağ worked as a part-time Research Engineer at Kalevit-ROCA Inc., Çanakkale, Turkey. He joined Çan Vocational School, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, as a Lecturer in 2002, where he established Turkey’s first state university e-commerce program and later launched the logistics program in 2004. He served as Deputy Director of Çan Vocational School between 2003 and 2005.

Dr. Üstündağ joined YTU Vocational School in 2005 and was promoted to Assistant Professor in 2011. In 2008, he received a UNIDO Technology Foresight Diploma. Between 2010 and 2012, he served as Head of the Ceramics Program and was later appointed Head of the Technical Programs Department at YTU Vocational School, managing nine technical programs and over 1,200 students. From 2012 to 2014, he served as Deputy Director of YTU Vocational School and chaired the Commission for Establishing the Faculty of Applied Sciences at YTU.

In 2014–2015, Dr. Üstündağ was a visiting scholar at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, NJ. He joined the Department of Bioengineering at YTU in April 2015 and was promoted to Full Professor in February 2023. He also served as Acting Director of the Health Biotechnology Joint Research and Application Center of Excellence (SABIOTEK) from June 2022 to June 2024.

Dr. Üstündağ's research focuses on the development of nanomaterials for biomedical applications, graphene and carbonaceous nanomaterials, nanocomposites, tissue engineering, 3D printing, and nanomaterials for environmental remediation. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on biomedical materials, tissue engineering, mathematical modeling in bioengineering, characterization of biomaterials, and carbon nanomaterials.

He has authored or co-authored over 75 research papers, 13 review articles, 2 co-edited books, 10 book chapters, 8 patents, 12 patent applications, and more than 100 national and international conference papers. Dr. Üstündağ has consulted with Spinamer Ltd. on novel biomaterials development and collaborated with companies such as Biosertech Ltd., Nanortepedi Ltd., ABC Health Ltd., Bilimplant Ltd., MITEC Ltd., and Occlutech GmbH on biomaterials, tissue engineering, and drug delivery systems.

Dr. Üstündağ has been an organizing committee member of the International Congress on 3D Printing (Additive Manufacturing) Technologies and Digital Industry series (2018–2023) and serves on the advisory board of the International Journal of 3D Printing Technologies and Digital Industry.

Throughout his academic journey, Dr. Üstündağ has been supported by prestigious scholarships and fellowships. He received an educational scholarship from Kaleseramik (Turkey's largest ceramic company) and the İbrahim Bodur Foundation. His international recognition began early; in 2009, he was awarded the RONPAKU Fellowship by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), subsequently earning the JSPS Ronpaku Medal in 2013. The following year, in 2014, he secured a postdoctoral fellowship supported jointly by TÜBİTAK and Princeton University.

Dr. Üstündağ’s innovative contributions have been recognized with numerous prestigious accolades. He earned a Bronze Medal at the International Invention Fair (ISIF) for his patent titled "Biomimetic Biomaterial and Production Method Thereof," and secured second place in the academic category at the 7th LivingLab Project Competition in 2020. Notably, at the 17th edition of EUROINVENT, he was honored with two Gold Medals: one in the Book Category for his Springer-edited volume, "Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering", and another in the Project Category for the HORIZON FLAG-ERA project "SMART2GRAPH", which focuses on developing smart nerve grafts for nervous system regeneration. Furthermore, he was recently distinguished with the WIIPA Special Award 2026.

His extensive research endeavors are backed by a diverse portfolio of competitive grants, including the Erasmus+ KA226 Digital Education Readiness grant (2020), the HORIZON FLAG-ERA JCT2023 grant (2023), the Erasmus Mundus Design Measures (EMDM) grant (2024), two TÜBİTAK 1001 project grants (2021 and 2022), and three TÜSEB project grants (2021, 2023,  and 2025).