MSCA Doctoral Network
Since 1 March 2024
48 months
Acoustic and mechanical metamaterials for biomedical and energy harvesting applications
Twelve doctoral candidates in eight institutions across five European countries design structured materials that steer waves for better ultrasound imaging, safer implants and self-powered medical devices.
12
Doctoral candidates
8
Training events
3
Workshops
€2.02 M
EU funding, plus over €1 M from UKRI and SERI
Why metamaterials
Structure decides how a wave moves
Remove one row from a periodic lattice and the wave is trapped in the channel. The same idea shapes lenses, filters and energy harvesters.
About
We link basic research on metamaterials to health and well-being.
The consortium brings together beneficiaries and associated partners who could not make these advances in research and innovation working apart.
Each doctoral candidate asks how human health can be improved with metamaterials. Another line of work develops metamaterials that harvest energy, to power medical devices and reduce reliance on conventional sources.
Ultrasound imaging
Sharper resolution for cancer diagnostics and clinical screening.
Spinal implants and bone healing
Better implant designs and guided-wave monitoring of fractured bone.
Walking, insoles and joints
Metamaterial insoles and embedded sensors for rehabilitation.
Energy harvesting
Power for medical devices drawn from motion and vibration.
Design and modelling
AI-aided topology optimisation, wave filtering and 3D chiral structures.
Events
Five meetings, four countries
Training events rotate between the hosting institutions. Each week combines lectures, hands-on sessions and, in some years, a workshop.
Third Training Event and 2nd Workshop
10–14 February 2026 · Empa. A vibrant week of talks and lab sessions.
Second Training Event and 1st Workshop
30 June – 4 July 2025 · University of Leeds. The Mid-Term Meeting with the EU Project Officer took place on 1 July.
First Training Event
24–28 February 2025 · CNRS-IEMN. Together with the GDR-ARCHIMETA Winter School.
Kick-Off meeting
11–12 March 2024 · Empa. In-person and virtual attendees laid the groundwork for the next four years.
Team
Twelve doctoral candidates
Select a portrait to read the project objectives, supervisors and secondments.
Recruitment closed for all 12 positions
Mohamed Belkaid
Artificial Intelligence for discovering novel acoustic/mechanical metamaterials designs and properties
Ziyao Zhao
Metamaterial-enhanced ultrasonic Guided Waves monitoring for osseointegrated implants and fractured bone healing
Riccardo Carlo Moroni
Additively-manufactured metamaterial with embedded FBG sensors for human joints monitoring and rehabilitation
Results
Open research output
The latest papers, datasets and posters from the network, published open access on Zenodo.
Consortium
Eight hosts, one network
Four beneficiaries and nine associated partners. Doctoral projects are hosted in Italy, France, Poland, the UK and Switzerland.
University of Calabria
DIMES Dept, Cosenza, IT
Coordinator
DC1, DC2
CNRS – IEMN
Villeneuve d’Ascq, FR
DC3, DC4
IMP-PAN
Gdańsk, PL
DC5, DC11, DC12
University of Leeds
Leeds, UK
UKRI
DC6
University of Messina
Messina, IT
DC7
University of Warwick
Coventry, UK
UKRI
DC8
Empa
Dübendorf, CH
SERI
DC9
OrthoSens
Courroux, CH
SERI
DC10
Associated partners
Videos
Talking about science is always a good thing
See what we are doing at MetacMed and subscribe to the YouTube channel.
Funding
Funded by the European Union, UKRI and SERI
MetacMed is a European Doctoral Network funded by the European Commission under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), with additional funding from UKRI and the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).
Grant Agreement No. 101119738
