In June 2026, the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and the Future Biomedicine Foundation awarded Dr Ilona Uzielienė, Chief Researcher at the Innovative Medicine Centre in Vilnius at Kaunas University of Technology, and COST Action NetwOArk STSM Evaluation Committee Member.
The Future Biomedicine Foundation is dedicated to advancing personalised medicine research in Lithuania. It supports scientists and early-career researchers while promoting public awareness of personalised medicine and its potential to improve patient care and benefit society. One of the Foundation’s key priorities is to foster the next generation of talent in personalised medicine.
This recognition is awarded to outstanding young Lithuanian scientists in medicine and the life sciences, with a particular emphasis on personalised medicine. It honours individuals who have demonstrated significant scientific achievements, earned recognition at both the national and international levels, developed and implemented innovative ideas, and contributed to advancing and promoting personalised medicine in Lithuania.
A big congratulations to Dr Ilona Uzielienė for her work in the field of Life Sciences:
Towards the Regeneration of Damaged Cartilage: Extracellular Vesicles and their Application in Load-Bearing Cartilage Tissue
With her 14 years of experience in stem cell research and tissue regeneration, Dr Ilona’s work focuses on gender-related cartilage diseases and regenerative approaches using human stem cells, extracellular vesicles (EVs), and 3D bioscaffolds.
Dr Ilona is also an STSM Committee Member within the NetwOArk COST Action responsible for evaluating the quality of STSM applications and, together with the committee, deciding on potential award winners.
Dr Uzielienė has contributed to the team’s latest findings, publishing this year in Nature Scientific Reports, which marks a significant advance in the field. Building on this success, current research is pioneering the integration of extracellular vesicles (EVs) into biodegradable polymer scaffolds to achieve load-responsive release, paving the way for next-generation regenerative therapies with greater precision, efficacy, and clinical potential.
I am deeply honoured to receive this recognition from the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and the Future Biomedicine Foundation. This award reflects not only my own work but also the dedication of the outstanding colleagues, students, and international collaborators I have had the privilege to work alongside. I believe that advancing personalised regenerative medicine requires multidisciplinary collaboration, knowledge exchange, and support for early-career researchers – values that are also at the heart of the NetwOArk COST Action. I hope our research on extracellular vesicles and biomaterials will contribute to developing more precise and effective therapies that improve patients’ quality of life.
Dr Ilona Uzielienė
NetwOArk COST Action
Launched in October 2022, the NetwOArk COST Action – The Open European Network on OsteoArthritis – brings together all key stakeholders in this field, including patients, patient advocacy groups, researchers, clinicians, pharmaceutical companies, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), medical device manufacturers, and policymakers.
Osteoarthritis affects more than 500 million people in the world, according to the World Health Organisation. Therefore, NetwOArk aims to advance primary prevention, diagnostics, treatment, the management of comorbidities and interactions, and comprehensive care for osteoarthritis.
Further information
The Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
Future Biomedicine Foundation