Dr. Cristian Vilos
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Talca
Director, Lab. of Nanomedicine and Targeted Delivery & Center for Nanomedicine Diagnostic & Drug Development (ND3)
Main Researcher, Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (CEDENNA)
Executive Summary & Innovation Leadership
Dr. Cristian Vilos is a Full Professor, leading academic administrator, and proven inventor at the forefront of translational nanomedicine in Latin America. He currently serves as the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Talca, Chile, and is the Director of both the Center for Nanomedicine Diagnostic & Drug Development (ND3) and the Laboratory of Nanomedicine and Targeted Delivery.
As a distinguished conector in the global technology transfer ecosystem, Dr. Vilos is a registered co-inventor of U.S. Patent No. 9,549,901 B2 ("Lipid-polymer hybrid particles"), a foundational platform developed alongside Dr. Omid Farokhzad and Dr. Jinjun Shi, assigned to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Harvard Medical School Affiliate). His work bridges high-impact advanced biomaterials engineering with innovative pre-clinical solutions for clinical oncology, chronic pain, and primary hemostasis.
Academic Background & Elite Training
Dr. Vilos graduated in Medical Technology from the University of Talca and earned his Ph.D. in Biotechnology from the University of Santiago of Chile (USACH). From 2013 to 2015, his research expanded internationally as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Visiting Professor at Harvard Medical School (Department of Anesthesia, Brigham and Women's Hospital). Concurrently, he served as a Research Affiliate at the prestigious Langer Lab within the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. Complementing his scientific training, he holds advanced diplomas in Strategic Management and Control (University of Chile) and Competency-Based Education.
National Influence, Funding & Scientific Management
Within Chile's scientific framework, Dr. Vilos has anchored advanced nanotechnology strategies for nearly two decades. He is a Main Researcher at CEDENNA, the nation's premier flagship Basal Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology funded by the Chilean National Agency for Research and Development (ANID). His research enterprise is backed by an elite record of competitive funding, acting as Principal Investigator of FONDECYT Regular grants (including N° 1241371, N° 1201147 and N° 1161438), and as a strategic Co-Investigator in multiple concurrent FONDECYT Regular projects collaborating with leading institutions like the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUC) and USACH. Internationally, he has participated in the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (Marie SkÅ‚odowska-Curie Grant Agreement #734801) and serves as an Expert Committee International Evaluator for PROCIENCIA-CONCYTEC (Ministry of Science and Technology of Peru).
Editorial Influence & Global Networks
Dr. Vilos shapes international literature as an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Drug Delivery (Technological and Methodological Advances section) and acts as an Ad-Hoc Reviewer for elite journals including Biomaterials, Journal of Controlled Release, Scientific Reports, and Blood. Driven by a philosophy of open innovation, his laboratory functions as a prominent Southern Cone research hub, maintaining active networks with world-class centers such as Imperial College London (UK), the University of Waterloo, Canada, and the EHU/Universidad del País Vasco (Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea), Spain, while actively mentoring competitive Ph.D. candidates and postdoctoral fellows.