Aug 06, 2023 
Dr. Julien BARTHES, CEO and co-founder of 3Deus Dynamics holds an engineering degree in physical chemistry of polymers and a PhD in biomaterials science. He has a solid experience in tissue engineering and additive manufacturing He experienced projects leading different types of funding and domains, such as PANBIORA-H2020 and IMMODGEL-FP7 (European projects on biomaterials/implants) or FASSIL (National FUI project on AM). During these projects, he maturated a strong experience in the field of tissue engineering, with a deep focus on cell and biomaterials interaction, as well as in AM technologies. He was involved in both academic and industrial R&D projects with a constant implication in scientific dissemination, with more than 25 articles published. Before starting 3Deus Dynamics in 2020, he was working for the past 6 years in a MedTech startup developing ENT medical devices and he managed the development of medical devices from the laboratory stage to their marketing. Julien will be speaking at the upcoming Biomaterials Bioink for 3D Printing event in September.
When was the first encounter you had with 3D printing?
Julien: I discovered 3D printing in 2015, and Silicone 3D printing in particular. At the time, I was working for a company developing implantable medical devices for ENT. The implants we were designing were manufactured by injection molding and were therefore standard. We quickly realized that each patient had a specific anatomy that required patient-specific implants, so 3D printing lifted a real barrier in our company and enabled us to develop more effective medical devices and thus significantly improve patient health.
What inspired you to start your journey?
Julien: As a young scientist with a passion for science and medicine, 3D printing appeared to be a new technology that met all my expectations. Indeed, having the opportunity to work on the medicine of the future and develop the implants of tomorrow have always been my main motivations.
Who inspired you the most along this journey in 3D printing?
Julien: The person who has inspired me most in my career, my mentor, is Dr Nihal Engin Vrana. He gave me my passion for medical and technological innovation and trained me in tissue engineering and 3D printing.
He made me realize that innovation and R&D are the keys to tomorrow’s products.
What motivates you the most for your work?
Julien: What motivates me most in my job is the search for new challenges, identifying patients’ problems, and finding ever more innovative solutions to solve them, with the ultimate aim of improving their quality of life.
What do you think is (are) the biggest challenge(s) in 3D Printing/bio-printing? What do you think the potential solution(s) is (are)?
Julien: The biggest challenges in 3D printing are :
- Regulatory affairs
- Scale up of the manufacturing process
If you are granted three wishes by a higher being, what would they be?
Julien: Nice questions!
My three wishes will be :
- That 3D printed anatomical models become a standard for training and surgical planning
- Bringing bioprinting to the industrial scale
- Be able to replace any organ in the body using 3D printing
What advice would you give to a smart driven college student in the “real world”? What bad advice you heard should they ignore?
Julien: My advice: “Don’t hesitate to question established dogmas, because in my opinion, this stops any instinct for creativity.”
Bad advice: “ You should not try this, It won’t never work “
Related Links:
3D Bioprinting for Food (On Demand, 2021)
The Art and Science of Bioinks (On Demand, 2021)
Biomaterials for 3D Printing (On Demand, 2022)
Interview with Chris Baschuk: Partial Hand Prosthetics
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