Dr. Melero-Martin graduated in Chemical Engineering from the University of Seville, Spain, in 1998. After working three years in Industry, he went on to earn a Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from the University of Birmingham, UK, in 2005. He then trained as a post-doctoral fellow in the Vascular Biology Program at Boston Children's Hospital. He joined the Department of Cardiac Surgery at Boston Children's Hospital in 2008. Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, and the inaugural incumbent of an endowed Chair in Cardiac Surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Melero-Martin’s research is focused on how to build vascular networks and vascularize tissues. His laboratory is a reference in human blood-derived circulating endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs) and has contributed multiple original papers on various aspects of ECFC biology. His group has developed novel approaches to bioengineer vascular networks and has shown that bioengineered vascular networks can be generally used to harness the regenerative potential of other stem cells. In addition, his group developed a model that uses genetically engineered blood vessels to achieve the controlled release of therapeutic proteins in vivo.