Soheil Pilehvar is always on the lookout for new challenges. As part of the Breast Tissue Marker project, he has developed a new material using his discipline in polymers.
HFU Doc Stories: Soheil Pilehvar is conducting research into new materials at HFU
How do you actually invent a new material? If you visit doctoral candidate Soheil Pilehvar at the Tuttlingen Institute of Materials Science and Engineering (IWAT) at Furtwangen University, it quickly becomes clear − with discipline. Patience. And an eye for interdisciplinary approaches.
Among other things, Pilehvar is conducting research as part of the ‘Breast Tissue Marker’ project. The aim is to develop a material that can be used to mark the location of a tumour in breast cancer patients over the long term, so that it can be identified particularly easily during ultrasound examinations, for example during surgical procedures. A particle just a few millimetres in size could render the painful method of inserting a wire − which has been used to date – obsolete. The requirements for such a material are complex and varied – as is the process of finding it.
Soheil Pilehvar describes himself as a real polymer enthusiast. Polymers are plastics consisting of a vast number of interlinked building blocks – correspondingly, many variants are conceivable, just as there are various methods for manufacturing the materials. His doctorate in this discipline is being carried out as a partnership between HFU and the Institute for Microsystems Technology (IMTEK) at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Freiburg. Prior to this, Pilehvar first obtained a bachelor's degree in Polymer Engineering in Iran, followed by a master's degree in Polymer Composite Materials. “Even though it sounds strange, polymers are my hobby,” he says, reporting on the many, many hours he spends searching online for new specialist articles and fresh ideas. Through the many business trips that his work as a research engineer for a large Iranian holding company entailed, Soheil Pilehvar gained insights into research and development work in China and also in Europe. He was particularly interested in Germany. It was also his passion for research that led him to Prof. Dr Hadi Mozaffari Jovein – the prestigious materials science professor who heads the IWAT and is internationally recognised for his research in this discipline. It took five years – which Pilehvar initially spent in Berlin – before an opportunity for collaboration arose. “To be honest, I did have to think about whether I should move from Berlin and come to Tuttlingen,” says Pilehvar candidly, adding, “but I do love a challenge.” He took the plunge, and six months later his wife also moved to the town on the Danube. The Iranian couple now feel very much at home and enjoy, for example, getting to know their many German neighbours. “And for the past two years, we’ve had a new boss,” laughs Pilehvar, referring to his young son, around whom much of their life now revolves.
One of the German proverbs that Soheil Pilehvar learnt in Germany was the charming way of describing multitasking, ‘dancing at several weddings at once’. The idea was that it’s important to get involved in several research projects. No problem for the 38-year-old. Alongside the breast tissue marker project, he is developing implants for the intervertebral disc and the pelvis at HFU – these form the subject of his doctoral dissertation. A doctorate in progress, a post as a research assistant, founder of his own start-up specialising in nanofibres, family man – Soheil Pilehvar has many roles, and yet nothing seems to be too much for him. “I’m used to it,” he says with a laugh; in his home country of Iran, he explains, it is quite normal not to focus on just one thing. “In-depth scientific work is important. But we mustn’t lose sight of the need for speed either. Nobody in the world is waiting for us; the competition is fierce.” So, in the Breast Tissue Marker project too, Soheil Pilehvar did everything he could to move quickly towards practical applications and to test various materials and processes. “You might have the perfect material, but the wrong process. Or the other way round,” he says. His guiding principle is therefore, “Where the soul of materials meets the rhythm of process, innovation finds its voice”. However, the search for a material is expressly not a matter of “trial and error”, according to Pilehvar, “Even a wrong result is a result that takes us further.” For him, this realisation is his motto for success.
The project team has summarised the many series of experiments and countless test combinations in a huge matrix. The breakthrough, however, came from a material that is rather unusual in the world of medical technology and originates from the aerospace industry – the incorporation of microscopically small glass beads into a polymer that can be produced using additive manufacturing, i.e. with a 3D printer.
Together with Prof. Dr Hadi Mozaffari Jovein and his colleague Rashid Heidari, Pilehvar has published several specialist articles on this topic. The next step will be to test the results in clinical applications. Pilehvar will then likely only be able to follow further developments from a distance. After completing the project and his doctorate in the coming months, he will be looking for new challenges. “My plan would be to take my start-up forward independently, but perhaps also to continue working in research,” he says – “but as always, the main thing is that it’s a challenge!”
HFU Doc Stories
This new series shines a spotlight on early-career doctoral candidates at HFU. Over 80 doctoral candidates at HFU are working on fascinating research projects and their dissertations. With HFU Doc Stories, we’re following their progress.