ISTM

Professor Alicia El Haj is Director of the Institute of Science & Technology in Medicine at Keele. She is a leading figure in Regenerative Medicine and has been involved in bringing together interdisciplinary groups within biomedicine, physical sciences and engineering interested in aspects of cell and tissue engineering. She has been a founder Director of The Institute of Science & Technology in Medicine (ISTM) which has rated highly; 5A, 5* and 5A through the past 3 RAE assessments. 

Professor El Haj is the Research Director of an EPSRC DTC in Regenerative Medicine, one of the co-directors of the new EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing Centre in Regenerative Medicine and a collaborator in the new AR UK Tissue Engineering Centre. She has published over a 100 publications with an emphasis on engineering solutions for controlling stem cell behaviour and new orthopaedic repair strategies using novel enabling technology approaches with funding from EPSRC, BBSRC, Welcome  Trust, AR UK and EU Framework.

Prof. El Haj is a Chair elect of the European council for TERMIS, a member of the UK National Stem Cell Advisory Board, the IFMBE Working Group for Cellular Engineering, and the IPEM Academic Advisory board. She is on the editorial board of JTERM and Tissue Engineering and is currently serving as a member of the Medical Research Council’s Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme (DPFS) Panel and the General Engineering UK REF 2014 Panel. 

Recent research career:

Research Interests:

• Stem cell therapy for orthopaedic applications;

• Bioreactors and in vitro conditioning for tissue growth;

• Magnetic nanoparticle technologies for use in  Regenerative Medicine.

  

  
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1997- 2012, Courses/Keele University   

• Bioreactor & Growth Environments for Tissue Engineering Training Course

I have established an MSc course in Biomedical engineering and an MSc course in Cell and Tissue engineering in 1999 which has now taken its fourteenth year of intake.

• Msc Course in Cell & Tissue Engineering
• Msc Course in Biomedical Engineering

1990-1997, Courses/Birmingham University                                                        

1st Year         Cell Biology and Molecular Biology:Cell Division and Differentiation

2nd Year        Development 5 week option Molecular and Cell Biology; co-option leader: 

* Animal Gene Regulation/Drosophila genetics

 * Evolutionary Developmental Biology

3rd Year        Cell Biology of Development - Option Leader

       Biology of Animal Growth - Option Leader

Current Issues in Biomedical Sciences - Option leader

All 3 years involve lectures and practicals.  Tutorials were held for all 3 years. Where option leader is noted - this involved design and development of a new course

Recent Research grants held at Keele awarded by:

• EPSRC
• BBSRC
• European Commission 7th Framework Programme
• European Commission 6th Framework Programme
• European Commission 5th Framework Programme
• Arthritis Research UK
• Wellcome Trust, UK

Recent external appointments:

• Fellow of the Society of Biology (FSB), 2011 to date

• Medical Research Council, Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme Panel Member (DPFS), 2011 to date

• UK HEFCE 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), Member of Sub-panel 15: General Engineering, 2011 to date                

• EU Chair-Elect for TERMIS, 2011 to date

• EPSRC:

  * Strategic Advisory Network Member, 2011 to date

  * Healthcare Strategic Advisory Team Member, 2011 to date

• Honorary UHNS Clinical Contract, 2011 to date

• Adjunct Professor, Universiti KebangsaanTissue Engineering Centre, Faculty of Medicine, Malaysia, 2011 to date

• Council Member, European Chapter of the TERMIS (Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society), 2008 to date

• UK HEFCE RAE Panel member, General Engineering – G25, 2005-2008 & 2008 - 2009

• UK Bioengineering Society,Member of Founding Committee, 2008 to date

• UKSCN Stem Cell Advisory Board Member 2008 to 2011

• Deputy Chair / Chair of Engineering and Bioscience Panel (EBS) BBSRC, 2006 - 2009

• BBSRC BioIndustry Panel Member, 2010 to date

• President -  UK Cell & Tissue Engineering (TCES), 2003 - 2008

• UK Cell & Tissue Engineering (TCES), Member of committee, 2009 to date

• EPSRC College and Panel Member/Chairman, 1997 to date

• MRC College of Experts, 2003 to date       

• BBSRC Member of Engineering and Bioscience Panel (EBS) 2006

• Member Academic Advisory Group – Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine – 2006 to date

• Women’s Working Party of the IFMBE – 2004 to date

• Strategic Advisory Team member – Life Sciences interface – 2003 

• International Science Committee of ICCE Advisory Board 2003 

Patents:

UK/International patents:

• Stem cell conditioning. WO 2005059118 2003

• Culturing tissue using magnetic gen mech stress. WO 2004/00369 2002

• Magnetic nanoparticles as ion channel agonists. WO 02/051985 2002

Details of Awarded Grants:

Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK

• 2011-2012 £50,000 EPSRC Bridging the gaps sponsorship- for further information, please visit the Bridging the Gaps website. 
• 2011-2012 £102,015, Creativity@Home - Designer magnetic particle tagging and activation of mechano-sensitive receptors for remote control of cell signalling and behaviour. (Prof Alicia J. El Haj, Prof Jon Dobson and Dr Paul Roach)
• 2011-2016 £310,000, E-TERM Programme-Collaborative programme between 2 Doctoral Training Centres in Regenerative Medicine including Keele, Loughborough, Sheffield, Leeds and York
• 2010-2015, £620,000, EPSRC Innovative Manufacturing Centre in Regenerative Medicine -  Joint  bid with Loughborough University (Lead  PI) and Nottingham University- please click on the following link to download the EPSRC Centre annual review
• 2008-2013 £750,000 Doctoral Training Centre in Regenerative Medicine with Nottingham and Loughborough universities - see website for the DTC in Regenerative Medicine.
• 2008-2011 £285,272 3ME - Modelling Methods for Medical Engineering (with Prof Jon Dobson, Prof Peter Styles and Prof Graham Rogerson  to foster collaboration between medical engineering, applied mathematics and geophysics - see website for 3ME Initiative.
• 2005-2008 £382,912 Micromechanical analysis of chondrocytes – the role of the pericellular matrix. (Dr Nicola Kuiper (nee Goodstone) and Prof Alicia El Haj). A collaboration with Dr Zhang, Prof Thomas, Chemical Engineering,  Birmingham University 
• 2004 – 2006 £215,356 Development of a mechano-active scaffold for skeletal tissue. (with Dr Ying Yang). 
• 2001 – 2004 £238,156 High resolution optical tomographic imaging of in vivo micro-circulation. 
• 2001 - 2003 £62,205 Development of novel magnetic force bioreactor for tissue engineering. 
• 1999 - 2002 £258,854 Development of the TSIFT for breath analysis and analysis of headspace above cells in vitro. (with Prof David Smith).

Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), UK 

• 2008-2013 £758,000 of £3m total, LOLA: Combining Stem Cell Science and Tissue Engineering to study the development and repair of human skeletal tissues with Imperial College London (Prof Molly Stevens), Nottingham University (Prof Kevin Shakesheff) and Southampton University (Prof Richard Oreffo)
• 2006 – 2007 £14,600 Masters Level Training for Industry – Bioreactor Development. (Dr Sarah Cartmell and Prof Alicia El Haj). 
• 2006 – 2009 £347,381 Nano-optical-mechanical manipulation of bone marrow stem cells in physiological flows: design principles for delivering stem cell therapy. (Dr Isaac Liu, Prof Alicia El Haj, Dr Yibin Fu) 
• 2004 – 2007 £335,435 Development of magnetic nanoparticle strategies for manipulation and activation of stem cells in vitro and in vivo. (Prof Alicia El  Haj and Prof Jon Dobson), collaboration with Prof Richard Oreffo , Southampton University.
• 2004 – 2006 £170,806 Quantitative on-line assessment of collagen fibre organisation in connective tissues in vivo and during tissue engineering in vitro. (Prof Alicia El Haj, Dr Ying Yang, Prof Nicola Maffulli) Collaboration with Ritchie, Cranfield University.

European Commission 7th Framework Programme

• 2011-2015 £460,000 BIODESIGN-Coordinated by Upsalla University with 19 partners
• 2008-2012 374,400 Euro Hyaluronan-based injectable material for tissue engineering (HYANJI-SCAFFOLD) - Prof Alicia El Haj and Dr Nicholas R. Forsyth: Project Co-ordinators. An IRSES exchange programme with Italian and Chinese partners, for details see the HYANJI SCAFFOLD website.

European Commission 6th Framework Programme 

• 2005 - 2009 £250,000 EXPERTISSUES, Network of Excellence –(Prof Alicia El Haj lead for WP8)  Total value of grant 7 million Euro
• 2007-2010 £650,000 NEST project – MYJOINT,Lead by Keil Germany and Keele UK with 6 partners.
• 2005 – 2007 €346,436 Marie Curie Multicentre Training Grant (ALEA JACTA) in regenerative medicine.

European Commission 5th Framework Programme

• 2001 - 2004 £165,145 European Partnership for Autologous Chrondrocye Implantation (EUROCELL). (Prof Alicia El Haj, Prof James Richardson et al, 8 lead investigators in total) 
• 2000 - 2002 £254,706 Biomedical interactions in tissue engineering and tissue engineering in surgical repair (BITES) - Prof Alicia El Haj: Project Co-ordinator. Total value of grant 2,104,999 Euro

Arthritis Research UK

• 2011-2016 £713,417 ARUK Tissue Engineering Centre - Collaborative bid with Newcastle, Keele, York, Aberdeen,for details please see the Arthritis Research UK Tissue Engineering Centre website.

Wellcome Trust, UK

• 2011 £1440 Vacation Scholarship 2011: Tendon Tissue Engineering.
• 2002 – 2004 £125,000 Sir Henry Wellcome Showcase Award - Biomagnetic strategies for therapeutics in bone. (Prof Alicia El Haj and Prof Jon Dobson)

Professor Alicia J. El Haj's Research Group: 

Postdoctoral Researchers and Fellows:

Dr. James Henstock: PhD - University of Nottingham

Dr. Yvonne Reinwald: PhD - University of Nottingham

Dr. Ian Wimpenny: PhD - Keele University

Current Students: 

Michael Rotherham - PhD studies in Biomedical Engineering - Keele University

Hareklea Markides - PhD Title: Magnetic tagging of donor cells for use in Autologous Chrondrocyte implantation - Keele University

Bin Hu - PhD studies in Biomedical Engineering - Keele University

Thomas Chippendale - PhD Title: SIFT-MS as a tool for monitoring the volatile compounds present in the headspace above stem cell cultures - Keele University

Harpal Sura - PhD studies in Biomedical Engineering - Keele University

Alex Lomas - PhD Title: Use of stem cells for tendon tissue engineering – UK China IRES project - Keele University (Co-Supervisor)

Sammy Wilson- PhD Title: Corneal models for therapeutics and drug testing - Keele University (Co-Supervisor)

Fola Kuforiji - PhD Title: The importance of biomaterial surface characteristics in tissue engineering - Keele University (Co-Supervisor) 

Visiting Students:

Cui-Ling Dong - HYANJI Scaffold exchange researcher from Tsinghua University

Human Bones grown from fat