An international alliance in regenerative medicine

 

Keele is a key player in BIODESIGN, which is developing methods to use functional materials with stem cells, and growth factors, to encourage the body to heal itself. BIODESIGN is a world-wide collaboration of 21 leaders in the field of regenerative medicine, co-ordinated by Professor Jons Hilborn from Uppsala University with whom Keele has a long working relationship. The international BIODESIGN partnership brings together groups from leading European, Israeli and Malaysian academic centres, small companies and large medical device companies. Keele's leader in the collaboration is Professor Alicia J. El Haj,  who has already taken part in the BIODESIGN 'kick-off' meeting in Stockholm in spring 2012. Specifically the research aims of the project are to (i) develop new strategies for a more rational design of ECM mimetic materials serving both as gels and load carrying scaffolds, (ii) link novel designs to adequate and more predictive in-vitro methods allowing significant reduction in development time and use of animals and (iii) evaluate these concepts for musculoskeletal and cardiac regeneration. The BIODESIGN collaboration is funded by the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme from which the University is receiving over £370,000 for the projects it will be carrying out over four years. BIODESIGN has its own website at www.biodesign.eu.com which will track progress from all the partners as they work towards their goal.