Postgraduate Research

The multidisciplinary Bioengineering and Therapeutics Group, comprises a multi-disciplinary team linked to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire and RJAH Orthopaedic Hospital at Oswestry with a major focus on enabling technologies involved in cell and tissue engineering and introduction to the clinic of cell therapies for regenerative medicine.

Specific expertise includes active clinical cell therapies, enabling technology development associated with environmental chambers or bioreactor design, targeting and delivery vehicles and strategies using magnetic nanoparticles, control of differentiation of tissue specific stem cells and skeletal stem cells. The grouping holds an EPSRC Doctoral Training Centre in Regenerative Medicine since 2009 run jointly with Nottingham and Loughborough.

The Institute has commenced the first UK MRC multi-centre trial (ACTIVE) into cell therapy in connective tissues. The two hospital sites have GMP cell therapy labs for culture and delivery of human cells on site. Recently, the group has been awarded as partner the first EPSRC Innovative Manufacturing Centre in Regenerative Medicine, which aims to initiate and improve links to industry for taking cell therapies to market for clear patient benefit and the team is part of the EXPERTISSUES EU FP6 NOE. The BT group includes links to other research areas listed here such as Respiratory Medicine, Pharmacy, Clinical Science, Imaging and Neurology. The group has commenced a SP3 - People IRSES EU programme (HYANJI) establishing a research network to Universities in China, Tsinghua and Chengdu Universities, Schools of Pharmacy and Biotechnology.

• Regenerative mechanisms - Professor Alicia El Haj ; Dr. Ying Yang; Professor Jon Dobson; Professor Sally Roberts
• Stem cells - Professor James Richardson; Dr. Divya Chari; Dr Nick Forsyth; Professor Jon Dobson; Professor Sally Roberts; Dr Rosemary Fricker-Gates
• Biomedical technologies – Professor Jon Dobson; Professor Glenn Morris; Dr. Paul Roach; Dr. Josep Sule-Suso
• Biomaterials for tissue regeneration - Dr. Ying Yang; Dr. Paul Roach; Professor Sally Roberts
• Orthopaedic tissue engineering - Dr. Ying Yang; Professor James Richardson; Professor Sally Roberts
• Magnetic nanotechnologies - Dr. Divya Chari; Professor Jon Dobson
• Rehabilitation engineering - Professor Anand Pandyan
• Biomechanics and mechanobiology - Dr. Jan Herman Kuiper