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    Global Keele
    Professor Karina Wright

    Professor Karina Wright

    Title
    Professor in Orthopaedics and Tissue Engineering
    Location
    Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, Oswestry SY10 7AG
    Role
    Research theme: Regenerative Medicine
    Contact me
    Via tel or email
    Phone
    +44 (0) 1691 404022
    Email
    k.t.wright@keele.ac.uk

    Biography

    My research group is based at the Keele laboratories in the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, Oswestry. I started my PhD there in 2005, studying cell therapy mechanisms in spinal cord injury. I am now a Professor of Orthopaedics and Bioengineering and lead a group based in Oswestry investigating interventions in orthopaedic patient populations. I am also the Director of Keele’s Centre for Science and Technology in Medicine and lead undergraduate teaching in the School of Life Sciences on Applied Regenerative Medicine.

    Research and scholarship

    Research theme: Centre for Science and Technology in Medicine

    My laboratory group based at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, Oswestry, develops and tests novel biological therapies for orthopaedic patients. Our research transcends the bench to bedside translational pipeline, from in vitro analyses, organ-on-a-chip systems, pre-clinical models, clinical trials and finally NICE approved treatments. We are equally interested in learning from bedside to bench through reverse translational research, by collecting and analysing human cells and tissues and relating biological profiles to clinical outcomes in an effort to refine, tailor and develop novel treatments.

    Teaching

    I am currently a BSc module lead in Applied Regenerative Medicine with the School of Life Sciences and contribute to teaching in particular across Keele’s undergraduate and postgraduate Cell and Tissue Engineering courses.

    Further information

    PhD Students

    • John Garcia (Lead Supervisor 2013-2016)
    • Jingsong Wang (Lead Supervisor 2017-2020)
    • Mateus Bernardo Harrington (Lead Supervisor 2018-2021)
    • Lauren Tierney (Lead Supervisor 2019-2022)
    • Larissa Rix (Lead Supervisor 2020-2024)
    • Tian Lan (Lead Supervisor 2021-2024)
    • Hollie Wilksinson (Lead Supervisor 2022-2025)
    • Abi Varder (Lead Supervisor 2022-present)
    • Tom Link (Lead Supervisor 2023-present)
    • Morgan Godwin (Lead Supervisor 2024-present)
    • Ben Woodhouse (Lead Supervisor 2025-present)

    Equipment

    • BD FACS canto II flow cytometer (Arthritis Research UK Equipment Grant – PI)
    • Cell IQ II Live Cell Imaging Platform (Institute of Orthopaedics Equipment Grant – Co-I)
    • Quantum Hollow Fibre Bioreactor (MRC Biomedical Catalyst Grant - PI)

    Funding

    • Arthritis UK Project Grants (PI)
    • Medical Research Council Biomedical Catalyst Grant (PI)
    • Arthritis UK Tissue Engineering Centre (Co-I)
    • Medical Research Council Experimental Medicine Grant (Co-I)
    • Medical Research Council DPFS Grant (Co-I)
    • Institute of Orthopaedics and Midlands Centre for Spinal Injuries (PI)

    Team members

    • Dr Charlotte Hulme (Lecturer and PI in Orthopaedic Metabolomics)
    • Dr Sharon Owen (Post-Doctoral Research Associate)
    • Dr Helen McCarthy (Post-Doctoral Research Associate)
    • Dr Larissa Rix (Post-Doctoral Research Associate)
    • Dr Jade Perry (Post-Doctoral Research Associate)
    • Mike Williams (Data Analyst)
    • Sam Griffiths-Norris (Trial Coordinator)

    Publications

    Publications

    • Wright KT, El Masri W, Osman A, Chowdhury J, Johnson WEB. Bone marrow for the treatment of spinal cord injury: mechanisms and clinical application. (2011) Stem Cells, Volume 29, 169-178.
    • Wright KT, Seabright RJ, Logan A, Lilly AJ, Khanim F, Bunce CM, Johnson WEB. Extracellular Nm23H1 stimulates neurite outgrowth from dorsal root ganglia neurons in vitro independently of nerve growth factor supplementation or its nucleoside diphosphate kinase activity. (2010). Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Volume 398, 79-85.
    • Walter MN, Wright KT, Fuller HR, MacNeil S, Johnson WEB. Mesenchymal stem cell-conditioned medium accelerates skin wound healing: an in vitro study of fibroblast and keratinocyte scratch assays. (2010) Experimental Cell Research, Volume 316, Number 7; 1271-1281. 
    • Wright KT, Griffiths G, Johnson WEB. A comparison of industrial high content analysis versus research-based manual analysis to assay the effects of mesenchymal stem cell conditioned medium on neurite outgrowth in vitro. (2010) Journal of Biomolecular Screening, Volume 15, Issue 5; 576-582.
    • Bajada S, Marshall MJ, Wright KT, Richardson JB, Johnson WEB. Decreased osteogenesis, increased cell senescence and elevated dickkopf-1 secretion in human fracture non union stromal cells. (2009) Bone. Volume 45, Issue 4; 726-735.
    • Wright KT, Griffiths G, Johnson WEB. A comparison of industrial high content analyses versus research lab-based methods to assay the effects of mesenchymal stem cell conditioned medium on neurite outgrowth in vitro. Abstract (2009) Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, Volume 23, Number 9, Page 984.
    • Chamberlain G, Wright KT, Rot A, Ashton BA, Middleton J. Murine mesenchymal stem cells exhibit a restricted repertoire of functional chemokine receptors: comparison with human. (2008) PLoS ONE, Volume 3; 1-6.
    • Wright KT, El Masri W, Osman A, Roberts S, Trivedi J, Ashton BA, Johnson WEB. The cell culture expansion of bone marrow stromal cells from humans with spinal cord injury: implications for future cell transplantation therapy. (2008) Spinal Cord, Volume 46; 811-817.
    • Wright KT, El Masri W, Osman A, Roberts S, Ashton BA, Johnson WEB. Bone marrow stromal cells stimulate neurite outgrowth over neural proteoglycans (CSPG), myelin associated glycoprotein and Nogo-A. (2007) Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Volume 354; 559-566.
    • Wright KT, Khanim F, Bunce CM, Johnson WEB. The nucleoside diphosphatase kinase, nm23H1, is expressed by human bone marrow stromal cells and stimulates and directs neurite outgrowth in vitro. Abstract (2007) Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, Volume 21, Number 6, Page 62.
    • Johnson WEB, Sivan S, Wright KT, Eisenstein SM, Maroudas A, Roberts S. Human intevertebral disc cells promote nerve growth over substrata of human intevertebral disc aggrecan. (2006) Spine, Volume 31, Number 11; 1106-1114.
    • Wright KT, El Masri W, Osman A, Roberts S, Ashton BA, Johnson WEB. Marrow stromal cells from spinal cord injured patients promote nerve growth and reduce the inhibitory effects of chondroitin sulphated proteoglycans in vitro. Abstract (2006) Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, Volume 29, Number 3, Page 270.

    Collaborations and grants awards

    Collaborators

    • Professor Sally Roberts
       Director of Spinal Research
       RJAH Orthopaedic Hospital

    • Professor James Richardson
       Professor of Orthopaedic and Traumatic Surgery
       RJAH Orthopaedic Hospital

    • Dr Eustace Johnson
       Professor of Stem Cells and Regenerative Biology
       Senior Faculty Postgraduate Research Tutor Faculty Research Co-ordinator Biological Sciences
       Faculty of Medicine Dentistry and Life Sciences
       University of Chester

    • Dr Gareth Griffiths
       Director of Science
       Imagenbiotech
       University of Manchester

    • Wagih S El Masry
       Consultant Surgeon in Spinal Injuries
       Former President of International Spinal Cord Society (ISCOS)
       RJAH Orthopaedic Hospital

    • Aheed Osman
       Consultant Surgeon in Spinal Injuries
       Midland Centre for Spinal Injuries
       RJAH Orthopaedic Hospital

    • J Roy Chowdhury
       Consultant in Spinal Injuries & Rehabilitation Medicine
       Midlands Centre for Spinal Injuries
       RJAH Orthopaedic Hospital

    Head of School

    Professor Pip Beard
    Email: p.m.beard@keele.ac.uk

    School address

    School of Life Sciences
    Huxley Building
    Keele University
    Staffordshire
    ST5 5BG
    Tel: +44 (0) 1782 734414
    Email: lifesciences.office@keele.ac.uk

    Enquiries

    Tel: +44 (0) 1782 734414
    Email: lifesciences.office@keele.ac.uk

    You can find information about Programme Directors on our Contact us page.

    A full list of School staff is available with details of individual rooms and telephone numbers, email addresses, details of research interests and other information.