My research focuses on the use of biomaterial matrices for healthcare applications in two interconnected areas, tissue engineering/regenerative medicine and controlled drug delivery, both of which have the ultimate clinical goal of treating damage or disease.

Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine aim to either replace diseased or damaged tissues with a fully functional, lab-grown construct or promote the repair of tissue in situ by stimulating the body’s own cells. Within these areas, my research focuses on generating different types of 3D scaffold, such as hydrogels, nanofibres and microcarriers, from a range of biomaterials and tailoring their properties in order to promote 3D cell growth for a desired tissue target or application. We have particular interest in the development of scaffolds for musculoskeletal repair and the use of cell carriers for cell scale-up and delivery.

Controlled drug delivery approaches aim to deliver the right amount of drug to the right part of the body at the right time rather than large systemic doses, of which only a very small proportion of the drug reaches the site of disease. By encapsulating drugs in biomaterial matrices, we can control their subsequent release by altering the properties of the biomaterial and the morphology of the matrix. Using this approach, we have generated promising electrospun mats which are capable of sustained antibiotic release and have been proven to kill bacteria both in isolated colonies and within biofilms, which are currently a severe clinical problem. This approach is also compatible with tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, where controlled release of bioactive molecules can influence cell fate and promote repair.

Our research has been funded by the EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC, Royal Society, EU, FAPESP and the University of Bath.

Happy to discuss PhD projects in tissue engineering/regenerative medicine and advanced drug delivery systems. Specific projects include:

https://www.findaphd.com/search/ProjectDetails.aspx?PJID=49517

https://www.findaphd.com/search/ProjectDetails.aspx?PJID=83502

Chemical kinetics, osmotic phenomenon, routes of drug delivery, controlled and advanced drug delivery systems, protein delivery, analytical techniques for proteins and nucleic acids, stem cells and tissue engineering.