As part of an Horizon Europe funded project SUPRALIFE – https://www.supralife.eu – at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, counting on Bert Meijer and Patricia Dankers (TU/e, the Netherlands) and Sébastien Lecommandoux (University of Bordeaux, France) as partners. This project is mostly focused on the organization of events aiming at fostering the exchange of knowledge in the field with a small part devoted to research itself. In brief, the project aims to rationally design and develop advanced supramolecular multifunctional biomaterials for healthcare
The project has already hosted two very successful events: 1st school, 2nd school – and are now organizing the third school under the theme ‘Supramolecular Multifunctional Biomaterials’ which will take place in Aveiro from 9-14 March 2025. Similar to the first and second schools, the third school will include a scientific program from 9-11 March 2025, which will include time slots for non-invited contributed abstracts for oral and poster presentations. Abstract submission is open until November 15.
The next meeting will also include a soft transferable skills’ program from 12-14 March 2025 mostly focusing on the personal and professional development of students and ECR. This year we aim to cover topics such as leadership, entrepreneurship, networking & career enrichment, the importance of volunteering to advance your career, among others.
A 3D-Printed Blood-Brain-Barrier-on-a-Chip for Agrochemical Permeability Studies – CASE Studentship
The blood-brain barrier (BBB) tightly regulates the flow of material between the bloodstream and the brain. One of the big problems faced by a range of sectors, from pharmaceuticals to agrochemicals, is understanding how compounds interact with and cross this barrier. One approach to solving this problem is to design model systems that reproduce the behaviour of the BBB in a lab.
Throughout the project, you will work in close collaboration with our industrial partner, Syngenta, to study how agrochemicals interact with your model BBB, enabling you to develop a tool for future interrogation of neuropathy, inflammation and axonal degeneration. With 59,000 employees in more than 100 countries, the Syngenta Group is a leading technology company for sustainable agricultural innovation. Syngenta’s mission is to offer large and small farming businesses the tools to address a wide range of challenges associated with crop productivity and health, to manage the effects of climate change and to help preserve biodiversity. Ultimately, innovations from Syngenta Group’s crop protection and seeds divisions help farmers to ensure sustainable food, feed, fiber and fuel production.
The Impact of Cellular Agriculture on Land Use and the Environment in the UK and Africa
Summary: Funded by the NERC OnePlanet doctoral training partnership (Northumbria-Newcastle) and working with Paul Bartels at WildBio in South Africa. This highly interdisciplinary project will include original research in sustainable ‘cultivated meat’ biotechnologies and an assessment of their global impact using environmental science, and includes a research placement with Paul in South Africa. Ideally suited to a biosciences graduate with experience of animal cell culture and interests in cultivated meat, bioengineering, bioprocessing and environmental science. Read more about OnePlanet here: https://research.ncl.ac.uk/one-planet/studentships/
NU-Bone: Antler BioDesign for structural tissue engineering and cellular agriculture
Summary: This PhD will develop in vitro biotechnologies to create living bone structures for applications in cellular agriculture (cultivated meat), bio-machine interfaces, engineering, design and novel consumer products. In this project, you will develop a methodology to grow human-designed 3D structures from deer antler stem cells in bioreactors, combining cutting edge research in stem cell biology, cellular agriculture, bioprocessing, bioreactor engineering, nanotechnology, mechanobiology and design engineering. Details here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lrzzWcQI3L0fmTR7O5feOec1w98WKVST/view?usp=sharing
HELENIC SOCIETY FOR BIOMATERIALS Dimitrios Fotiadis | Carotid Artery Disease: Risk Stratification through Multiscale Modelling and Machine Learning
ITALIAN SOCIETY FOR BIOMATERIALS Clara Mattu and Carlotta Mattioda | Biomaterials and Processes for Sustainable Nanomedicine
SWISS SOCIETY FOR BIOMATERIALS AND REGENERATIVE MEDICINE Riccardo Rizzo | Development and application of photosensitive bioresins for 3D biofabrication strategies: from volumetric printing to two-photon stereolithography
Please spread news about this seminar and the series to others who might be interested.
Anushree Ghosh Dastidar from Queens University Belfast received a travel bursary from UK to attend ESB2023. Here she reports on his experience at this international conference.
This report is with regards to attending the 33rd European Society for Biomaterials Conference held in Davos, Switzerland, 4th – 8th September 2023 (ESB 2023) for the UKSB Travel Grant 2023. The ESB conference is an annual conference that brings together researchers, scientists, and students from both academia and industry to discuss critical developments in the field of biomaterials. The conference was held in person and consisted of oral presentations and posters from early-stage researchers and leading researchers, and plenary talks from professors in the field of biomaterials and regenerative medicine.
This is by far the largest conference I had been to with over 1200 speakers and 10 rooms running parallel sessions simultaneously. The oral presentations consisted of sessions from students and professionals on their research findings and extended talks from academicians on the ongoing research in their labs. This gave a good insight into the advancement of tissue engineering and all related applications across the world. The research findings on biomaterials and degradation characterisation for scaffolds were especially beneficial to understanding the work that is going on in the world related to my topic.
I was allowed to present an oral presentation on ‘Investigating the regenerative potential of 3D-printed PLLGA/Alginate composite scaffolds for the treatment of articular cartilage defects’ where I answered questions from the audience. This in-person session was beneficial as the experience of presenting and answering questions from a large audience was a learning experience. The questions helped me gain experience on the kind of questions that I would be asked in the future regarding my topic.
This was also the first time I presented my PhD work on an international platform which was a wonderful experience. On top of this, I even won the Best Oral presentation award amongst 1200 presenters which was a prestige to bring for my university Queens University Belfast and the UKSB Society!
This has helped me become more confident in speaking and presenting which is an essential skill every PhD student must possess. The plenary talks from professors in the conference spoke about the different topics ranging from batteries, composite materials on tissue engineering, computational modelling and so on which helped me understand the impending research questions and challenges. Apart from this, there was a PhD & Post-doc mentoring session where we were divided into tables of 6-7 people and a senior faculty-mentored us. They spoke about the requirements for applying for a grant and the general process that an academic would follow. They patiently answered our questions on how we need to focus our careers after a PhD and gave valuable advice on each of our progress so far.
Another seminar organized by several chief editors of journals spoke on the process behind article writing and submission. As a PhD student, this helped me understand the expectations that come from an application made for a grant or submitting a manuscript that will be very beneficial for me in the future. There were also careers workshops from several industries that manufacture organ-on-chip, orthopaedic biomaterials, bioscience and biotechnology companies. Professionals from these companies also spoke on the ongoing animal and human trials for products which helped me understand the products that are currently available in the market and the scope for future products.
Overall, it has provided me with a good insight into the research labs across the world that are working in the field of bioengineering and regenerative medicine. I sincerely thank the UKSB society for providing me with the funding to attend this conference which has been an enriching experience to take away with me for my PhD.
Conference to be held on the 20-21st November at the Dorothy Hodgkin Building, University of Bristol. There is no registration fee but there are limited places available – please use this form to register your attendance at this event. The information that you provide will not be shared and will be used solely for the purposes of event organization.
Science Creates has recently launched a brand new Engineering Biology Accelerator Programme, in partnership with the UKRI. The accelerator will provide Engineering Biology scientists with the expert support needed to transform their research into startup businesses. The programme comes with financial support and is open to anyone with an existing Engineering Biology startup in its very early stages, or anyone wishing to launch an Engineering Biology startup. Applications are open now, with the expression of interest closing on 27th July 2023.
Throughout July, the programme team will be travelling to cities across the UK for our Accelerator Roadshow. The event series will provide further information on the programme, showcase regional research enterprise services and grow a nationwide network to support innovation in Engineering Biology. We will also be giving advice on how to apply to the accelerator. The Roadshow will be visiting Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Bristol. All events are free to attend and you can register by clicking here.
This opportunity will be of great interest and benefit to entrepreneurial researchers working in the field of Engineering Biology.
‘The United Kingdom Society for Biomaterials Early Career Forum and the European Society for Biomaterials Young Scientist forum are happy to announce our first webinar event on ‘Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD’ with Dr Zoë Ayres’ August 3rd 12-1pm British summer time. Use the QR code or the google form link below to register’.
