News – Page 6

Vacancy for Associate Professor/Professor of 3D Models in Health & Disease

**UCL Division of Surgery and Interventional Science**

DEADLINE EXTENDED UNTIL SUNDAY 20^th SEPTEMBER AT 23:59 GMT

UCL are seeking to appoint an Associate Professor or Professor of 3D Models in Health and Disease, who will help develop strategic research in this area. The Professor will be attached to the Research Department of Targeted Intervention, at the Bloomsbury campus. This is a new appointment for an academic with an international reputation, a strong track record of extensive publications in high quality peer-reviewed scientific journals, and a track record of successful funded research in regenerative medicine and specifically in laboratory models of tissues for testing and functional implantation, reducing the use of animal experimentation. The appointment will be key to the cross-disciplinary campus-wide initiative in regenerative medicine, also aligned with research initiatives of the Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust, UCLH and Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, our partner trusts. The postholder will be part of the new Centre of 3D Models of Health and Disease and help develop strategic research in regenerative medicine within the Division and beyond. The postholder is expected to strengthen the existing regenerative medicine network across disciplines. The Professor will contribute to the research culture and profile of the Campus, Department and Division.

To apply for the vacancy please click here

Previous applicants need not apply.

For informal enquiries about the post please contact Professor Mark Hamer at m.hamer@ucl.ac.uk or Dr Umber Cheema at u.cheema@ucl.ac.uk.
If you have any queries on the application process, please contact Faith Hanstater at f.hanstater@ucl.ac.uk quoting job reference 1869952.

Further information about the UCL Division of Surgery and Interventional Science can be found on our website http://www.ucl.ac.uk/surgery.

BlogSpot: Joint Virtual Conference 24-25th June 2020

Dr Caroline S. Taylor, PDRA, University of Sheffield

My research in peripheral nerve repair (PNR) was featured at the joint UKSB/CDT conference. I delivered a 3 minute flash presentation about the potential of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) as scaffold materials for PNR and was delighted to receive the runner up prize. PHAs are an attractive material of choice in tissue engineering as they are biocompatible, biodegradable and elimate concerns used with other FDA approved synthetic polymers. Using a novel ex vivo nerve injury model, a combination of 3D printing and electrospinning, different materials, and fibre diameters, can be investigated for PNR with medium throughput. PHAs were significantly better at promoting longer neurite outgrowth distances, and Schwann cell migration distances, from Dorsal root ganglia, compared to a polycaprolactone control.

Image of my flash presentation and schematic diagram of the 3D *ex vivo* model used to test different material scaffolds.

The virtual conference was absolutely brilliant. It was well organised, ran smoothly and a variety of topics in Biomaterials and tissue engineering were discussed. The conference began with a talk from the key note speaker Prof Liam Grover who talked about his work using additive manufacturing techniques in areas of bone/cartilage and skin regeneration, and cornea repair. Two sessions ran parallel to each other after the key note talk, in which I attended clinical applications 1, followed by the poster discussion session. I particularly enjoyed clinical applications 2, on day 2 of the conference, and the talks by Jessica Wiseman and Simon C. Kellaway. Jessica’s talk highlighted the use of neurosurgical grade biomaterial Duragen PlusTM, containing collagen type 1, to repair traumatic spinal cord injury and Simon’s talk used an alternative approach to PNR engineering Neural Tissue from Decellularised Biomaterials. Both these talks compliment my own research in PNR. Overall, the virtual conference was a huge success and I would like to thank the organisers for including my work in the programme.

Caroline submitted the blog as part of the conference competition. She has been selected and has won herself an intensive 2-day training course in lyphilisation sponsered by Biopharma Group. Well done!
Dr Paul Roach, UKSB President

The Power of Bioprinting Webinar

Dear UKSB members,

RegenHU (Switzerland) in collaboration with Dr. Marco Domingos (The University of Manchester) and the Henry Royce Institute (The University of Manchester), will be holding a live webinar next Tuesday 30^th of June 2020, 11am-12pm (GMT) on https://app.livestorm.co/regenhu/the-power-of-bioprinting

The Power of Bioprinting

If you want to know how 3D Bioprinting is revolutionizing the fields of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, and how these technologies can be exploited to serve the purposes of your own research, please join us for this exciting event. We will be covering different topics including:

3D Printing Scaffolds
Additive Manufacturing Techniques
What is Bioprinting
Introduction to Bioprinting Materials
3D Bioprinting Application Examples

There will be a Q&A session at the end where you can join the discussion and interact directly with the speakers.

For more information please check out our social media posts:

We’re excited to invite you to our first-ever #webinar “The power of 3D Bioprinting” in collaboration with the @RoyceInstitute next Tuesday, June 30th, at 11:00 AM GMT | 12:00 AM CEST. Register now: https://t.co/mggvEVVTE5 #3dprinted #3dprinting #bioprinting #3dbioprinting pic.twitter.com/oeJq8H4YRn
— regenHU (@regenhu) June 23, 2020

Please note that this webinar is being recorded and the recording will be made available after the meeting, so please ensure you are muted when you join.

Best wishes,

Marco Domingos, PhD, CEng, FHEA, FIMechE

Future Leaders Virtual Conference: CDT-UKSB

We are in the final throws of collating information, talks, poster flashes and the programme for the upcoming conference which has already attracted nearly 200 registered guests.

This is an amazing opportunity to take part in a focused event, bringing us together in these virtual times.

A FINAL programme can now be found on our website, so please do consider registering if you haven’t already.

Looking forward to seeing you there in a few days time.

Paul Roach, UKSB President

World Biomaterials Congress Goes Virtual in 2020

Dear WBC Community

In light of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the WBC 2020 Organising Committee has decided to cancel the physical 2020 congress. However, we are thrilled to announce that WBC 2020 will now be a fully virtual congress taking place from 11-15 December 2020 – same dates, new place, all online.

We want to thank you for your continued support for WBC 2020 and we are fully committed to creating an excellent virtual congress – an online space to meet, network, and exchange knowledge in a safe and accessible manner. Please cancel any remaining bookings you may still have for travel to Glasgow.

The WBC 2020 Virtual Congress will include live streaming and pre-recorded talks, plenary lectures, workshops, e-poster sessions, industry symposia, and more. Programme and registration information will be released soon and we are delighted to announce that the registration rates will be substantially discounted in comparison to the physical event – yet with access to even more content than before. There will be no need to decide which parallel sessions you should attend, you can go to all of them! Activities as part of the programme will start in July, building to December for Biomaterials Week.

Along with the virtual congress, we will also launch the World Biomaterials Community. Each one of you will automatically become members of the community when registering for the congress. Detailed information regarding the benefits will be released soon.

We look forward to meeting you all online – be sure to visit the WBC website for more information.

Registration Now Open

Please use the following link to register interest in attending the Future Leaders in Regenerative Medicine Joint UKSB CDT conference 24-25th June.

>>> Register Here <<<

This will be a free conference for UKSB members and those involved in the CDTs. We hope that many will join from near and far to highlight our research and support the development of further network developments.

Prof Liam Grover, University of Birmingham, will be giving a keynote presentation, with more details to follow shortly.

There will be a range of sessions held across our focussed research areas, with talk slots and online poster presentations. If you wish to join our virtual audience and/or submit a poster please register for membership and get in touch.

Virtual Conference

As we are currently held up by COVID-19 we have an opportunity to co-host an online virtual event with the UKs leading Centres of Doctoroal Training focussed on Regenerative medicine.

24-25th June 2020

Prof Liam Grover, University of Birmingham, will be giving a keynote presentation, with more details to follow shortly.

PhD Opportunity:

Nano Silver-Hydroxyapatite Coatings – biocompatibility with oral cells to improve abutment integrity for periodontal health.

Please click here for information regarding a PhD position that is available at The University of Plymouth.

Project description

This project is an exciting opportunity to develop novel silver-hydroxyapatite nanocoatings to reduce failure of dental implants. The interdisciplinary project combines nanotechnology with leading biomedical science expertise, in a real-world clinical setting to investigate the biocompatibility of antibacterial nanocoatings with oral cells to improve abutment integrity for periodontal health.

Despite the high success rates of dental implants, 5-10% of them are still reported to fail and must be removed. One of the most common causes of implant failure is peri-implantitis, which is caused by bacterial biofilm formation on the implant surfaces. Modification of the surface nanotopography has been identified as one of the strategies to control bacterial adherence to implants and improve clinical outcomes.

Silver nanoparticles are known for their antibacterial properties, whereas hydroxyapatite is a chemical similar to the mineral component of natural bone and teeth. Our team has demonstrated that silver-hydroxyapatite hybrid nanocoatings applied to the surface of medical implants are antibacterial but also biocompatible with human osteoblasts, suggesting good fusion of the implants to the jaw bone is achieved. However, shrinkage of the gingiva at the abutment margins, with subsequent infection and micro-leakage in the sub-gingival crevice can lead to implant failure, as well as other oral health problems.

We are seeking a highly motivated individual to work in a rich academic environment within a world-leading research group on nanosafety and biomaterials. The successful candidate will receive excellent training provided at the School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics, School of Biomedical Sciences and Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry.

For further information please contact:

Dr Alexander Besinis

TERMIS-EU Update

The TERMIS-EU Chapter hosted in Manchester UK has been postponed to March 2023

Due to the challenging issues current facing us with Covid-19, the organisers of TERMIS_EU 2020 have decided to postpone the event which was due to be held this May in Manchester.

Due to the escalating situation with COVID-19 (Coronavirus) around the world and the global restrictions regarding travel and event organisation, the Organizing Committee of the TERMIS-EU 2020 Chapter Meeting has decided to postpone the Meeting. There has been considerable debate on the best way forward, with discussions around rescheduling this year or going virtual. As no suitable dates could be identified in 2020 with uncertainty surrounding us, and with plans already in place for the meetings in 2021 (World Congress in Maastricht, The Netherlands) and 2022 (EU Meeting in Krakow, Poland) the Manchester meeting of TERMIS-EU will now be held 27^th and 30^th March 2023.

Further details about existing registrations and the arrangements for 2023 will be announced shortly.

UKSB were scheduled to host a joint symposium within the conference with the Royal Society of Chemistry Biomaterials Chemistry group. We hope that we will have this opportunity, and look forward to supporting the conference in 2023.

WBC2020 – further update and exciting news!

During these challenging times the WBC Executive Committee has been involved in many discussions with the IUSBSE representatives acting as advocates for the various regional Biomaterials societies and have decided to reschedule the Congress to 11th-16th of Dec 2020. This was a difficult decision, as I’m sure many are aware, with many options open and no one right answer. Many other conferences are being cancelled altogether, some are investigating the potential to go virtual; the WBC is a major event and we are very lucky to have such a prestigious event planned within the UK.

If attendees have any specific queries regarding the conference registration and the policy relating to Modification & Cancellation – this can be found here. For those who may not be able to attend the organisers are also in the process of extending the deadline for cancellation beyond the 15th of April 2020 and hope to announce this new date shortly. But before you may think about cancelling, please do look out for the exciting and creative opportunities that will be showcased over the coming months with the introduction of a WBC2020 Virtual Community and Meetings Platform.

The WBC2020 Executive Committee has also been working with PCO (MCI) in light of the COVID-19 crisis. Specifically, in addition to normal day-to-day activities, they have been working on developing a mitigation strategy in the case that there are further restrictions due to the pandemic later in the year. This strategy is based on the development of digital engagement and virtual meetings solutions.

It was exciting to hear that not only have they planned for potential difficulties, they are also launching WBC Online, a comprehensive digital space where all WBC registrants and international biomaterials specialists can come together in online discussion forum to share, learn and engage with each other. The WBC Online community will be able to join online special interest groups and gain access to a valued pool of e-resources in the run up to, during WBC Live and beyond. In addition to hot news, product development and up and coming biomaterial society events featured on the platform, all WBC registrants will be able to view and participate in a schedule of online WBC interactive webinars, society symposia, WBC sponsored satellite webinars and international guest lectures to be broadcast in the months running up to WBC Live. All WBC registrants will be auto-enrolled into WBC Online and will benefit from all of its features, including live streamed sessions broadcast live from WBC Live. Additionally, all registrants will enjoy access to WBC Online for a period of two years as part of their 2020 registration fees.

Some attendees and group PIs have expressed concerns over the rescheduling of the event for PhDs or PDRAs who may no longer be in their employ in Dec. The WBC Executive Committee are in the process of discussing solutions to this and will be in a position to update over the coming weeks.

The UKSB will still be hosting a special workshop as part of the event, and look forward to many of you attending. We are excited about the prospect of engaging widely during the physical event in Glasgow, and certainly the opportunities that a virtual platform may enable.

In the run up to this event the UKSB will also be co-hosting a free virtual event with many of the UK Centres of Doctoral Training (CDT) engaged in biomaterials and regenerative medicine research. Updates for this will be coming soon, but there will be an opportunity to take part with a call for abstracts coming out soon.

The UKSB council take this opportunity to wish you and your families well. Please keep safe and look after each other, even if virtually.