Regenerative Medicine Manufacturing - EPSRC

Regenerative
Medicine
Manufacturing:
Towards 2020
Centre for Innovative Manufacturing
in Regenerative Medicine
2-3 Background to the EPSRC Centre
4-5 Executive summary
Contents
6-7 Ways of working with us
8-9 Stakeholder engagement activities
10-11 Research portfolio: Characterisation and control
12-13 Research portfolio: Manufacturing and automation
14-15 Research portfolio: Delivery and 3D products
16-19 Rising stars in regenerative medicine manufacturing
20-21 Training the next generation
22-23 Engaging learners of all ages with science and engineering
24-25 Leadership team and key people
How we define
regenerative
medicine
manufacturing
Regenerative medicine is a high value field of healthcare with
the potential to transform lives for the better. It covers a wide
range of therapies designed to enable damaged, diseased or
defective skin, bone and other tissues – and even perhaps
organs – to work normally again.
The regenerative medicine manufacturing sector seeks to
translate these therapies to the clinic in sufficient quantity
and in safe and cost effective ways to ensure the viability of
the industry as a whole.
The UK has the chance to be a
leader in this field [regenerative
medicine] and this opportunity
must not be missed… the UK
could and should be a world
leader in this field.
House of Lords Science and Technology
Select Committee Report on
Regenerative Medicine, July 2013
Our Centre works to equip the industry with manufacturing tools,
technologies and platforms by considering the supply chain from
end to end. We utilise a systems approach to draw together the
many processes involved in transferring the right therapies to
the right patient at the right time.
What is an EPSRC Centre
for Innovative Manufacturing?
The sixteen EPSRC Centres for Innovative Manufacturing are part of a
novel approach to maximise the impact of innovative research for the
UK, supporting existing industries and, more importantly, opening up
new industries and markets in growth areas. Each Centre receives five
years of funding to retain staff, develop collaborations and carry out
feasibility studies. Centres vary from medical devices and regenerative
medicine to photonics and liquid metal engineering.
The EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Regenerative
Medicine was created in 2010 and is led from Loughborough
University, in partnership with complementary groups at Keele
University and The University of Nottingham.
About our funder, the EPSRC
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is
the main UK government agency for funding research and training in
engineering and the physical sciences, investing more than £800million
a year in a broad range of subjects - from mathematics to materials
science, and from information technology to structural engineering.
2-3
Executive summary
The EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Regenerative Medicine
is one of the primary national interventions supporting the growth of the
UK regenerative medicine industry. Its role is to define, deliver and disseminate
world-leading, high impact, fundamental and translational manufacturing research
building upon its original funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences
Research Council (EPSRC). Significant additional funding (approximately nine times
the original grant received) has been secured from diverse sources. EPSRC Centre
members participate significantly in hubs and projects funded by the UK Regenerative
Medicine Platform. The recent re-funding of our Centre for Doctoral Training by both
EPSRC and the Medical Research Council (MRC) sustains our training pipeline for over
100 PhD students.
£55M
ADDITIONAL
GRANT INCOME
11
FELLOWSHIPS
AWARDED
102
PEER-REVIEWED
PUBLICATIONS
7,145
WEBSITE VISITS
EPSRC Centre
for Innovative
Manufacturing
in Regenerative
Medicine
7,100
LEARNERS ENGAGED
The EPSRC Centre continues to evolve, reflecting the dynamic nature of investments
in the regenerative medicine innovation system, and further alignment with emerging
national priorities will be possible next year. The summer has seen a change of Director
to prepare the EPSRC Centre for its next phase of work with industry. We would like to
thank David Williams deeply for his contributions to the EPSRC Centre and wish him well
with his future plans. We were delighted to hear that David has been recognised with
an OBE for his services to science and engineering. The host department of the EPSRC
Centre at Loughborough University, the Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing
Engineering, has also been awarded a 2013 Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and
Further Education, recognising its impact through research and skills development in
high value manufacturing to create economic growth.
Engagement goes from strength to strength through the development of new
consortia-led projects, the promotion of the UK academic community in Europe and the
communication of regenerative medicine science and engineering to school-age learners
and their teachers. The wider EPSRC Centre has a focus on people development through
EPSRC-funded Early Career, Career Acceleration and Manufacturing Fellowships. Support
for early career researchers is provided through fellowships from a variety of funders,
including the EPSRC-funded Engineering, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
(ETERM) Fellowship Programme and host university programmes.
Current research funded by the EPSRC Centre is focused on our cross-institution
challenge project where key manufacturing technology themes are integrated using a
framework based on regulatory science to facilitate translation. We are now working
actively with the Cell Therapy Catapult on industry projects and partnering strategically
on research and translational projects – we look forward to working with the new Cell
Therapy Manufacturing Centre. Work on policy and standards and to inform regulation
continues with contributions to the work of the Department of Health Regenerative
Medicine Expert Group and international standards groups.
103
GRANTS
AWARDED
959
HEART BLOG VISITS
878
TWITTER FOLLOWERS
Nick Medcalf,
Director from
September 1st 2014
David Williams,
Founding Director
Richard Archer,
Chair
Nick Medcalf becomes Director at a time when there is much to do to prepare
the EPSRC Centre for the next phase of its development. Regenerative medicine
manufacturing remains a key focus nationally and internationally. We are planning
for success against this opportunity-rich background. We seek the ongoing support
of community members, as both advocates for the importance of EPSRC funding
for manufacturing research and in particular as collaborators in research
that enables the new industry of regenerative medicine to grow and deliver
increasing healthcare benefits. Without a thorough understanding of how
to make regenerative medicines safely, economically and in sufficient
quantity, these therapies will never reach their full potential.
September 2014
4-5
Ways of working with us
Key collaborators:
Our fruitful collaboration with the EPSRC
Centre at Loughborough University
has given us access to manufacturing
science expertise and specialist
equipment, to support the progress
of two of our flagship projects.
Asymptote
Athersys
Baker Ruskinn
Bose ElectroForce Systems Group
BSI
Stephen Ward, COO, Cell Therapy Catapult
CCRM
Cell Therapy Catapult
GE Healthcare Life Sciences
GSK
Harvard Stem Cell Institute
Heriot-Watt University
Instron TGT
Intercytex
International Organization for Standardization
I-Stem
Knowledge Transfer Network
LGC
Locate Therapeutics
Medilink East Midlands and West Midlands
Collaborative research
Contract research
MHRA
We collaborate with academic, clinical and commercial organisations
on a wide range of funded research, both within our existing EPSRC
Centre funding and in applying for new funding for co-designed
projects. We are building a pre-competitive community of practice to
share best practice in regenerative medicine manufacturing. Costeffective ways of working with us include part- or fully-sponsoring a
PhD studentship.
Colleagues within the EPSRC
Centre are available to work on
confidential research projects for
commercial clients. Businesses
can commission the Centre’s
researchers to work on problems
specific to their needs.
NC3Rs
Neusentis
Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust
NHS Blood and Transplant
NIBSC
ReNeuron
Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service
Facilities and services
Each of the universities within the
EPSRC Centre has cutting edge
facilities available for working
with collaborators including
quality-managed biological
engineering laboratories,
advanced manufacturing
workshops and analytical
measurement suites.
Knowledge Transfer
Partnerships (KTPs)
KTPs are relationships formed
between a commercial
organisation and a university,
facilitating the transfer of
knowledge, technology and
skills to which the commercial
partner currently has no access.
Projects can vary in length from
6 to 36 months and support
can be provided in preparing the
funding application.
Investment and licensing
Opportunities arise from time to
time for tools and technologies
to be licensed to commercial
organisations or for spin-out
companies to be created. Potential
investors or licensees are invited
to contact us.
Smith & Nephew
TAP Biosystems
University College London
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
University of Bath
University of Birmingham
To discuss joining our group of
collaborators through any of the
above ways of working, please
contact us using the details on the
back cover of this document.
6-7
Stakeholder
engagement
activities
The EPSRC Centre has developed its
engagement activities to focus on
different groups of stakeholders – from
academics and clinicians to commercial
organisations and the public.
Building new consortia
Our engagement funding featured four £50,000 awards for the
funding of new consortia working on key manufacturing challenges
with clinical relevance. Three ‘sandpit’ events have been held
to date in the areas of manufacturing bone, optimising islet cell
transplantations and tissue engineering of hollow structures.
Sandpits comprise networking, project-scoping sessions and a
dragons’ den style pitch to secure funding. Project teams are
encouraged to seek additional external funding.
Engaging the national community
Engaging internationally
The EPSRC Centre continues to build a national community focused
on regenerative medicine manufacturing. An event held with the
Knowledge Transfer Network brought together many industries,
including food, biologics and pharmaceuticals, to discuss the
challenges of logistics in our sector – an output paper has been
published in StemBook (see later on this page).
We have enhanced our European engagement through membership
of the Nanomedicine European Technology Platform and through
presentations at meetings organised by the EATRIS translational
medicine infrastructure and the TERM, REMEDIC and Biomat-IN
consortia.
The 2014 regenerative medicine manufacturing summit focused on
the tools and technology platforms needed to support the sector
in producing sufficient regenerative medicines safely. The guidance
received from commercial organisations will help shape the EPSRC
Centre’s future research.
A well-attended careers awareness event was organised in conjunction
with Regener8 where mentors from academic, clinical and commercial
organisations gave advice based on their range of roles in the sector.
Sophie Dale-Black published an article in Orthopaedic Product News
discussing the need for regular careers awareness events to minimise
the potential leakage of highly skilled researchers from the sector.
Further afield, we have worked with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute
(HSCI) to introduce a new manufacturing section to StemBook, an
open access online collection of peer-reviewed chapters aimed at
stem cell and non-specialist researchers. EPSRC Centre colleagues
have published manufacturing-themed papers in StemBook and
Founding Director David Williams has joined the editorial board.
A UK-wide competition for undergraduate students to attend the
highly prestigious HSCI Internship Program was won by Elizabeth
Cheeseman of Loughborough University. Elizabeth joined 20 other
international interns on the 10-week scheme at Harvard.
Engaging the public and learners of all ages is discussed
later in this document.
8-9
Case studies
Researchers at the EPSRC Centre have worked with ReNeuron
to apply quality by design (QbD) methodology to cell culture and
cryopreservation processes. By defining critical parameters
and operating tolerances, better control of product development
and production quality can be achieved.
Working with Neusentis, the team has developed a robust method
for measuring cell viability after a cryopreservation process, defining
improved cell banking and product thawing operations.
Research portfolio:
Characterisation
and control
Our team has developed a novel, label-free, high resolution, multimodal light microscope that is capable of imaging sub-micron particles
and the cellular membrane. The microscope can acquire sequential
bright field and phase contrast images and uses a label-free approach
to deliver video monitoring of live cells in higher resolution than has
previously been possible, making this a viable method for quantitative
in-process analysis.
The most recent project in the characterisation and control challenge
looks at closed-loop control for improving cell culture processes
when input and process variables require real-time adjustment to
increase productivity. Using haematopoietic cells as an exemplar,
researchers are developing a new non-immunological method of
rapidly characterising haematopoietic cell populations to provide online
monitoring of cells and the resolution between cell sub-populations
necessary to implement an effective control loop in the process.
Key outputs
Patent application pending for a
novel, label-free, high resolution,
multi-modal light microscope.
EPSRC Career Acceleration
Fellowship awarded to Melissa
Mather, who co-invented the
novel microscope.
Success through industrial
collaborations with Neusentis and
ReNeuron on quality by design
projects has led to a framework
agreement on process development
with the Cell Therapy Catapult.
Key publications in journals
including Journal of Biotechnology,
Tissue Engineering, Biotechnology
Letters and British Medical Bulletin.
Industrial
collaborations
In partnership with the Cell Therapy
Catapult, the EPSRC Centre has
accelerated ReNeuron’s manufacturing
development work into scaled up
and automated systems for a cell
based regenerative product for phase
III clinical trials and beyond.
The regenerative medicine industry requires
the manufacture of high quality medical products
at an economically acceptable cost. The safe and
reproducible delivery of a commercially viable and
clinically effective regenerative medicine product is
key to its success. In-process characterisation of the
cell component, scaffold and combined product will
allow efficient and precise process development and
will enable process analytical technology for
manufacture to be selected on the basis of the most
useful data. Rapid identification of deviation during
manufacture will allow a corrective in-process
response to be made, reducing failure rates and
decreasing the dependence on end-product testing;
this will positively impact both risk and cost of
manufactured product.
Gary Brooke, Project Manager for Cell
Manufacture and Development, ReNeuron
Collaborating with Nottingham
researchers within the EPSRC Centre is
leading to the development of live and
label-free cell imaging, which serves
a long-term objective of providing
industry with exploitable metrics of
cell-biomaterial interactions.
Max Ryadnov,
Principal Research Scientist, NPL
To view all our research projects, please visit bit.ly/RM_Research
10-11
Industrial
collaborations
Research portfolio:
Manufacturing and
automation
As regenerative medicine products evolve,
regulation is clarifying the requirements of
platforms to deliver the medicines to the
patient and systems for the manufacture
and supply of the products. The EPSRC
Centre addresses the challenges of the
straightforward, consistent, cost effective
supply of cellular therapies by developing
tools and technologies that will equip
the growing industry.
Collaborating with commercially
driven UK researchers is
resulting in developing novel
automation, which will secure
future sustainable production
of affordable cell therapies.
David Newble, CEO, TAP Biosystems
The EPSRC project has provided
the essential proof of principle for
HypoxyCOOLTM, and through such support
has better ensured positive outcomes
both in terms of the application of
autologous cell production and adding
value to the Ruskinn business.
Huw David Thomas, UK Commercial/Sales
Manager, Baker Ruskinn
Case studies
The EPSRC Centre team are investigating alternative manufacturing
models that will more appropriately satisfy the comparability
requirements of regulators – where products made at two or more
different sites must be shown to be of equivalent quality.
HypoxyCOOL™ was designed to engineer a unique system to mimic
components of the physiological niche, increasing stem cell recovery
and survival post-transplantation. HypoxyCOOL™ is a rapid and
effective means of reducing the dissolved oxygen concentration of cell
culture media to minimise oxidative-stress during stem cell recovery.
The team have also worked to test and validate a prototype
hydrostatic pressure growth chamber from Instron TGT. Externally
applied hydrostatic pressure delivered by the bioreactor can
independently stimulate bone growth and also act synergistically with
soluble factors added into the cell culture media to enhance bone
development in the laboratory.
Researchers have worked with TAP Biosystems and other companies
to design manufacturing platforms that minimise the requirement for
manual intervention in cell production and provide opportunities for
scale-up of manufacturing.
The viability of such manufacturing platforms is further investigated
using tools such as cost of goods sold (COGS) analysis.
In conjunction with companies and clinics, researchers are
investigating the regulatory and operational logistics of ‘microfactories’ or clinics close to the bedside.
Key outputs
Patent application pending for
HypoxyCOOLTM.
Demonstration of a range of
applications for an advanced
micro bioreactor system, the
ambr™ from TAP Biosystems.
PAS 83:2012 - Developing human
cells for clinical applications in the
European Union and the United
States of America (BSI, 2012).
Recognition of projects and oral
evidence from David Williams
in House of Lords Science and
Technology Committee Report on
Regenerative Medicine, July 2013.
To view all our research projects, please visit bit.ly/RM_Research
12-13
Research portfolio:
Delivery and
3D products
The delivery of cells to the patient in
a clinical setting raises scientific and
technological challenges. Simple injection
of cell suspensions into a disease site is
inefficient, resulting in wastage of cells,
compromised viability of the medicine and
poor starting conditions for the regeneration
of the target tissue. The EPSRC Centre
investigates the development of materials
to aid cell delivery to the target tissue, with
a particular focus on the challenges of
creating reproducible 3D scaffolds.
Case studies
Researchers have developed novel polymers that have the potential to be used
as injectable scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. These polymers are
thermally responsive, forming strong gels at body temperature.
Working with a leading ear, nose and throat consultant treating patients
following tumour removal, researchers are using the exemplar of 3D printed
nasal replacement structures to investigate the challenges of printing 3D cellscaffold combination products – co-printing live cells within a polymer scaffold,
characterising the combination product and the regulatory considerations of
this process.
Electrospinning techniques have been used to produce scaffolds to support
the epithelial stem cell niche. 3D patterns were identified, patterned collectors
fabricated and then electrospun scaffolds manufactured so that they bore the
tailored geometries. These patterns were found to affect both fibre deposition
and arrangement, and the resulting scaffold geometries have been found to
influence in vitro cell migration.
A recent project investigated an in vitro 3D model lymph node comprising
human dendritic cells and T cells housed within a perfusable 3D fibronectincoated polymer scaffold. This resulted in a new manufacturing method
to enhance the porosity of supercritical CO2 foamed scaffolds using an
ultrasound technique post-scaffold fabrication.
In one of our newest projects, we collaborate with Calabrodental, a dental
technologies organisation in Italy. A new regenerative spray has been invented
for dental applications, and the further development and manufacture of this
product will be progressed via EU funding.
Industrial
collaborations
Working with Prof Shakesheff and
the EPSRC Centre has accelerated
Calabrodental’s product development
work and created a new important
opportunity to manufacture a
regenerative product for dental
and maxillofacial applications.
To view all our research projects, please visit bit.ly/RM_Research
Key outputs
Patent application pending
for scaffold manufacture
from responsive magnetic
particulate dispersions for
ex-vivo cellular expansion.
High profile publication
‘Combined hydrogels that
switch human pluripotent
stem cells from self-renewal
to differentiation’ published
in the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences.
Kevin Shakesheff named RISE
Leader in EPSRC’s Recognising
Inspirational Scientists and
Engineers programme.
Key journal publications in
Polymer, Biomaterials, Acta
Biomaterialia, Biomedical
Materials and Journal of
Colloid and Interface Science.
Locate Therapeutics has benefitted
greatly from collaborating with the
EPSRC Centre. Accessing first-class
materials and drug delivery expertise
has helped transition ideas from
early proof of concept into full
development. The outputs have
great potential across a range of
regenerative medicine applications.
Rob Quirk, Director, Locate Therapeutics
Marco Tatullo,
Director of Research, Calabrodental
14-15
Rising stars in regenerative
medicine manufacturing
To maintain the UK’s global research standing in
the context of increasing international competition,
UK research councils focus a significant proportion
of their investment on supporting those individuals
who are deemed to have the most potential
to deliver the highest quality research which
meets UK and global priorities. The regenerative
medicine manufacturing sector provides a perfect
environment for such fellowships as considerable
growth is required to ensure the success of the
industry and the developing leaders can integrate
their work into the wider innovation system.
Nick Medcalf,
Melissa Mather,
Robert Thomas,
Lisa White,
Loughborough University
The University of Nottingham
Loughborough University
The University of Nottingham
Nick is conducting research at
Loughborough University into
the production and delivery of
regenerative medicines under
an EPSRC Manufacturing
Fellowship. He is identifying
and investigating technologies
that will accelerate translation
of new products into
manufacture using a systemsbased approach. Nick is
bringing his previous industry
experience to bear on the
challenge of enabling new
business models for a variety
of cell- and tissue-based
therapeutics. His research has
a strong focus on cold supply
chain issues and distributed
manufacturing.
Melissa holds an EPSRC
Career Acceleration Fellowship
at the Institute of Biophysics,
Imaging and Optical Science,
based at The University of
Nottingham. Her research
lies in the application of
ultrasound, optical and
opto-acoustic techniques for
non-invasive characterisation
of live cells, biomaterials and
tissue. The focus of Melissa’s
Fellowship is the development
of nano-sized ultrasound
transducers to remotely probe
tissue properties for improved
disease diagnosis and to
track therapeutic cells inside
the body used in regenerative
medicine.
Rob’s EPSRC Early Career
Fellowship team at
Loughborough University
is developing tools and
processes for haematopoietic
cell manufacture.
Haematopoietic cells can
give rise to multiple clinically
useful cell types from red
cells to immune cells to
progenitors. The team aim
to develop manufacturing
technology that can deliver
significant jumps forward in
control, cost reduction and
scalability of manufacture to
hasten the clinical impact of
these cell therapies.
Lisa has secured a prestigious
Marie Curie International
Outgoing Fellowship, a
European Commission
programme designed to
enable researchers to
undertake their research
in a country outside
Europe. Lisa’s research
focuses on developing
innovative supercritical fluid
decellularisation technology.
She will be based within
Stephen Badylak’s lab at the
University of Pittsburgh for 15
months before continuing her
research within the Tissue
Engineering Group at The
University of Nottingham for a
further 12 months.
16-17
Rising stars in
regenerative medicine
manufacturing
In our 2013 brochure, we reported on the progress of our
ETERM Fellows, and we are delighted to have increased this
community to seven Fellows with an eighth Fellow having
secured a lectureship within her university. The final two
ETERM fellowships will be awarded competitively in 2015.
Alex Lyness,
Mark McCall,
Loughborough University
Loughborough University
Alex holds a Loughborough
University Enterprise Fellowship
funded from the EPSRC Impact
Acceleration Account and is
affiliated with the EPSRC Centre.
During the fellowship Alex will be
able to accelerate the impact of
and exploit IP and knowhow that
was generated during his postdoc
role, where he developed devices
capable of delivering conventional
pharmaceuticals and cell-based
therapies. Alex is also currently
working with several consortia
providing engineering design
input to current and future drug
delivery systems.
Elizabeth Ratcliffe,
Loughborough University
Elizabeth holds a Loughborough
University Enterprise Fellowship
funded from the EPSRC Impact
Acceleration Account. Her
research focuses on developing
synthetic biology solutions to
barriers in the translation of
advanced therapeutic medicinal
products to the clinic. Elizabeth
has developed new opportunities
and partnerships at this
interface, working with leading
synthetic biology company
Synpromics and University
College London, in particular
their Gene Therapy Consortium
and MHRA-regulated Gene
Therapy Manufacturing Suite.
Mark holds a Loughborough
University Enterprise Fellowship
funded from the EPSRC
Impact Acceleration Account.
His research focuses on
modelling and reducing the
cost of goods sold (COGS) of
cell therapies. Mark is also
engaged in commercialising new
technologies that reduce cell
therapy COGS and is working
with industry partners to develop
new manufacturing processes.
He is the co-inventor (with
Rob Thomas) of a new patentpending low cost manufacturing
platform for adherent cells.
Jing Yang,
The University of Nottingham
Jing holds a Nottingham
Research Fellowship funded by
The University of Nottingham.
His research focuses on 3D
printing of human tissues for
drug screening and regenerative
medicine applications.
3D printing is capable of
assembling living cells and
biomaterials in a spatially
defined manner to mimic the
natural organisation of cells and
extracellular matrix in human
tissues/organs. In particular,
Jing is interested in developing
materials that are compatible
with the printing process and
support cell function.
18-19
Training
the next
generation
EPSRC-MRC Centre for Doctoral
Training in Regenerative Medicine
The Loughborough, Nottingham and Keele
university consortium has operated an EPSRC
Centre for Doctoral Training in Regenerative
Medicine since 2008. A new grant of over
£3.5million has been awarded jointly by the
EPSRC and MRC to continue supporting the
training programme, resulting in a combined
pipeline of over 100 PhD graduates by 2022.
Example destinations of
PhD graduates:
Example Centre for Doctoral
Training collaborators:
Cell Therapy Catapult
GSK
Anthony Nolan
CM Technologies
Locate Therapeutics
TAP Biosystems
Cobra Biologics
Future Health Biobank
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies
ETERM Fellowships
Bose ElectroForce Systems Group
University of Washington
AstraZeneca
Queensland University of Technology
Pall Corporation
PhD students within the Centre for Doctoral
Training undertake a four-year programme that
incorporates broad regenerative medicine
science, engineering and business training at
each of Loughborough, Nottingham and Keele
universities in the first year and a focused
PhD project at one institution for the final
three years.
Companies within the regenerative medicine
sector contribute to the success of the
doctoral training programme through providing
real-world challenges for students to approach
during their thesis projects. Members of
the sector also act as mentors for skills
and careers sessions and as ‘dragons’ in
business plan competitions.
We are delighted to support
the INSPIRE programme as this
combines the EPSRC Centre’s target
areas of commercial engagement,
training of the next generation and
raising awareness of careers in the
regenerative medicine sector.
Sophie Dale-Black, Head of Engagement,
EPSRC Centre
INSPIRE summer placements programme
The EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing has worked
with the INSPIRE programme at Keele University to design four
summer training placements allowing undergraduate medical
students to get a flavour of regenerative medicine manufacturing
research while working with industrial collaborators. The INSPIRE
programme is designed to ensure that the next generation of GPs
and surgeons have an understanding of cutting edge research.
Collaborators are being sought for future training projects.
INSPIRE project collaborators:
nanoTherics Ltd
Waters Corporation
PA Consulting
20-21
Engaging learners
of all ages with
science and
engineering
Early career researchers in both the EPSRC Centre for Innovative
Manufacturing and the EPSRC-MRC Centre for Doctoral Training
have developed the brand ‘HEART: Healthcare Engineering
and Regenerative Therapies’ to describe their work in
communicating regenerative medicine science and engineering
to learners of all ages.
The HEART team have undergone training in advanced outreach skills
and have designed a series of experiments, presentations and handson demonstrations to engage learners with the technologies that can
‘help the body to fix itself’.
The HEART team have exhibited at the Big Bang Fair at the NEC, the
largest activity of its kind in the UK for learners of ages 7 to 19 with a
footfall of around 75,000 over four days. The team appeared live on
BBC Breakfast and later on the BBC News website, describing polymerbased experiments designed to show learners how scaffolds are built.
Exhibitions at educational festivals have continued, with HEART team
members attending Big Bang Fair London and Bollington Festival.
The HEART team are preparing a selection of workshops for delivery
in schools. These workshops will feature a general overview of
regenerative medicine followed by hands-on experiments tailored to the
class subject and the age of the learners. Workshops will close with a
careers discussion to show the type of jobs that are available following
science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM)
university courses.
All the work of the HEART team is underpinned by the HEART blog,
which can be found at www.heartblog.net – an excellent follow-up
resource for learners and their teachers. Learners have the opportunity
to ask scientists and engineers to answer their regenerative medicine
related questions.
See www.heartblog.net for more details!
22-23
Leadership team
Alicia El Haj
Co-Director
Nick Medcalf FREng
Director
Richard Archer
Chair
Richard Archer is a life science
process engineer who was a
founder of both The Technology
Partnership in Cambridge
and The Automation
Partnership, where he was
CEO. He continues to work
with government, academia
and corporations in building
a strong UK regenerative
medicine industry.
Nick Medcalf is a Chartered
Chemist and Chartered Chemical
Engineer with over thirty years
of experience in the healthcare
products sector, principally
in process development for
pharmaceuticals, medical
devices and cell- and tissuebased therapeutics. He has held
senior research management
positions in industry and joined
Loughborough University in
2013 under a Manufacturing
Fellowship from the EPSRC.
Alicia El Haj is Chair of Cell
Engineering and Director of the
Institute of Science & Technology
in Medicine at Keele University.
She has been involved in bringing
together interdisciplinary groups
within biomedicine, physical
sciences and engineering
interested in aspects of cell and
tissue engineering. She holds a
Royal Society Wolfson Research
Merit Award and is Chairman
of the European Council of the
International Society for Tissue
Engineering and Regenerative
Medicine (TERMIS).
To view profiles for the academic team, please visit http://bit.ly/RM_academics
Kevin Shakesheff
Co-Director
Kevin Shakesheff is Chair in
Tissue Engineering at The
University of Nottingham and
he is the founder of Locate
Therapeutics, and co-founder
of the UK Tissue and Cell
Engineering Society. Kevin
qualified as a pharmacist in
1992, and his research focuses
on the integration of cell biology
and tissue engineering. Kevin
holds a Royal Society Wolfson
Research Merit Award.
Robert Thomas
Deputy Director
Rob Thomas is a Senior
Lecturer at Loughborough
University and an EPSRC
Early Career Fellowship
holder. He works with leading
regenerative medicine
companies to establish
manufacturing processes for
cell based products, with an
academic focus on control,
cost reduction and scalability
of haematopoietic derived
cell production.
David Williams OBE FREng
Founding Director
David Williams has held
senior leadership positions
in academia and industry,
working for much of his career
at their interface. For the past
fifteen years he has focused on
healthcare and pharmaceuticals.
He has been Professor of
Healthcare Engineering in the
Wolfson School of Mechanical
and Manufacturing Engineering,
Loughborough University since
2003 and is University academic
lead in Health and Wellbeing.
David was Director of the EPSRC
Centre until August 2014.
Sophie Dale-Black
Head of Engagement
Sophie Dale-Black gained
a PhD and postdoctoral
experience in pharmaceutical
chemistry before moving into
engagement and operations
management. Sophie became
Head of Engagement for
the EPSRC Centre in early
2013, where she oversees
the engagement of national
stakeholders in regenerative
medicine manufacturing
research and has led on the
development of the HEART
public engagement programme.
Key
people
Cameron Alexander
Nick Forsyth
Jon Petzing
The University of Nottingham
Keele University
Loughborough University
Eleri Bristow
Sourav Ghosh
Svetan Ratchev
Loughborough University
Loughborough University
The University of Nottingham
Lee Buttery
Liam Grover
James Richardson
Virginie Sottile
The University of Nottingham
University of Birmingham
Keele University
The University of Nottingham
Divya Chari
Paul Hourd
Paul Roach
Alexandra Stolzing
Keele University
Loughborough University
Keele University
Loughborough University
Karen Coopman
Oksana Kehoe
Felicity Rose
Ivan Wall
Loughborough University
Keele University
The University of Nottingham
University College London
John Crowe
Mark Lewis
Joel Segal
Lisa White
The University of Nottingham
Loughborough University
The University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham
Chris Denning
Yang Liu
David Smith
Nik Willoughby
The University of Nottingham
Loughborough University
Keele University
Heriot-Watt University
Marianne Ellis
Melissa Mather
Michael Somekh Visiting Professor,
Ying Yang
University of Bath
The University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham
Keele University
24-25
www.epsrc-regen-med.org
www.heartblog.net
Research enquiries:
Engagement and general enquiries:
Prof Nick Medcalf
EPSRC Centre Director
Loughborough University
Leicestershire
LE11 3TU
Dr Sophie Dale-Black
Head of Engagement
Loughborough University
Leicestershire
LE11 3TU
T +44 (0)1509 564898
E n.medcalf@lboro.ac.uk
T +44 (0)1509 227649
E s.h.dale-black@lboro.ac.uk
www.facebook.com/heartblog
@RM_Outreach
@HEARTregenmed