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Region?s researchers win regenerative funding

Four academic teams from the universities of Durham, Leeds, Newcastle and York have been awarded nearly £250,000 to further their research into regenerative medicine.

The funding came from regeNer8, a ‘virtual centre’ which aims to help turn the work of the North of England’s top scientists into viable business propositions.

The winners of the two collaborative research and development grants were Dr Mary Herbert from Newcastle University, for her work on a bio-processing system for cellular therapy; and Durham University’s Dr Stefan Przyborski for his work on technology which grows skin in a laboratory for cosmetic and drug testing research.

Technology validation grants were awarded to Dr Xuebin Yang from the University of Leeds whose team has combined three technologies to provide an innovative approach to regenerative medicine which minimises the risk of infection; and Dr Paul Genever from the University of York for his project which isolates mesenchymal stem cells from different tissues with the aim of turning them into bone structures for use as 3D bone replacements.

Regenerative medicine aims to replace or repair diseased or damaged body parts. It is a multidisciplinary area incorporating aspects of engineering, cell biology and materials science.

Roland Jurke, chair of the steering group for regeNer8, said: “These scientists are leaders in regenerative medicine and their research is paving the way for future solutions to meet medical needs.

“I’m delighted to participate in regeNer8 which is a groundbreaking initiative bringing together eight of the Northern universities with industry. Together we have the opportunity to capitalise on the research expertise which exists through collaborative industry-led projects. This in turn will benefit the North of England by providing a much needed boost to the local economy.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .