The Centre for Doctoral Training in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine will provide postgraduate research and training for 75 students, who will be able to research, develop and deliver regenerative therapies and devices, which can repair or replace diseased tissues and restore normal tissue function. By using novel scaffolds in conjunction with the patient`s own (autologous) cells, effective acellular regenerative therapies for tissue repair can be developed at a lower cost, reduced time and reduced risk, compared to alternative and more complex cell therapy approaches. Acellular therapies have the additional advantage as being regulated as a class three medical device, which reduces the cost and time of development and clinical evaluation.
Acellular technologies, whether they be synthetic or biological, are of considerable interest to industry as commercial medical products and for NHS Blood and Transplant as enhanced bioprocesses for human transplant tissues. There are an increasing number of small to medium size companies in this emerging sector and in addition larger medical technology companies see opportunities for enhancing their medical product range and address unmet clinical needs through the development of regenerative devices. The UK Life Sciences Industry Strategy and the UK Strategy for Regenerative Medicine have identified this an opportunity to support wealth and health, and the government has recently identified Regenerative Medicine as one of UK`s Great Technologies. In one recent example, we have already demonstrated that this emergent technology be translated successfully into regenerative interventions, through acellular human tissue scaffolds for heart valve repair and chronic wound treatment, and be commercialised as demonstrated by our University spin out Tissue Regenix who have developed acellular scaffold from animal tissue, which has been commercialised as a dCEL scaffold for blood vessel repair. The concept can potentially be applied to the repair of all functional tissues in the body. The government has recognised that innovation and translation of technology across "the innovation valley of death" (Commons Science and Technology Select Committee March 2013), is challenging and needs additional investment in innovation.
In addition, we have identified with our partners in industry and Health Service, a gap in high level skills and capability of postgraduates in this area, who have appropriate multidisciplinary training to address the challenges in applied research, innovation, evaluation, manufacturing, and translation of regenerative therapies and devices. This emerging sector needs a new type of multidisciplinary engineer with research and training in applied physical sciences and life sciences, advanced engineering methods and techniques, supported by training in innovation, regulation, health economics and business, and with research experience in the field of regenerative therapies and devices.
CDT TERM will create an enhanced multidisciplinary research training environment, by bringing together academics, industry and healthcare professionals in a unique research and innovation eco system, to train and develop the medical and biological engineers for the future, in the emerging field of regenerative therapies and devices. The CDT TERM will be supported by our existing multidisciplinary research and innovation activities and assets, which includes over 150 multidisciplinary postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers, external research funding in excess of £60M and new facilities and laboratories. With our partners in industry and the health service we will train and develop the next generation of medical and biological engineers, who will be at the frontier in the UK in innovation and translation of regenerative therapies and devices, driving economic growth and delivering benefits to health and patients
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