Our interdisciplinary research combines stem cell biology, biomaterials and tissue-engineering to generate new knowledge and develop strategies for tissue repair and regeneration.
We focus on mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) which have enormous potential in regenerative medicine, both in the tissue-engineering of musculoskeletal tissues and more widely via the effects of all the pro-regenerative factors that they produce.
MSCs are widely known to be sensitive to the physical and mechanical properties of the environment that surrounds them- we need to know more about this to develop improved technologies to expand high-quality MSCs, to deliver them safely into the body, and to coax them to form functional new tissues.
Tissue Engineering
We combine mesenchymal stem cells with hydrogels and scaffolds to build new bone, cartilage and tendon tissues.
Stem cell mechanobiology
We use biomaterials to control the physical cues that cells are exposed to. This allows us to investigate how cells sense and respond to the physical world around them.
Micro and nanotechnologies
We investigate the impact that micro and nanoscale patterns have on cell fate. These provide new insights into mechanotransduction and could also be applied to help biomedical devices integrate with the body.
Frithlab 