The Platform is comprised of three interdisciplinary and complementary research Hubs, which draw together the major players in regenerative medicine from across the country. Each hub has its own broad but distinctive key focus, dedicated research team and connections to commercial and clinical end-users. Collectively, they provide a central source of expertise and knowledge – generating new tools, protocols and resources that can be utilised by other research groups in both academia and industry.

Discover more about them below.

Pluripotent stem cells and engineered cells

Key Focus

PSEC aims to advance regenerative medicine by overcoming the key outstanding hurdles to translate human Pluripotent Stem Cell (hPSC) based cellular therapies into standard clinical practice. Using innovative, multidisciplinary approaches, the Hub aims to accelerate and streamline the process of translating hPSC-based therapies to the clinic and enabling their commercial development.

Key Contacts

Prof Roger Barker, University of Cambridge

Director

Roger Barker is Professor of Clinical Neuroscience and Honorary Consultant in Neurology at the University of Cambridge and at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.  He trained at Oxford and London and has been in his current position since 2000, after completing an MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship.

Roger combines basic research looking at novel therapies to treat chronic neurodegenerative disorders of the brain with clinically-based work aimed at better defining such disorders. He is the co-ordinator of the TRANSEURO project looking at fetal cell grafting in patients with early Parkinson’s Disease and is part of the GFORCE PD initiative as well as Director of the International Society for Stem Cell Research.

Dr Zoe Hewitt (PSEC Project Manager)

Dr Zoe Hewitt, University of Sheffield

Project Manager
+44 (0)114 2222355

Location

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Engineered cell environment

Key Focus

The environment or “niche” within the body that surrounds stem cells has a profound effect upon their behaviour including their ability to repair damaged organs. By understanding how the niche influences stem cell behaviour in tissues we aim to use this knowledge to develop future therapies for serious untreatable diseases.

Key Contacts

Prof Stuart Forbes, University of Edinburgh

Director

Stuart Forbes is Professor of Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine and Director of the Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh. He trained in Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, undertook a PhD at Imperial College and worked in London as a Hepatologist before returning to Edinburgh in 2006.

Stuart’s research aims to understand how the liver regenerates itself and where this goes wrong in liver failure and to be able to promote healthy liver regeneration and reduce the formation of liver cirrhosis and cancer. His research spans from bench to bedside developing novel clinical trials at the Scottish Liver Transplant Unit, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

Image of Robin Morton

Dr Robin Morton, University of Edinburgh

Project Manager

robin.morton@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0)131 651 9509

Location

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Acellular / smart materials – 3D architecture

Key Focus

The UKRMP2 Smart Materials Hub aims to develop the next generation of bioactive scaffolds and biomatrices to treat the eye, musculoskeletal system and the liver. The Hub will use state of the art manufacturing processes and therapeutic strategies, supporting their translation to the clinic. 

 

 

Key Contacts

Prof Molly Stevens, Imperial College London

Director

Molly Stevens is Professor of Biomedical Materials and Regenerative Medicine and the Research Director for Biomedical Material Sciences in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College. She graduated from Bath University and was awarded a PhD from the University of Nottingham in 2001. Molly conducted post-doctoral studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ahead of joining Imperial in 2004.

Molly’s research uses transformative bioengineering approaches to overcome severe limitations in current materials in biosensing and regenerative medicine. A key focus is on understanding and engineering the biomaterial interface using innovative designs and state of the art materials characterisation methods and using highly multidisciplinary approaches from bioengineers, material scientists, chemists, surgeons and biologists.

Dr Bohwon Kim, Imperial College London

Programme Manager

b.kim@imperial.ac.uk

Location

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Funded by

BBSRC
epsrc
MRC