Precision 3D bioengineering of the bone microenvironment and control of bone biology in health and disease.
PhD Supervisor(s): Dr Lee Buttery and Professor Morgan Alexander.
The bone microenvironment is complex and control of bone tissue formation is regulated by the actions and interactions of several different cell types and extra-cellular matrix proteins. It therefore follows that any attempt to promote bone tissue repair, including tissue engineering and drug therapies, must consider these interactions, but hitherto the tools and technologies have not been available to accurately recreate this 3D microenvironment. In part, this helps explain, that while much work has been done on bone repair and diseases, there are/have been significant insufficiencies and it still remains an important area for research and clinical investigation.
Of particular significance is the ability/potential to investigate and coordinate interactions between osteoblasts (bone formation) and osteoclasts (bone resorption), as their activities are fundamental to normal bone development, bone repair and diseases like osteoporosis.
