ESR11 – KU (double degree with University Salerno.
Extracellular vesicles intelligent stem cell delivery strategy for tendon therapeutic application
Objectives: To mimic the physiological mechanisms involved in the process of tenogenesis promotion through inductive influence of bioactive molecules via extracellular vesicles (EVs) functionalized 3D-scaffolds.
Expected Results: (1) Comparison of tenogenic activities, under 2D and 3D culture conditions, of hBM-MSCs vs. placental membrane-derived stem cells vs. tenogenic derived stem cells. (2) Characterization of EVs production of the different stem cell populations before and after tenogenic differentiation. (3) Modulation of EVs release under different culture conditions (e.g., oxygen tension, biomechanical stimulation). (4) Demonstrate the cell-instructive effect of EVs after insertion in hydrogel micro-cavity compartments (produced by University of Helsinki). (5) Evaluation of tenogenic impact of hydrogel enriched EVs micro-cavity during the in vitro process of stem cell tendon differentiation.
Keywords: Tendon, Stem Cells, Tissue Engineering, Biomaterials, Bioreactors, Imaging, Biomedical Engineering.
Applicant Profile: Master level in biology, chemistry, engineering or related fields, ideally with a background in biology, materials science, biotechnology, biomedical engineering, biochemistry, tissue engineering, animal studies, or immunotherapy. Excellent communication skills (both written and oral) in English.
PhD main locations: The recruited ESR is given the opportunity to conduct 3-years of PhD studies at School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering, University of Keele (United Kingdom), but also to visit other network partners for secondments (University of Salerno (Italy), University of Teramo (Italy), and Fidia Farmaceutici S.p.A. (Italy)), and to attend the training events of the network.
Double PhD Tutors: Prof. N. Forsyth (Doctoral Programme in Cell and Tissue Engineering, KU) and Prof. G. Della Porta (Doctoral Programme in Translational Medicine, UNISA).
Main contact:
Professor Nicholas Forsyth ([Email Address Removed])
More details about P4FIT project, requirements for the candidates and recruitment procedure:
www.helsinki.fi/p4fit
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