Electrical Stimulation Approaches for Bone Tissue Engineering

We have recently shown that DC electrical stimulus to monolayer cells in vitro has great influence on mesenchymal stem cell activity in terms of cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation. This PhD will further translate this exiting data by applying direct electrical stimulus to primary human mesenchymal stem cells seeded onto a variety of 3D scaffolds (such as hydroxyapatite and collagen) to determine efficacy in tissue engineering. Experiments to determine proof of concept as well as basic science data to determine the mechanism of these effects will be performed. The student will gain skills in 3D primary cell culture, use of bioreactors and analysis such as microCT imaging, histology, DNA analysis mechanical testing. International internships are possible with this PhD project subject to internal funding applications and students mobility preference.

Applicants should have or expect to achieve at least a 2.1 honours degree in Biomedical Engineering, Biomaterials Engineering, Biosciences, Electrical Engineering or a related discipline