Engineering Articular Cartilage with Zonal Structure and Function. This project addresses the National Research Priority of Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and specifically the Priority Goal of Ageing well, ageing productively. Osteoarthritis, the most common cartilage-related disease, affects nearly 1.4 million Australians, resulting in 2 in 1000 Australians undergoing total joint replacement, annually. The incidence and impact of cartilage damage on the Australian health and economy is e ....Engineering Articular Cartilage with Zonal Structure and Function. This project addresses the National Research Priority of Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and specifically the Priority Goal of Ageing well, ageing productively. Osteoarthritis, the most common cartilage-related disease, affects nearly 1.4 million Australians, resulting in 2 in 1000 Australians undergoing total joint replacement, annually. The incidence and impact of cartilage damage on the Australian health and economy is expected to increase with the ageing population. This work leads to the development of a novel cartilage engineering technology platform that addresses Frontier Technologies and will thus provide the foundation for translation of this technology to the international marketplace. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101666
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Endogenous bone regenerative technique to repair hard tissue defects in congenital craniofacial clefts. This project aims to develop an endogenous bone regenerative technique to repair the bony defects in congenital craniofacial clefts, through stimulating patients' latent self-repair mechanisms and reviving their innate capacity for regeneration. The novel technique would replace the existing and controversial surgical bone grafting method.
Molecularly engineered cell-instructive hydrogels for enhanced tissue regeneration. The outcomes of this project will be relevant to range of wounds, including burns, bed-sores, and diabetic and venous ulcers. Clearly, innovation in wound healing is urgently required as the treatment of wounds represents a significant challenge at all levels of our society, in terms of cost (physical, emotional and financial) to patients, the economy and to the wider community. Despite this obvious and overwhelm ....Molecularly engineered cell-instructive hydrogels for enhanced tissue regeneration. The outcomes of this project will be relevant to range of wounds, including burns, bed-sores, and diabetic and venous ulcers. Clearly, innovation in wound healing is urgently required as the treatment of wounds represents a significant challenge at all levels of our society, in terms of cost (physical, emotional and financial) to patients, the economy and to the wider community. Despite this obvious and overwhelming need, research in wound healing is relatively under-developed and has yet to adopt modern biotechnology and biomaterials approaches. This project is therefore directed at generating cost-effective frontier wound dressing technologies that accelerate wound repair.Read moreRead less
Tissue Engineering the Meniscus: Combining Novel Biomimetic Hybrid Scaffolds with Adult Stem Cells. Development of a meniscal implant ex vivo will provide significant health and economic benefits, given that worldwide, millions of people annually suffer from meniscus damage or loss. We believe that a tissue engineered meniscus, composed of a novel biomimetic scaffold which guides the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells in a novel bioreactor will provide a solution to the problem of donor ....Tissue Engineering the Meniscus: Combining Novel Biomimetic Hybrid Scaffolds with Adult Stem Cells. Development of a meniscal implant ex vivo will provide significant health and economic benefits, given that worldwide, millions of people annually suffer from meniscus damage or loss. We believe that a tissue engineered meniscus, composed of a novel biomimetic scaffold which guides the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells in a novel bioreactor will provide a solution to the problem of donor scarcity in meniscal repair. Success in this project will lead directly to large-animal studies and clinical trials. The training of four early careeer researchers involved in this project will also be of significant benefit to the Australian Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials community.Read moreRead less
NOVEL TRI-BLOCK CO-POLYMERS FOR CONTROLED RELEASE OF PROTEINS FOR OSTEOGENESIS. This research is being driven by the need for a scaffold for orthopaedic reconstruction that provides controlled release of growth factors to enable rapid healing. None of the current systems possess the required combination of properties to enable new tissue to regenerate rapidly. The aim of this project is to design a system for sustained drug release using block copolymer micelles to encapsulate growth factors and ....NOVEL TRI-BLOCK CO-POLYMERS FOR CONTROLED RELEASE OF PROTEINS FOR OSTEOGENESIS. This research is being driven by the need for a scaffold for orthopaedic reconstruction that provides controlled release of growth factors to enable rapid healing. None of the current systems possess the required combination of properties to enable new tissue to regenerate rapidly. The aim of this project is to design a system for sustained drug release using block copolymer micelles to encapsulate growth factors and then polymerising the micelles in a biodegradable polymer scaffold. This would enable local delivery of osteogenic growth factors to a bone defect.Read moreRead less
Mastering the Microenvironment - Integrated, functional, biosynthetic scaffolds for tissue engineering. Organ transplantation is available to only the lucky few, with, for example, less than 3000 of Australia's annual 30,000 patients suffering end-stage renal failure receiving transplants. Tissue engineering of soft, functional tissues using in vitro and/or in vivo methods offers the potential to replace missing or non-functioning tissues, such as liver, pancreas, lung, heart, fat and muscle, wi ....Mastering the Microenvironment - Integrated, functional, biosynthetic scaffolds for tissue engineering. Organ transplantation is available to only the lucky few, with, for example, less than 3000 of Australia's annual 30,000 patients suffering end-stage renal failure receiving transplants. Tissue engineering of soft, functional tissues using in vitro and/or in vivo methods offers the potential to replace missing or non-functioning tissues, such as liver, pancreas, lung, heart, fat and muscle, with newly created tissue. This project will deliver integrated, functional polymeric scaffolds for organ replacement. Over 12 higher degree candidates and one research associate will be trained in the field of tissue engineering, representing a significant benefit to the Australian scientific community.Read moreRead less
Controlling the adhesome to regulate cell fate on biomaterials. Mesenchymal stem cell-based tissue engineering practices are hampered worldwide by the lack of appreciation and understanding of the matrix-mediated cues that must be provided during adhesion and spreading to drive cells to definitive tissue end points. This project will address these knowledge deficiencies by combining high throughput array technologies, a set of tailorable self-assembling biomaterials and real-time biosensors to r ....Controlling the adhesome to regulate cell fate on biomaterials. Mesenchymal stem cell-based tissue engineering practices are hampered worldwide by the lack of appreciation and understanding of the matrix-mediated cues that must be provided during adhesion and spreading to drive cells to definitive tissue end points. This project will address these knowledge deficiencies by combining high throughput array technologies, a set of tailorable self-assembling biomaterials and real-time biosensors to rapidly, at high resolution, elucidate how mechanotransductive cues determine the fate choice of mesenchymal stem cells, and furthermore, how to manipulate them with smart biomaterial design to achieve desired outcomes for tissue engineering. Read moreRead less
Stem cell-based interface tissue engineering. Osteoarthritis (OA) causes extreme pain, disability, and reduced quality of life and overall productivity. It is the musculoskeletal disorder with the greatest social and economic implications internationally, with 9.3% of the adult population projected to suffer from OA by 2030. A tissue engineered product capable of functional repair of ligament-cartilage-bone tissue interfaces will have significant benefits. It will improve patient activity and qu ....Stem cell-based interface tissue engineering. Osteoarthritis (OA) causes extreme pain, disability, and reduced quality of life and overall productivity. It is the musculoskeletal disorder with the greatest social and economic implications internationally, with 9.3% of the adult population projected to suffer from OA by 2030. A tissue engineered product capable of functional repair of ligament-cartilage-bone tissue interfaces will have significant benefits. It will improve patient activity and quality of life, and significantly reduce OA-associated health care costs. This proposal will train a total of 12 new generation researchers in the emergent fields of stem cell biology and tissue engineering, having important benefits for the Australian scientific and industrial communities.Read moreRead less
Identifying how cortical bone microstructure deteriorates with age. This project aims to define the disruptions responsible for the gradual weakening of the skeleton in ageing by integrating a range of high-resolution imaging, biomechanical, and computational methods. The expected significance of this project includes a full definition and comparison of the cellular and subcellular organisation of bone from young and elderly individuals. Expected outcomes of this international project include th ....Identifying how cortical bone microstructure deteriorates with age. This project aims to define the disruptions responsible for the gradual weakening of the skeleton in ageing by integrating a range of high-resolution imaging, biomechanical, and computational methods. The expected significance of this project includes a full definition and comparison of the cellular and subcellular organisation of bone from young and elderly individuals. Expected outcomes of this international project include the establishment of a new multidisciplinary research team, and the development of a new data-driven theoretical framework for understanding the nature and the causes of age-related bone fragility. Potential long-term benefits include new ways to treat age-related osteoporosis.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100986
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
An innovative platform using non-coding ribonucleic acids (RNAs) to control stem cell differentiation outcomes. It is difficult to control the tissue type that stem cells will form when combined with biomaterials, as the outcome is influenced by the 'stiffness' of the surface to which the stem cells attach. This project will determine how non-coding ribonucleic acids (RNAs) control stem cell behaviours and use this information to direct stem cell differentiation outcomes.