Faculty

Research Interests

• in vitro development of functional soft connective tissues (Tissue Engineering)
• mechanical stimulation of cells and mechanical conditioning of the developed tissue
• perfusion bioreactors for tissue engineering
• influence of nutrient delivery and supply on tissue formation

Connective tissues generally have a limited capacity for repair when damaged by trauma or disease. Typically, the damage inflicted is allowed to progress to the point at which the entire tissue can be replaced by synthetic materials (e.g. ligament and total joint replacements). Synthetic materials have obvious disadvantages and recent efforts have been focused on the in vitro development of biological replacement tissue as a more desirable alternative. Currently, my research interests are focused on the engineering of functional articular cartilage, ligament and the intervertebral disc.