Events

Bioengineering PDRA Seminar by Tim Hopkins & Elis Newham

Date: Tuesday 3 October 2023 12:00 - 12:30

Location: SEMS Seminar Room & MS Team

1st Talk Title: Human vascularised synovium-on-a-chip: a mechanically stimulated, microfluidic model to investigate synovial inflammation and monocyte recruitment.

Tim Hopkins's project is about the synovium that is a membrane-like structure that lines the inner surface of joints and plays several roles in maintaining joint health. Dysfunction of the synovium is implicated in the onset and progression of arthritic diseases, such as rheumatoid and osteoarthritis. Therefore, synovium-targeted treatments are promising in tackling these diseases, but we need better, more physiologically relevant models to understand disease processes and test novel therapeutics. We have developed a novel, human, vascularised synovium-on-a-chip model with biomechanical and inflammatory stimuli that replicates the behaviour of the native human synovium.

Keywords: organ-on-a-chip, synovium, arthritis, in-vitro modelling.

2nd Talk Title: TomoSAXS: multimodal mechanics from the molecular to the macro-scale

Elis Newham's project is focused on developing the ‘TomoSAXS’ technique for combining volumetric small-angled X-ray scattering and X-ray tomographic scanning to study the interplay between mechanical regimes between the nano-scale and micro-scale in collagenous tissues and organs. He has so far completed proof-of-concept studies on model systems and is developing the protocol for studying complex biomechanical systems such as the inter-vertebral disc.

Keywords: collagen, small angle X-ray scatter (SAXS), tomography, multi-modal analysis.

This seminar will be chaired by Tim Hopkins.