Division of Bioengineering

Research Highlights

SEMS Academics Perform Exceptionally in REF 2021 The scores have been announced for REF2021. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a 7 year cycle used to measure research and determine funding in UK universities. The result for SEMS is excellent as not only have we come seventh overall in Engineering amongst all 89 universities who were being assessed in … [more]

New paper on vascular smooth muscle cell pressure and stiffness sensing is published in Science Advances journal Our paper on vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) pressure and stiffness sensing is out in Science Advances. Congratulations to everyone involved and especially Pamela Swiatlowska and Brian Sit who are shared first authors. Our new findings show how the progression of atherosclerosis is affected by … [more]

Dr Eleni Costa defends Doctoral thesis with two clinical experts Enormous congratulations to Eleni Costa who defended her Doctoral PhD thesis entitled "repair mechanisms in fetal membrane defects after trauma, strain and fetal surgery". Eleni is working with a multi-disciplinary team of scientists, engineers and clinicans at SEMS (Tina Chowdhury), UCL/UCLH (Prof Anna David), KU Leuven (Prof … [more]

Materials Celebrates 50 Years of Graduations 50 years of Materials graduates from the Mile End Campus in London and the first cohort from Queen Mary Engineering School (QMES) at our campus at Northwestern Polytechnic University in Xi’an China were celebrated on Friday 5th November. 120 people gathered in the Octagon with another 45 people on-line to … [more]

New insights into the design of RNA delivery vectors What happens to gene delivery vectors when they enter the cell cytoplasm? This question had remained understudied, in particular in the case of polycationic vectors. Yet it may have a significant impact on the timing and localisation of the release of RNA or DNA molecules to be delivered. The team … [more]

Researchers uncover new evidence that fetal membranes can repair themselves after injury The integrity of the fetal membranes that surround the baby in the womb during pregnancy is vital for normal development. But fetal membranes can become damaged as a result of infection, bleeding, or after fetal surgery and even diagnostic tests during pregnancy, such as amniocentesis, which require doctors to make … [more]

Queen Mary researchers win EPSRC Transformative Healthcare Technology 2.0 Call Development Phase Grant Researchers from Queen Mary University of London and Imperial College London, clinicians from Royal London Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital together with the industrial partners are awarded the Development Phase Grant of EPSRC Transformative Healthcare Technology 2.0 Call, a high risk and high return initiative.  The Team, … [more]

New state-of-the-art microscope to support research in the School of Engineering and Materials Science Queen Mary underlined its strong commitment to the ongoing research in SEMS by investing into a £375K state-of-the-art super-resolution spinning disc microscope. Microscopy imaging approaches have long been a major research strength within the school, facilitating new collaborative links and supporting significant research funding and outputs in leading journals. The … [more]

Queen Mary opens Organs-on-Chips Centre for advancements in medical research and drug development A new research centre which aims to revolutionise medical research and drug development using microengineered Organs-on-Chips has opened at Queen Mary University of London. Organs-on-Chips contain tiny hollow channels lined by living human cells that recreate the microenvironment experienced by cells within the human body.  As miniaturised living systems with … [more]

Synthetic bone graft research gets stamp of approval The pioneering work of a Queen Mary researcher has been celebrated with a stamp as part of a new series launched by Royal Mail. The six stamp set, launched today, marks innovations in British engineering from the last 50 years including the development of a synthetic bone graft by Dr Karin … [more]

New video report on soft robotics for keyhole surgery Breaking news on the EU robotics project STIFF-FLOP Research on soft robotics for keyhole surgery by Professor Althoefer, head of Advanced Robotics @ Queen Mary (ARQ) is highlighted in the new TechRepublic video on '5 things to know about soft robotics': 1. It doesn't mean pillows. 2. Search and rescue. 3. Medicine. (STIFF-FLOP features … [more]

Queen Mary awarded funding to build instrument which will revolutionise monitoring of cellular processes Queen Mary University of London has been awarded funding to lead a joint project to build an instrument which will revolutionise the monitoring of cellular processes in tissues that line organs. The grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has a total value of £823,329 over three years, … [more]

Queen Mary Awarded Funding to Establish Organ-on-a-Chip UK Network Queen Mary University of London has been awarded funding to lead a UK network in the development of ‘Organ-on-a-chip’ devices. The network will be part of a major new Research Councils UK (RCUK) funding venture, Technology Touching Life [1], which aims to foster interdisciplinary research into innovative technology in the health … [more]