BioMedEng24 Abstract Submission

The next Biomedical Engineering Association’s annual conference, BioMedEng24, will be organised by Queen Mary University of London, taking place on 5-6 September 2024. Expect to explore plenary sessions, keynote talks, break-out workshops, poster sessions, dedicated early-career researcher sessions and more. Abstract Submission Leaders from academia, industry, clinicians, early-career researchers … [more]

Queen Mary team awarded £7 million grant to train next generation of organ-on-a-chip scientists and bioengineers

A team of bioengineers led by Professor Hazel Screen have been awarded a £7 million grant to establish an EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Next Generation Organ-on-a-Chip Technologies. Queen Mary University of London is one of sixty-five universities chosen to receive funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences … [more]

Q&A with Professor Hazel Screen: From bones to organ-chips on Operation Ouch!

Professor Hazel Screen of the School of Engineering and Materials Science recently took on a new challenge: explaining the fascinating world of organ-chip technology to the young audience of Operation Ouch! In this Q&A, we delve into Professor Screen's research, her experience on the show and why … [more]

Group Festivities!

Our research group enjoyed an a Christmas Curry and a chance to all catch up socially.

SEMS team recognised at QMUL Academic Promotions Event

On 21st November QMUL hosted an event to celebrate the staff who have been promoted in the most recent academic promotion rounds. As we reported back in September, this was a very successful outcome for SEMS with 12 of our colleagues being promoted across all the different academic grades, reflecting the … [more]

Researchers make discovery that could prevent the spread of breast and prostate cancer to bones

Queen Mary researchers have helped to discover a new molecular mechanism in osteocyte cells, that explains how cancer hijacks bone cells in order to grow. A new paper published in Advanced Science outlines findings by Dr Stefaan Verbruggen, Lecturer in Medical Technology, and his research group. The interaction between bone … [more]

New organ-on-a-chip model of human synovium could accelerate development of treatments for arthritis

Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have developed a new organ-on-a-chip model of the human synovium, a membrane-like tissue that lines the joints. The model, published in the journal Biomedical Materials, could help researchers better understand the mechanisms of arthritis and develop new treatments for this group of debilitating … [more]

Successful EU Doctoral Network grant - new organ-chip mechanobiology PhD available in Knight group

Prof Martin Knight is part of a recently successful Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie and UKRI funded Doctoral Network (MSCA DN) entitled “SurfEx”: Epithelial Exchange Surfaces – From organising principles to novel culture models of the gatekeepers of the body. We are now advertising a new PhD studentship … [more]

Great science at the UK Cilia Network meeting

Excellent cilia science at the annual UK Cilia Network meeting in Edinburgh. Beth from the Knight group gave a great presentation on her PhD project developing an organ-chip to study the impact of cilia modifications on mechanosignalling in the kidney and implications for development of new therapies for polycystic kidney … [more]

Knight group present organ-chip research at the BioMedEng conference

The research group enjoyed the excellent BioMedEng conference in Swansea and contributed lots of great talks on our organ-chip work here at Queen Mary and the Centre for Predictive in vitro Models. Dr Tim Hopkins presented his research on the development of both a vascularised synovium organ-chip and a growth-plate … [more]

Organ-chip research presented at Centre for Predictive in vitro Models Workshop

Dr Tim Hopkins gave an excellent presentation of some of the work in the Knight group, developing organ-chip models of bone, cartilage and synovium. The presentation was part of a workshop held by the Centre for Predictive in vitro Models to showcase the variety of organ-chip and other in vitro … [more]

Organ-chip bioengineers featured in new science education centre

Great to see the launch of the new Centre Of The Cell pod featuring some of our organ-on-a-chip bioengineering researchers. The Centre of the Cell is an award winning, inspiring children's science education centre at Queen Mary. Our organ-on-a-chip research is also being featured in some of the live … [more]

Intercalated Symposium - Celebrating 8 Years

Opportunities in STEMM Medical students presented research alongside leading scientists and engineers from the Centre of Bioengineering. Presentations covered multiple disciplines in machine learning, cardiovascular disease, orthopaedics, gastroenterology, cancer, medical robotics, fetal medicine and environmental health. In particular, understanding how exposure to harmful pollutants in air, water or soil affects … [more]

Bioengineering - a secret success story

Bioengineers save babies' lives When soft tissues like fetal membranes weaken too early, the waters break and the baby is born prematurely. Researchers at Queen Mary University of London and University College London are investigating the causes of preterm premature rupture of the fetal membranes. A twelve-year journey in multi-disciplinary … [more]

Congratulations to Marta Beja Ferreira who passed her PhD viva on using artificial intelligence to provide diagnostic markers for breast cancer

Breast cancer is the most common cancer type that affects women and although several therapy improvements have been made in the last decades, it is still estimated that nearly 11,400 women die each year of this type of cancer in the United Kingdom alone. At early stages of the disease the … [more]

Congratulations to Huan Meng who passed his PhD on mechanical regulation of cartilage inflammation

Huan's thesis examined the effect of the mechanical environment on inflammation that occurs in articular cartilage associated with joint disease such as osteoarthritis. In particular, the research examined the role of a complex signalling mechanism (termed YAP-signalling) that occurs within the cartilage cells and the involvement of specialised … [more]

QM Bioengineers present at the Global MicroPhysiological Systems Day

To celebrate all the amazing work being done with Organ-Chips and other microphysiological systems (MPS) in drug discovery and development, the Global MPS Day virtual symposium on March 9th 2023 is packed with presentations from the industry’s top experts and thought leaders. These internationally leading experts including Profs Robert … [more]

Megan McFie graduates with her PhD

It was great to celebrate with Meg and others who graduated with PhDs from the School of Engineering and Materials Science. Meg's PhD involved conducting a confocal microscopy screen of 1700 drugs to identify compounds that regulate the length of the specialist cellular organelles known as primary cilia. The information is … [more]

Dan Bader

It was with great saddness that I heard of the death of Prof Dan Bader on 5th November 2022. Dan was my PhD supervisor and a trusted mentor and friend. At Dan's funeral, I was honoured to be able to say a few words about Dan's academic career and … [more]

New research shows how cartilage degradation can be prevented by pharmaceutical regulation of YAP/TAZ

New research has shown how cartilage inflammation, as occurs in conditions such as osteoarthritis, can be prevented by activation of the YAP/TAZ cellular pathway. The work was led by Huan Meng, a PhD student in Prof Martin Knight's group and was published in the journal 'Osteoarthritis and Cartilage': '… [more]

Knight Group Christmas Party!

Organ-chip researchers win award at Industrial Liaison Forum

Congratulations to Dr Clare Thompson (Queen Mary+Emulate Centre Scientist), Dr Joanne Nolan (CRUK-EPSRC post doc) and Dr Tim Hopkins (Versus Arthritis Research Fellow), who together won the award for best research presentation at the Industrial Liaison Forum organised by the School of Engineering and Materials Science. All three are … [more]

National Engineering Week

Celebrating This is Engineering This is Engineering returned today as National Engineering Week to celebrate the engineers and show how engineering improve lives. We marked the event by inviting undergraduate, Intercalated and MSc students to meet the engineers and celebrate all things STEMM. Engineers improve lives Around 100 students worked … [more]

Rosetrees Trust celebrates 35 years at the Royal Society of Medicine

Rosetrees Trust supports interdisciplinary research Rosetrees Trust is a unique medical charity working to advance interdisciplinary research in science, engineering and medicine. The charity has been funding exciting research projects to develop healthcare solutions that benefit patients and improve the lives of communities and society. After supporting 35 years of … [more]

Research Group Summer Picnic

We enjoyed our annual research group summer picnic and an excellent game of rounders.

Dr Timothy Hopkins receives Versus Arthritis Foundation Fellowship

Dr Timothy Hopkins has been awarded a £310,000 Foundation Fellowship by Versus Arthritis to develop a human ‘joint-on-a-chip’. The aim of the fellowship is to improve understanding of how interactions between knee joint tissues contribute to the development of osteoarthritis (OA), and to the efficacy of treatments. OA … [more]

Prof Martin Knight elected as the first Chair of the UK BioMedical Engineering Council

Prof Martin Knight from the School of Engineering and Materials Science at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) has been elected as the first Chair of the UK BioMedEng Council.  The Association of Biomedical Engineers, Medical Engineers and Bioengineers (BioMedEng Association) represents a broad field of multidisciplinary research … [more]

International Women in Engineering Day

Celebrating women engineers and helping each other see our lives For years we have been celebrating the achievements of our engineers but today we wanted to do something different. We wanted to help others see who we are, help us reflect on our past and see … [more]

Knight group presentations at the eCM20: Cartilage and Disc Repair and Regeneration Conference

The Knight group was well represented at the  2022 eCM20: Cartilage and Disc Repair and Regeneration Conference in Switzerland. Two of our PhD students, Huan and Dariel, gave excellent oral presentations at the meeting prompting lots of questions and discussion.  Huan presented his work demonstrting the anti-inflammatory effects of … [more]

Inspiring the next generation of organ-chip scientists and bioengineers at the QMUL Festival of Communities

A fantastic day at Queen Mary's Festival of Communities talking about our organs-on-chips research. There was lots of interesting conversations and interactions with local people of all ages. Our excellent team of demonstrators showed people real organ-chip models and discussed their usage in the development of new medicines. Visitors, … [more]

Congratulations to the 2022 Intercalated Graduates

Celebrating seven years of the Intercalated Research Symposium The Intercalated Symposium is an exciting scientific forum for medical students to present collaborative multi-disciplinary research in science, engineering and medicine. Around 60 participants joined the 2 sessions with presentations in machine learning, computational medicine, medical robotics, healthcare, nanotechnology, biomaterials and regenerative … [more]

Congratulations to Megan McFie who has passed her PhD identifying drugs that regulate primary cilia in cartilage cells

Megan has successfully completed her PhD which examined the effect of pharmaceutical compounds on primary cilia - solitary hair-like structures found on most cell type. Her PhD was part of a multidisciplinary collaboration between Prof Martin Knight and Dr Cleo Bishop. Primary cilia are known to coordinate a variety of … [more]

Researchers at QMUL discuss the future of organ-on-a-chip models in new 'What is Biotechnology' article

Prof Knight was interviewed, along with Prof Donald Ingber from the Weiss Institute and other leading figures working in the organ-on-a-chip technology, for a major new review article pubishished in 'What is biotechnology'. As the review explains, organs-on-a-chip are small devices designed to replicate key aspects of the physiological … [more]

25 Years of Service at Queen Mary for Prof Martin Knight

Professor Knight writes: "I have officially been recognised as providing service to Queen Mary for 25 years! This goes back to my post doc years holding an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellowship based in the Interdisciplinary Research Centre (IRC) in Biomedical Materials. "It has been a pleasure and a privaledge … [more]

Fantastic Graduation

It was fantastic to celebrate graduation with our students. 

Prof Knight on expert panel on organ-chip models for cancer

Prof Knight is excited to be speaking on an expert panel at the upcoming 10th PREDiCT: Tumour Models London Summit which is uniting preclinical and translational leaders to narrow the preclinical gap and progress efficacious candidates to the clinic. He will be presenting on 'Organ-on-a-chip Models of Bone Metastasis' and … [more]

Prof Knight on expert panel discussing the use of animals in science

Prof Martin Knight was part of an expert panel at the 'lead the debate' event organised by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). The event was the second in the series, which aims to convene small groups of thought leaders on prominent topics affecting … [more]

Two new papers on multi-cellular in vitro models of ovarian cancer published in iScience

We have recently published two new papers in the journal iScience, which describe the development of novel multi-cellular in vitro models of ovarian cancer and the use of these models to better understand this disease. The work stems from a major European Research Council grant, CANBUILD, which was led … [more]

New organ-on-a-chip study demonstrates how physical exercise regulates bone metastasis in breast and prostate cancer

Bioengineers at Queen Mary publish a new study in the journal Cancers which demonstrates the significant impact of physiological mechanical loading on bone metastasis in breast and prostate cancer.  The paper describes a new organ-chip model of bone metastasis which incorporates cancer cells and bone cells in … [more]

QM student wins IMechE prize for the best Bioengineering undergraduate project

Congratulations to Eisha Hashmi who was selected for the IMechE Vicon Award for the best Bioengineering undergraduate project.  Eisha presented her 3rd year individual research project at the Healthcare Technologies Student and Early Career Awards event held by Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and was awared the … [more]

Science & Engineering Summer Research Internships for BAME Undergraduate Students in SEMS

As part of the Science & Engineering Faculty’s mission to transfer horizons for all students, the School Management Team are delighted to report that SEMS have won four S&E Summer Research Internships for BAME Undergraduate Students. Following a rigorous selection process examining the quality of the … [more]

New paper on cilia mechanosignalling and polycystin

Congratulations to Dr Clare Thompson who has published a new paper on the role of polycystin in chondrocyte mechanotransduction. The study published in the International Journal of Molecular Science in a special issue on Mechanobiology of Organelles.  In the paper we subjected isolated chondrocytes to mechanical stimulation and … [more]

Intercalated student gives symposium on her research project at Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.

Congratulations to Elisha Koonjul, who gave an excellent symposium presentation on her iBSc research project to clinicians at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH). Elisha's project investigates the effect of catheter clamping on the capacity and biomechanics of urinary bladder in patients with a spinal cord injury. This technique … [more]

Great to be back on campus!

Great to return to the campus last week and see some of the research team. So nice to see people in person after a year on Microsoft Teams! I toured the new PhD shared study space, which looks fantastic and a great improvement. Also nice to see the new ground … [more]

YouTube video on Prof Knight's paper on the urine stream set to go viral

Steve Mould, the famous science communicator and YouTuber, has just produced a new video on the physics behind the shape of the urine stream. Steve explains that there is very little published literature on this phenomenum but he describes one key paper ... ... In 2012 Prof Knight and colleagues published a paper … [more]

Knight's group publish new paper on the importance of mechanical stimulation in organ-chip technology

Prof Knight and colleagues at Queen Mary University of London and University College Dublin have published a new paper discussing the importance of incorporating mechanical stimulation into organ-on-a-chip technology. Prof Knight will be discussing this work at the forthcoming Pan-London 3Rs Symposium. Organ-chip models consist of living cells grown in … [more]

Inaugural QMUL Festival of Education Showcases Five SEMS Talks

Booking is now open for the Inaugural QMUL Festival of Education (https://www.qmul.ac.uk/queenmaryacademy/festival-of-education-2021/) will take place 8-12th March. Details on the Festival Agenda and how to book places for talks can be found on the SEMS Events pages (https://www.sems.qmul.ac.uk/… [more]

New CRUK/EPSRC research grant: Organ-on-a-chip model to investigate breast cancer bone metastases

A new research grant using organ-on-a-chip technology to understand breast cancer bone metastasis has started in Prof Martin Knight's bioengineering and mechanobiology research group. The multidisciplinary award is jointly funded by Cancer Research UK (CR UK) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The project will develop … [more]

New paper on anti-inflammatory effects of TRPV4 stimulation

Prof Knight's research group have published a new study showing, for the first time, the anti-inflammatory effects of stimulating the mechanosensitive ion-channel, TRPV4, and its importance in cartilage health. Degenerative joint conditions, such as osteoarthritis, are associated with pro-inflammatory signalling which causes degradation of the articular cartilage leading to … [more]

Jinshuai Zhang passed his PhD viva

Many congratulations to Jinshuai, who successfully defended his PhD thesis in November, 2020. Jinshuai's thesis is titled "Synthesis and Optoelectronic Study of Geometry-Confined Lead Halide Perovskite Monocrystalline Thin Films". Jinshuai was funded by a CSC-QMUL PhD studentship and was supervised by Dr Lei Su and Prof Martin Knight. During his PhD, … [more]

EU Commission report on cancer mechanobiology research from Prof Knight's group at QMUL

The EU Commission have published a report on some of the research into cancer mechanobiology taking place in the Bioengineering Division within School of Engineering and Materials Science at QMUL. The report entitled 'Mechanobiology of METAstatic and DORMant cancer cells in bone marrow lesions', describes research conducted by Dr Verbruggen … [more]

Organ on chip funding sandpit goes virtual

Thanks to the new world of on-line events, the OOACT Network's sandpit – originally planned face to face in April this year – was run successfully in MS Teams from 29 September to 1 October. This interactive funding sandpit event provided a great opportunity for 32 senior academics and industrialists from across … [more]

Funding awarded to Prof Knight to develop a new treatment for the rare disease, Jeune Syndrome

This project funded by Queen Mary Innovations, will identify compounds for the treatment of a rare genetic disease, Jeune Syndrome, that disrupts skeletal formation. The disease is caused by mutation in the genes that regulate primary cilia – the tiny hair-like cellular structures that coordinate a variety of important signalling … [more]

Queen Mary researchers develop non-distructive single-crystal perovskite surface nanopatterning technologies

Single-crystalline perovskites are widely regarded as the future semiconductor materials and will be the next big wave in optoelectronics. To manufacture high-quality single-crystal perovskite optoelectronics, non-destructive surface nanopatterning technologies are required. Conventional photolithography-based nanopatterning methods cannot be used due to perovskite’s sensitivity to high temperature and solvents. Researchers at … [more]

QM hosts new Organ-on-a-chip Research symposia

QMUL has launched a new e-symposia series with research presentations related to organ-on-a-chip and other predictive in vitro models. The symposia are part of the UK Organ-on-a-chip Technologies Network which is funded via the Technology Touching Life scheme and directed by Prof Hazel Screen and Prof Martin Knight, both bioengineers … [more]

Successful Launch of QMUL Centre for Predictive in vitro Models

The Centre for Predictive in vitro Models (CPM) was officially launched on Wednesday 22nd with an successful virtual symposium. More than 330 registrated attendees joined in to celebrate the occasion, listening to talks and participating in stimulating discussions. Introductory words from the vice principal for the faculty of Science and Engineering, … [more]

Using Organs-on-chips technology to accelerate COVID-19 research

The Queen Mary & Emulate Organs-on-Chips Centre is involved in a new initiative to use miniaturised living systems with human cells, known as organ-chips, in the fight against COVID-19. As part of this initiative, Emulate, Inc have donated blank Organ-Chips to the UK Organ-on-a-chip Technologies Network to support the … [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. … [more]

Queen Mary + Emulate Organs-on-Chips Centre supports COVID-19 initiative

The Queen Mary + Emulate Organs-on-Chips Centre is supporting a new initiative to use predictive in vitro models, also known as organ-chips, in the fight against COVID-19. Emulate, Inc is participating in the Organs-on-Chips against COVID-19 initiative (#OoCovid) and donating a set of Organ-Chips to the UK Organ-on-a-Chip Technologies Network which … [more]

New paper on the anti-inflammatory effects of low levels of cobalt ions

Cobalt ions from some orthopaedic implants induce a dose-dependent cytotoxic and pro-inflammatory response. However, this new paper from Prof Knight and Prof Shelton's groups shows that low levels of cobalt are in fact beneficial and block pro-inflammatory signalling in cartilage. The authors showed that sub-toxic levels of cobalt (50uM) … [more]

The Organ-on-a-Chip Shop – a Science Museum highlight!

On 29 January, Organ-on-a-Chip Technologies Network scientists and engineers swapped their lab coats for aprons, to run the Organ on a Chip shop at the hugely popular Science Museum Lates in London. This Lates night celebrated the launch of the Museum’s new Medicine Galleries and attracted over 4,000 visitors. Promoted … [more]

Dan Bader Gives His Valedictory Lecture in Technical University of Eindhoven

During his time as Professor of Medical Engineering at Queen Mary University of London, Prof Bader was also a part-time visiting professor in the Technical University of Eindhoven (Tu/E). There he worked closely with Prof Cees Oomens in the area of pressure ulcers as well as continuing his work … [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 … [more]

Profs Knight and Screen interviewed for report on organ-on-a-chip

Profs Knight and Screen were recently interviewed for a news article on organ-on-a-chip which has just been published in the magazine Engineering & Technology. The article explored the potential of organ-on-a-chip technology for testing the safety and efficacy of new pharmaceuticals and the impact on conventional animal testing. [more]

Clare Thompson and Megan McFie publish chapter in new mechanobiology book.

Clare Thompson and Megan Mcfie have helped write a chapter on primary cilia mechanobiology in an excellent new book entitled Mechanobiology : From Molecular Sensing to Disease. The chapter reviews the role of primary cilia in mechanosignalling in a variety of tissues and the effect of mechanical forces on cilia structure … [more]

Organ-on-a-Chip on show at Science Museum Lates

Science Museum Lates: Medicine, 18.45 - 22.00, Wednesday 29 January 2020 (over -18s only) Organ on a Chip Shop - a Lates highlight! Organ-on a-Chip Technologies Network members from across the UK will be running the shop at this hugely popular event. Based on the concept of a fish & chip takeaway, this '… [more]

Knight group presentations at the International Cilia & Centrosomes Conference

Several members of the Knight group have been at the excellent International Conference on Cilia, Flagella and Centrosomes organised by the French and UK Cilia Networks. On the first day Megan gave a fantastic presentation on her PhD project screening >1700 compounds for effects on primary cilia structure as part … [more]

PhD poster prizes to Megan and Hudair

Congratulations to Megan and Hudair who both won prizes for their PhD research posters at the Industrial Liaison Forum organised by the School of Engineering and Materials Science. Both Megan and Hudair are part of Knight’s research group. Megan’s PhD is co-supervised by Dr Cleo Bishop … [more]

Award Winning Research Students in SEMS

At the SEMS annual research led Industrial Liaison Forum, there was a research showcase from 80 of our current PhD students. The panel of judges this year were made up a wide range of academics from each division. They decided after a careful deliberation to award the following prizes: 1st Prize: … [more]

Congratulations to Su Fu who passed his PhD on the effect of mechanical forces on cartilage inflammation

Su Fu has passed his PhD entitled: 'The role of primary cilia in the anti-inflammatory effects of mechanical loading in cartilage'. Su was supervised by Prof Martin Knight and funded by a grant from the China Scholarship Council. He has already published one very good paper in the journal Osteoarthritis … [more]

New research published in Nature Communications, reveals how the location of the protein Polycystin-2 (PC2) on primary cilia regulates Polycystic Kidney Disease.

Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) is a common yet devastating disease. It is a heritable disorder characterised by development of kidney cysts which slowly overtake the kidney’s structure, destroying its function, and often resulting complete kidney failure by the of age 60. ADPKD affects as many as 1 in 400 … [more]

Bioengineers and Cancer Biologists develop a complex in vitro model of the human tumour - new Ideaslab video

Bioengineers are trying to grow human organs, so could growing human tumours help us to understand the microenvironment in which they spread – and how the immune system might be persuaded to attack them? Frances Balkwill explains in this new Ideaslab video for the World Economic Forum how our research … [more]

Funding awarded for mechanobiology research into osteoarthritis

Queen Mary Researchers have been awarded funding for three separate biomechanics and mechanobiology pump priming projects. Professors Hazel Screen and David Lee of the School of Engineering and Materials Science were awarded funding from the OAtech+ Network to develop projects relating to mechanobiology aimed at targeting the chronic, degenerative disease … [more]

Our paper on the role of tissue biomechanics in cancer development accepted at the journal Cancers

Our paper entitled 'Transglutaminase-2 Mediates the Biomechanical Properties of the Colorectal Cancer Tissue Microenvironment that Contribute to Disease Progression' has been accepted in the journal Cancers. This paper was led by Dr Nick Peake and funded by our grant from Bowel & Cancer Research. Biomechanics analysis was provided by my PDRA, … [more]

QM hosts Organ-on-a-chip Technologies Network meeting

Queen Mary hosted the UK Organ-on-a-chip Technologies Network for a special Learning and Collaborative Event. The network has over 450 members from 50+ academic institutions with over 50 partners from industry and other stake holders. The network event included a programme of research talks, discussion groups, industry demonstrations and special training sessions on … [more]

Exercise helps prevent cartilage damage caused by arthritis

Exercise helps to prevent the degradation of cartilage caused by osteoarthritis, according to a new study from Queen Mary University of London. The researchers show for the first time how mechanical forces experienced by cells in joints during exercise prevent cartilage degradation by suppressing the action of inflammatory molecules which … [more]

New research identifies optimal ventilation protocol for premature babies

A new paper from Prof Martin Knight's group examines the use of two different methods of providing mechanical ventilation to premature babies. The study led by Prof Anne Greenough and colleagues at King's College London, explores the effect of lung inflation volume on inflammation within the alveolar epithelial … [more]

Giant ‘nerve cell’ science education centre lands in London’s East End

‘Neuron Pod’ - a striking 23-metre long and 10-metre high free-standing structure – has opened its doors as an informal science learning centre at Queen Mary University of London’s Whitechapel campus. The launch was marked by a visit from children from Christ Church Primary School, Brick … [more]

Organ-on-a-Chip Network launch a great success

The UK Organ-on-a-Chip Network official launch took place last week. On the 6th of September there was a conference day, held in conjunction with the BioMedEng18 Conference, taking place at Imperial College London and followed by a launch day at Queen Mary’s Graduate Centre on Friday the 7th. … [more]

Mechanical regulation of primary cilia in tendon cells suggests a novel feedback mechanism controlling tendon health and mechanosensitivity.

New research from Prof Martin Knight and Prof Hazel Screen's group at Queen Mary University of London reveals a novel feedback mechanism regulating tendon health and homeostasis during mechanical loading. The study published in Scientific Reports investigates primary cilia in tendon cells subject to physiological and pathological mechanical loading. … [more]

European Cells and Materials (eCM) Conference

I attended the excellent eCM Cartilage conference in Davos Switzerland and presented Su Fu's PhD work on the role of primary cilia in the anti-inflammatory effects of mechanical loading. Lots of interesting talks. Also managed to get in some walking high in the Alps! [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 … [more]

Dan Rowson passes his PhD on the effect of mechanical loading on tendon cells

Congratulations to Dan Rowson who passed his PhD viva. Dan's PhD thesis investigated the effect of mechanical stimulation on tendon cells in order to better understand the process of tendon injury. In particular, Dan investigated the effect of mechanical forces on tiny hair-like cellular structures structures, known as primary … [more]

Exciting New Paper on the Tumour Microenvironment

A new paper published in the journal Cancer Discovery, by Prof Martin Knight and colleagues describes, for the first time, an evolving human metastatic microenvironment. The work led by Prof Fran Balkwill measures gene expression, matrisome proteomics, cytokine and chemokine levels, cellularity, extracellular matrix organization, and relates this to changes … [more]

Marie Curie Fellowship Award for Dr Luming Zhao

Congratulations to Dr Luming Zhao, who has been awarded a two-year H2020 Marie Curie Fellowship (€200k), supervised by Dr Lei Su, Prof Martin Knight and Dr Manoj Ramachandran. He will develop novel compact optical fibre lasers for clinical imaging and laser surgery. [more]

New grant on mechanobiology of bone tumours

Dr Stefaan Verbruggen has recently joined the bioengineering group at Queen Mary on a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship. Stefaan is working in Prof Martin Knight's research group investigating the role of mechanical forces in bone cancer and the involvement of primary cilia. Stefaan's project is entitled 'META-DORM: … [more]

Fake a knee at the Science Museum

When we loose cartilage tissue in the knee joint and suffer from knee pain, the joint function is impaired and the patient may need a total knee replacement surgery. The procedure involves removal of the damaged and diseased joint and replacement with an artificial joint. Most patients who undergo knee … [more]

Invited talk at Back2Back meeting

Prof Martin Knight presented an invited talk at a special primary cilia session at the Back2Back meeting organised by Prof Sally Roberts. This excellent research meeting at the Robert Jones & Agnus Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry focused on back pain and intervertebral disc with a special cilia afternoon session … [more]

Study reveals how manipulation of primary cilia may improve cartilage tissue engineering

A new paper from Prof Knight's group shows how expansion of cartilage cells for tissue engineering disrupts primary cilia expression inhibiting associated cellular signalling. Primary cilia are specialised, hair-like structures found singly in the majority of cell types where they coordinate a variety of cell processes important for tissue … [more]

Research paper identifies the secret life of collagen

Dr Gupta and Prof Knight have just published exciting results which cast light on how cartilage is able to withstand the demanding mechanical environment of the joint and may eventually help to explain why cartilage breaks down with ageing or arthritis. Collagen changes its crystallinity in response to physical forces, … [more]

Research group netball match!

Martin Knight's research group (and family!) took on Hazel Screen's research group (and extras) for a netball match. Despite heroic efforts from our team Hazel's group won (just)!

Candy cane supercapacitor could enable fast charging of mobile phones

Supercapacitors promise recharging of phones and other devices in seconds and minutes as opposed to hours for batteries. But current technologies are not usually flexible, have insufficient capacities, and for many their performance quickly degrades with charging cycles. Researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and the University of … [more]

Grant funding for iBSc Biomedical Engineering students

Two students working in Prof Knight's research group received grant funding to continue their individual research projects over the summer. The two students have been doing research project as part of their Intercalated BSc in Biomedical Engineering and Clinical Materials. The funding from the Rod Flowers Scholarship scheme will enable … [more]

Wrestling with my supervisor!

In November 2016, we celebrated 25 years since the start of the Interdisciplinary Research Centre (IRC) in Biomedical Materials at Queen Mary University of London. The IRC which was set up by Prof Bill Bonfield delivering high quality research including the development of bone graft substitute materials. Prof Knight was one of … [more]

Prof Knight presents invited lecture at BEAT PCD Meeting

Prof Knight presented an invited lecture on super resolution microscopy at this meeting on Primary Cilia Dyskinesia in Valencia. I also had a fantastic bike ride down the coast to see flamingoes!

New study shows how novel biomaterial regulates primary cilia to control bone formation

Prof Knight's group has published a new paper which shows how a novel bone graft substitute biomaterial promotes osteogenic differentiation of stem cells associated with regulation of primary cilia structure and TGFB signalling. The paper published in the journal Acta Biomateriala is based on the work of PhD student, Melis … [more]