Dr Tina Chowdhury
BSc, MSc, PhD, PGCAP, SFHEA

Research Group News

March 2024

BioMedEng24 Abstract Submission 31 March 2024 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 one of five top universities forming a new collaborative research centre for preterm birth research 21 March 2024 The Tommy’s National Centre for Preterm Birth Research brings together leading researchers from Queen Mary with colleagues from Imperial College, University College, King's College, and the University of Leeds. An estimated 53,000 babies born are born preterm in the UK every year.  This is higher than the average … [more]

February 2024

Wellcome awards £1.8M funding to prevent preterm birth 1 February 2024 Climate change impact award Led by Prof Andrew Prendergast who is the Director of the Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research in Zimbabwe, the team have established clinical trials to promote healthy birth and growth. Funding by the Wellcome Climate Impact Award will support a transdisciplinary team of … [more]

January 2024

Engineers Celebrate Athena Swan Success 18 January 2024 Gender equality recognised by Athena Swan Bronze Award First recognised in 2010, the School has now had this award conferred for another five years until 2029, where the conditions were met "directly and fully". The Athena Swan Charter works across the globe to support and transform gender equality in Higher … [more]

September 2023

BioMedEng23 Conference Highlights the Pioneering Work of Queen Mary Bioengineering 21 September 2023 At the recently concluded BioMedEng23 conference, Queen Mary Bioengineering showcased its prowess and contributions to UK Biomedical Engineering. The two-day event, organised by The Association of Biomedical Engineers, Medical Engineers, and Bioengineers (BioMedEng Association), highlighted remarkable advances in and around the UK biomedical sector. Prof Karin Hing Awarded the Prestigious … [more]

June 2023

Celebrating the Inspiring Women Engineers at QMUL 23 June 2023 On International Women in Engineering Day on 23 June 2023, we celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of Women In Engineering worldwide, who tirelessly contribute to improving and saving lives. This year, we turn our attention to the exceptional female engineers at the School of Engineering and Materials Science. These women embody the qualities … [more]

SEMS Bioengineering at Queen Mary's Festival of Communities 12 June 2023 Cutting-Edge Science and Engineering Research Showcase RoboCare: Innovations in Healthcare and Assisted Living Dr. Thilina Dulantha Lalitharatne’s team showcased RoboCare, illustrating the potential of robotic technologies in healthcare and assisted living. Visitors interacted with assistive robots, Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) and discovered how they can enhance the quality of … [more]

May 2023

Intercalated Symposium - Celebrating 8 Years 30 May 2023 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 22 May 2023 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]

November 2022

National Engineering Week 2 November 2022 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]

October 2022

Rosetrees Trust celebrates 35 years at the Royal Society of Medicine 11 October 2022 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]

June 2022

International Women in Engineering Day 23 June 2022 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]

Two Young Investigator Awards in Prenatal Diagnosis 21 June 2022 Malcolm Ferguson-Smith Young Investigator Award Dr David Barrett presented our award winning paper "potential sealing and repair of human fetal membrane defects after trauma with peptide amphiphiles and Cx43 antisense" at the 26th International Conference on Prenatal Diagnosis and Therapy in Montreal, Canada which took place between 19 and 23 … [more]

Picture an Engineer 13 June 2022 When you see an engineer, what does the picture mean to you? International photographer Michael Cockerham and the Ideas Foundation created a digital storytelling workshop at Queen Mary's Festival of Communities to help engineers see each other's worlds. The creative & culture teams built a digital arts studio … [more]

Congratulations to the 2022 Intercalated Graduates 1 June 2022 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]

March 2022

Dr Eleni Costa defends Doctoral thesis with two clinical experts 29 March 2022 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]

January 2022

SEMS Staff Receive Many Awards at the Science and Engineering Faculty Awards Ceremony. 27 January 2022 The Science and Engineering Faculty Celebration took place in the Octagon to a large assembled in person gathering and was broadcast simultaneously online to an even larger audience on the 27th January 2022. SEMS had a very large number of the awards with Andrew Spowage winning the Faculty Award for Internationalisation … [more]

October 2021

Queen Mary launch storytelling workshops to inspire engineering students 12 October 2021 ‘Engineer The Story’, run in partnership with the Ideas Foundation, helps engineers tell stories about their career aspirations at Queen Mary and bring engineering research to life. It is supported by the Train the Trainer programme at the StoryFutures Academy, the UK’s National Centre for Immersive … [more]

August 2021

Researchers uncover new evidence that fetal membranes can repair themselves after injury 18 August 2021 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]

February 2021

New funding for storytelling project to inspire future engineers 25 February 2021 ‘Engineer the Story’, run in partnership with the Ideas Foundation, helps engineers create digital stories to bring their research to life. Supported by new funding from the Train the Trainer Initiative of StoryFutures Academy, the UK’s National Centre for Immersive Storytelling run by National Film and … [more]

October 2020

New bioengineering approach to fix fetal membranes 13 October 2020 The study, published in the journal Prenatal Diagnosis, found that these molecules, known as peptide amphiphiles (PAs) self-assemble to form a ‘plug’ that seals holes within the fetal membranes, and could potentially help repair any damage. For the study, the researchers established a fetal membrane defect model, … [more]

April 2020

Researchers use magnetism to keep drugs at disease sites 30 April 2020 The researchers were able to use magnetism to hold ‘magnetically responsive’ microscopic drug carriers at chosen sites, even in the presence of external forces, such as flowing liquid, which would normally displace them. They also found that magnetism restricted the movement of cells containing these drug capsules. This … [more]

March 2020

New date for World Biomaterials Congress 2020 announced 31 March 2020 The World Biomaterials Congress with Liz Tanner as a member of the Executive Committee has been postponed from May to December 2020 due to Covid-19. The new dates are Thursday 11th December to Wednesday 16th December. The programme will be similar but there will be new events announced nearer the time. [more]

Researchers use microwaves to measure signs of dehydration 5 March 2020 The researchers are now looking to develop the technology into a wearable device that could be used by athletes, or in healthcare settings, to monitor hydration in real time. For the study, the research team utilised a microwave-based measurement system, developed by NPL, to examine changes to salts and … [more]

July 2019

Talk about saving babies' lives inspires young people to become bioengineers 12 July 2019 Queen Mary researcher Dr Tina Chowdhury gave an inspiring talk to young people about saving babies’ lives at the eighth St Paul’s Way Trust Science Summer School chaired by Professor Brian Cox (OBE) and Lord Andrew Mason (OBE). Dr Chowdhury’s research is investigating ways to … [more]

April 2019

New approach to repair fetal membranes may prevent birth complications 23 April 2019 Researchers from Queen Mary University of London and University College London have developed a new approach to repair defects in fetal membranes which could prevent life-long medical conditions and disabilities associated with preterm birth. The integrity of the fetal membranes that surrounds the baby in the womb during pregnancy is … [more]

April 2018

Storytelling project for engineers and young east Londoners wins funding 5 April 2018 A Queen Mary University of London project which aims to give engineers the skills to create digital stories about how their work can improve the world has received funding from the Ingenious Awards. ‘Engineer the Story’ will bring together engineers to work alongside disadvantaged young people from east … [more]

February 2018

Fake a knee at the Science Museum 1 February 2018 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]

September 2017

Repair of fetal membranes could reduce preterm births 5 September 2017 Life-long medical conditions and disabilities associated with preterm birth could be prevented with a new bioengineering approach led by researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). Bioengineers from SEMS working together with clinical practitioners have potentially found a way to reduce preterm births and prevent early deaths of young … [more]

June 2017

PhD student David Barrett wins 2016 Malcolm Ferguson-Smith Young Investigator award 20 June 2017 Congratulations to our PhD student David Barrett, who has won the prestigious 2016 Malcolm Ferguson-Smith Young Investigator Award for his article published in the October 2016 issue of the Prenatal Diagnosis journal. The title of David's article is “Connexin 43 is overexpressed in human fetal membrane defects after fetoscopic surgery”. … [more]

March 2017

Research to heal fetal membranes receives funding from Great Ormond Street and Sparks Charity. 27 March 2017 Dr Tina Chowdhury has been awarded a project grant by GOSH and Sparks charity (£148, 862). The project will develop a novel therapy to heal fetal membrane defects in the womb with Anna David (fetal medicine professor, UCL), Alvaro Mata (nanotechnology professor, SEMS), Jan Deprest (fetal surgeon/professor, Leuven), Dan Bader (… [more]

February 2017

Virtual Lab project wins prestigious higher education award 1 February 2017 The Virtual Lab, a platform that allows students to learn lab skills in bioengineering and the life sciences, has won the Gold Award at the Life Sciences category. The Awards celebrate innovative higher education pedagogies which enhance learning and employability across the globe. The Virtual Lab uses the latest games … [more]

November 2016

The Virtual Lab shortlisted for prestigious higher education award 15 November 2016 The Virtual Lab, a platform that allows students to learn lab skills in bioengineering and the life sciences has been nominated for the e-Learning Innovation category in the Reimagine Education Awards 2016. Dr Tina Chowdhury, Senior Lecturer in Regenerative Medicine at the School of Engineering and Materials Science, said: “I&… [more]

May 2016

Opening young minds to bioengineering 5 May 2016 A pioneering scheme called The Bioengineering Experience, developed for school children to explore advances in science, engineering and materials hosted a group of ten-year olds from St Joseph’s in the Park returning for their second visit to Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). Led by Dr Tina Chowdhury … [more]

June 2015

The Bioengineering Experience 2015 9 June 2015 Dr Tina Chowdhury's new fillm called "The Bioengineering Experience" can be seen here:

May 2015

The bioengineering experience 2015 5 May 2015 Children aged 10 from St Joseph’s in the Park visited the Institute of Bioengineering and experienced real, hands on lab activities at the School of Engineering and Materials Science. The project funded by the Center for Public Engagement, was a fantastic event encouraging young people to experience bioengineering first … [more]

January 2015

New ‘microcapsules’ have potential to repair damage caused by osteoarthritis 21 January 2015 A protein molecule called C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), which occurs naturally in the body, is known to reduce inflammation and aid in the repair of damaged tissue. However, CNP cannot be used to treat osteoarthritis in patients because it cannot target the damaged area even when the protein is injected … [more]

July 2013

Can a protein help to protect osteoarthritic joints? Dr Tina Chowdhury and team investigate 25 July 2013 For more information on this story, please see the interview on Youtube with Dr Nick Peake, one of the researchers involved in the project.

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Other News

For further details about Tina's work, please visit www.tinachowdhury.com

You can tweet @ttchowdhury

 

Good luck to Dr Nick Peake who starts a Lectureship position at SHU

 

Tina's work on the virtual lab with Prof Peter McOwan and Keith Turner is published in Labs for the 21st Century in STEM Higher Education (Page 91-96).

http://oro.open.ac.uk/38849/1/Labs_for_21st_century.pdf

 

Tina presents the virtual lab at Foster Court 114, UCL on 29th Nov (1-2pm). The virtual lab mimics research facilities in the life sciences and enables students to practise techniques and learn from mistakes before undertaking practicals in the real lab. The platform integrates assessment and peer-review, helping students to learn in an exciting way.  Image shows routine biochem equipment in the virtual lab (sponsored by Eppendorf and Ocean Optics)

 

Ellie and Reshma present research in osteoarthritis at the BSMB meeting, Cardiff.

 

Tina and Nick discover promising new protein to treat osteoarthritis

http://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/items/se/104764.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOxhPNXfcT4&feature=c4-overview&list=UUD7C4mz9mrgkY4chpS419dQ

 

Arthritis Research UK highlights research about CNP

http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/news/general-news/2013/july/protein-may-have-protective-role-in-osteoarthritic-joints.aspx

 

Tina and Nick discuss CNP research

 

Virtual lab shortlisted Finalist for the 2013 S-Lab awards: http://www.effectivelab.org.uk/awards.html