Your gift

Your gift would support UCL in finding a safe and robust synthetic scaffold material to increase choice for patients with microtia, and remove the challenges with major surgery and organ donations.

The project we will fund with support from your gift will support PhD student Lila Nayyer in a cutting-edge collaboration between the UCL Ear Institute and the Royal Free Hospital. She is carrying out pioneering research into using a bio material called POSS as the scaffold material in ear reconstruction. This material is far more bio compatible than the currently used Medpor and comes in two varieties: one permanent form for adults and the other a bio absorbent form for children. This material can be seeded with the patient’s own stem cells, and is a much better option as the bio material can be reabsorbed by the patient and replaced by the patient’s own tissue, enabling the ear to grow normally. Your gift will enable Lila to continue with her research into this ground-breaking new synthetic material, bringing us a significant step closer to offering patients and parents greater choice in cases such as microtia.

This research has the potential to have great impact in other regenerative medicine and reconstructive surgery situations. UCL’s research clinicians hope to identify additional potential uses of this biomaterial by adapting it to older children and adults.

Thank You

The UCL Ear Institute, in partnership with Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital, would like to thank you for your kind consideration of supporting their important work.