Faculty of Medical Sciences opens new Centre for 3D Models of Health and Disease

This new centre is part of the Division of Surgery & Interventional Science at UCL and gathers researchers working on a wide range of different tissues. Their common aim is to develop biomimetic tissue models to study basic tissue biology and the impact of disease progression on tissue form and function.

The centre also works on biomimetic models of cancer. These models are used to interrogate the action of chemotherapeutic drugs and other therapeutic modalities. The launch event showcased the novel research in tissue-engineering that is carried out, providing opportunities for potential collaborations.

With over 85 attendees, the event’s agenda included oral and poster presentations from the PhD students of the centre on their innovative research. Guests speakers from other institutes and organisations included Dr Adrian Biddle from QMUL and Dr Katie Bates from NC3Rs.

On display at the event was a collection of the unique, custom-built pieces of equipment used in the centre’s research. These included the bio-creep device which measures cell-mediated growth; a device that spins gels under centrifugal force to remove water in a liquid environment, and a culture force monitor which measures the tensile force generated by cells in a 3D environment. These displays gave the audience the opportunity to observe the devices that have been engineered in the group, making research more real and tangible. The morning session came to an end with Prof. Mark Emberton, Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, officially opening the Centre for 3D Models of Health and Disease with the formal ribbon cutting!

During lunch attendees networked and visited the research posters displayed. There was also the chance to speak to the representatives from Lonza at their stall, who had kindly funded part of the event. The poster session chaired by Dr. Darren Player consisted of ‘Turbo Talks’ (3-minute presentations and 2 minutes for questions) delivered from the PhD students of the group – including Deniz Bakkalci, Jasmine Ho, Alessandra Grillo, Tania Choreno, Philip Barrett, Auxtine Micalet, Rallia-Iliana Velliou and Thomas Whitehead-Clarke. Their presentations showcased different topics such as cancer, muscular tissue regeneration, abdominal hernia and vascular computational modelling.

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Twitter: @3dmodelsucl