David De Silva-Thompson
Studying EngD in Biochemical Engineering EPSRC IDTC/Regenerative Medicine Bioprocessing [email protected] While undertaking my Masters degree in Biochemical Engineering, I developed a enthusiasm to the effects of bioprocess forces upon the phenotype of mesenchymal stem cells. This was established by the development of my Masters thesis, which allowed me to understand a whole variety of stem cell concepts ranging from cell culture techniques, reactor development and the use of bioprocess forces as a mode of promoting differentiation of multipotent stem cells to various lineages. Whilst the project I undertook was entirely literature based, it provided me with understanding of how susceptible to change stem cells were, based on the environment they are grown in. This knowledge allowed me to assume a position in the Regenerative Medicine Laboratory in UCL as a research student, providing me with the chance to develop cell culture techniques and use them in the area of biomaterials and tissue engineering which is my main focus at present. Project: Scalable Production of Tissue Engineered Microunits for Bone Regeneration Using Bioactive Glass Microspheres and Dynamic Culture Conditions.
We aim to use titanium doped phosphate glass as a platform for culturing microunits of tissue engineered bone using scalable reactor technology. The role of titanium doped bioactive glass is being widely studied as an implantable scaffold material for bone defects. Illustrating many benefits such as its ability to degrade in vivo whilst remaining non cyto-toxic at certain concentrations coupled with its maintained structural stablity, confirms its potential as an attractive alternative for bone regeneration. Understanding their impact and effect in culture, along with their ability to be used at reactor scale provides the rationale behind the project. Previously: MRes in Biochemical Engineering. UCL, 2012-2013. MEng in Biochemical Engineering. UCL, 2008-2012. |