ProfessorPaul Bannon

Project Opportunities

Title: Regenerating damaged arteries using biodegradable grafts

Summary of opportunity:

In this exciting PhD opportunity, you will investigate the application and analysis of a novel biodegradable blood vessel graft in a large animal model, that aims to be used in future to replace damaged or blocked arteries. It is hypothesized that as the graft degrade,s it will be replaced by new healthy tissue and thus aims to regenerate damaged vessels.

Opportunity synopsis:

Current blood vessel grafts that replace damaged vessels are typically made from materials that are permanent, become blocked at small diameters and are too stiff. In collaboration with biomaterials and tissue engineering experts, you will test a novel blood vessel graft that degrades as new tissue forms, is resistant to blockages and has similar elastic properties to native arteries. Whilst our collaborators have successfully tested the grafts in a mouse model, it has not yet been tested in a large animal model. Therefore, for this first project theme you will focus on the application and analysis of a novel biodegradable blood vessel graft in a large animal model. For the initial in vivo component, you will work closely with a large collaborative team of imaging specialists, surgeons and hybrid theatre technicians to produce functional preclinical data. Following vessel degradation and new tissue formation, you will perform comprehensive in vitro analyses of the grafts, spatially resolving the gene and protein expression of the neovessel, whilst comparing it to native tissue.

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Project Opportunities

Title: Regenerating damaged arteries using biodegradable grafts

Summary of opportunity:

In this exciting PhD opportunity, you will investigate the application and analysis of a novel biodegradable blood vessel graft in a large animal model, that aims to be used in future to replace damaged or blocked arteries. It is hypothesized that as the graft degrades, it will be replaced by new healthy tissue and thus aims to regenerate damaged vessels.

Opportunity synopsis:

Current blood vessel grafts that replace damaged vessels are typically made from materials that are permanent, become blocked at small diameters and are too stiff. In collaboration with biomaterials and tissue engineering experts, you will test a novel blood vessel graft that degrades as new tissue forms, is resistant to blockages and has similar elastic properties to native arteries. Whilst our collaborators have successfully tested the grafts in a mouse model, it has not yet been tested in a large animal model. Therefore, for this first project theme you will focus on the application and analysis of a novel biodegradable blood vessel graft in a large animal model. For the initial in vivo component, you will work closely with a large collaborative team of imaging specialists, surgeons and hybrid theatre technicians to produce functional preclinical data. Following vessel degradation and new tissue formation, you will perform comprehensive in vitro analyses of the grafts, spatially resolving the gene and protein expression of the neovessel, whilst comparing it to native tissue.