Development of bio-inspired materials for bone repair

4-year fully-funded PhD Research Position

Development of bio-inspired materials for bone repair

Project Abstract. While considerable efforts have and are being made to engineer bone-mimetic, hydroxyapatite–collagen composite materials, to date no fabrication method enables the preparation of scalable materials that replicate the intricate complexity of bone tissue. Advanced collagen processing techniques now allow for preparing collagen-based scaffolds with tailored architectural designs at the macro and micro levels using native, cross-linker free collagen. These advanced collagen-based scaffolds offer a previously unexplored perspective to engineer functional bone-mimetic materials for bone repair and regeneration, should they be mineralized to the same extent and in the same manner as human bone. The successful candidate will develop an innovative mineralization strategy to fabricate bone-mimetic materials with sizes, degrees of mineralization and biomimetic traits that have not been achieved thus far. Finally, preclinical studies will be conducted to test the hypothesis that the unique biomimetic architectural designs of the resulting bone-mimetic materials enhance their bone regeneration potential.

The position. The successful candidate will be enrolled in the Structured PhD Programme in the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences at University of Galway. The programme is fully funded and covers registration fees up to the EU fee level, a tax-free stipend of €22,000 per annum (paid monthly). The programme also offers training modules including advanced discipline-specific modules and generic/transferrable/professional skills modules.

University of Galway

Located in the vibrant cultural city of Galway in the west of Ireland, the University of Galway has a distinguished reputation for teaching and research excellence

For information on moving to Ireland please see www.euraxess.ie

The Bio-inspired Mineralization Laboratory (BIOML) is a research group in the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences at University of Galway. BIOML is developing a new way of fabricating biomimetic inorganic-organic hybrid materials embracing an inter-disciplinary approach with a strong focus on the interplay between biomineralization, crystal growth, tissue engineering, and analytical & materials chemistry. Research activities within BIOML are split across three complementary research themes as follows:

• Theme 1 aims to advance our understanding of non-classical pathways to crystallization and especially the amorphous-to-crystal phase transformation of solid, metastable, amorphous inorganic nanoparticles.
• Theme 2 consists of developing innovative mineralization strategies to engineer unique biomimetic inorganic-organic hybrid materials and especially human bone-like materials.
• Theme 3 seeks to open new perspectives in healthcare by evaluating the bone regeneration potential of unique human bone-like materials in preclinical studies.

Entry requirements. The candidate should have a BSc in Chemistry but preference will be given to candidates with a Master degree (MSc or equivalent) in Chemistry or Materials Science along with previous research experience in analytical chemistry or materials chemistry. It is also desirable that the candidate has prior experience in one or more of the following techniques: electron imaging techniques (SEM, TEM, cryoTEM); Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy; conductometric measurements; and/or vibrational spectroscopy techniques (FT-IR, Raman).