iMBE In the News

Following a campus visit by the Sunday Telegraph’s science correspondent, a story was published about Professor John Fisher’s (School of Mechanical Engineering) biomedical breakthrough in transplants with animal tissue, using chemicals to ‘wash’ away the foreign cells which cause the human body to reject them. Professor Fisher was also interviewed by James Naughtie on BBC Today, and his research was featured in the Daily Telegraph, BBC News online, Fox News and the Irish Independent.

The University claimed three of the top honours at the Yorkshire Bioscience Awards 2008, held on 26 June. The Young Company of the Year award went to Leeds spinout Tissue Regenix, which designs regenerative tissue grafts to meet growing demand in medical procedures. The company’s products are based on the world-class research of Professor John Fisher (School of Mechanical Engineering) and Professor Eileen Ingham (Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology).

New research unit to tackle debilitating diseases

A £4m grant to the University of Leeds and the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will put the city at the forefront of research into arthritis and rheumatology.

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funding will establish the Leeds Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit. The unit will focus on “translational research”, taking advances in medical research out from the University laboratory and into the hospital clinic. As a result, patients will benefit more quickly from new scientific breakthroughs in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, lupus and scleroderma. (Full press release available at link above).

EPSRC published an article in their Connecting with Business magazine entitled Restoring mobility and saving lives, following an interview with Professor John Fisher who has been working in medical engineering research for 25 years. During this time he has made revolutionary advances in joint replacement and tissue re-engineering – helping restore mobility to people who have suffered injuries.

An EPSRC Portfolio Partnership Award is providing over £2.2 million of funding for a
5-year programme on Tissue Replacement and Regeneration led by Professor Fisher.
His most recent research in tissue regeneration has led to the formation of a
spin-out company, Tissue Regenix. There is a growing demand for these tissue repair
products in life-saving procedures such as vascular Professor and heart surgery.
John Fisher University of Leeds Professor Fisher is Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Leeds,
Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.
He has received more than £5 million support from EPSRC and has published over 350 journal papers in this field.