探花直播 of Cambridge - Serena Best

Professor Ruth Cameron receives Suffrage Science award on the scheme鈥檚 tenth anniversary

sc604 — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 14:28:19 +0000

Ten years ago, Professor Dame Amanda Fisher, Director of the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (then Clinical Sciences Centre), and Vivienne Parry OBE, science writer and broadcaster, concocted an idea to celebrate the contributions that women scientists have made to their field, sometimes overlooked in favour of their male counterparts. With an endorsement from Dr Helen Pankhurst CBE, women鈥檚 rights activist and great-granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst, they called the awards scheme Suffrage Science.

Their awards were hand-crafted items of jewellery created by art students from Central Saint Martins-UAL, who worked with scientists to design pieces inspired by research and by the Suffragette movement. But rather than produce a new set of pieces for the next awards, each holder chose who they would like to pass their award onto, thus generating an extensive 鈥榝amily tree鈥� of incredible scientists and communicators.

As the relay continued, new branches of the Suffrage Science scheme were developed 鈥� the Engineering and Physical Sciences strand was founded in 2013, and the 鈥楳aths and Computing鈥� strand followed in 2016. 探花直播Suffrage Science family is now 148 strong, with a further 12 joining on Monday 8 March 2021, the tenth anniversary of the scheme.

Each previous holder chose to whom they wanted to pass their 鈥榟eirloom鈥� piece of jewellery.

Professor Serena Best from Cambridge鈥檚 Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, who was honoured in 2020, chose to pass her award to her colleague Professor Ruth Cameron. She said: 鈥淧rofessor Ruth Cameron is a highly successful and respected scientist in the field of biomaterials whose organisational abilities and communication skills are outstanding. Most recently, she has become the first female appointee to lead the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, 探花直播 of Cambridge in the Office of Head of Department. Ruth鈥檚 work ethic will provide inspiration to the next generation of young female scientists - demonstrating that the key to success is collegial support and collaboration.鈥�

Professor R贸is铆n Owens from Cambridge鈥檚 Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, and Professor Melinda Duer from the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, were also named winners in 2020. Owens has chosen to pass her award to Professor Natalie Stingelin from Georgia Institute of Technology, and Duer has chosen to pass her award to Dr Mary Anti Chama from the 探花直播 of Ghana.

鈥淣atalie is a tremendous advocate for diversity in science and engineering,鈥� said Owens. 鈥淪he was incredibly supportive of me when I started out, mentoring me and suggesting my name for conferences and editorial work. She has worked tirelessly to support women and is very active on social media. She has brought countless young researchers, especially women under her wing, helping them to develop their careers. She is also very proactive in getting the old guard to be inclusive and diverse 鈥� including calling out conference organisers for not including women in their speaker lists. In her role as editor at RSC she has been very involved in trying to improve diversity and equality in publishing also.鈥�

鈥淚 have known Mary since she was a Cambridge-Africa Research Fellow in Cambridge,鈥� said Duer. 鈥淪he impressed me then with how she approached interdisciplinary science, and brought in whatever techniques she needed in her quest to find new pharmaceutical compounds in plants. She has continued to impress me as she has developed her science and brought in new collaborators. She has been a champion for women in science throughout her career and very supportive of students and younger colleagues alike. I hope she won't mind my saying that she also ensured that all her siblings had access to higher education - and now continues that with ensuring that her graduate students have what they need to be successful. I always enjoy any discussion with Mary - she has shown me how one can be kind, compassionate and still be ambitious in one's science.鈥�

Suffrage Science pioneer Professor Fisher said: 鈥淲e dreamed up the awards scheme to celebrate the contribution that women have made to science, which often gets overlooked. This is as important now as it was ten years ago. This year鈥檚 awardees join a community of over 148 women scientists. I鈥檓 thrilled that since 2011, the awards have travelled from the UK, across Europe to the USA, Hong Kong, Iran and to Ghana, illustrating the international nature of science and engineering, and the global effort to improve the representation of women in STEM.鈥�

Professor Ruth Cameron from Cambridge鈥檚 Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy is one of twelve winners of this year鈥檚 Suffrage Science awards. She and the other winners will be honoured at an online celebration today, the tenth anniversary of the scheme. This will be the fifth Suffrage Science awards for engineering and physical sciences.

Ruth鈥檚 work ethic will provide inspiration to the next generation of young female scientists

Serena Best

Ruth Cameron

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Patching up a broken heart

lw355 — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 15:00:54 +0000

When the body鈥檚 repair system kicks in, in an attempt to remove the dead heart cells, a thick layer of scar tissue begins to form. While this damage limitation process is vital to keep the heart pumping and the blood moving, the patient鈥檚 problems have really only just begun.

Cardiac scar tissue is different to the rest of the heart. It doesn鈥檛 contract or pump because it doesn鈥檛 contain any new heart muscle cells. Those that are lost at the time of the heart attack never come back. This loss of function weakens the heart and, depending on the size of the damaged area, affects both the patient鈥檚 quality of life and lifespan.

鈥淚n many patients, not only is their heart left much weaker than normal but they are unable to increase the amount of blood pumped around the body when needed during exercise,鈥� explains Dr Sanjay Sinha. 鈥淚鈥檝e just walked up a flight of stairs鈥� it鈥檚 something I take for granted but many patients who鈥檝e survived heart attacks struggle to do even basic things, like getting dressed. While there are treatments that improve the symptoms of heart failure, and some even improve survival to a limited extent, none of them tackles the underlying cause 鈥� the loss of up to a billion heart cells.鈥�

探花直播numbers are stark. 鈥淗alf a million people have heart failure in the UK. Almost half of them will not be alive in five years because of the damage to their heart. At present, the only way to really improve their heart function is to give them a heart transplant. There are only 200 heart transplants a year in the UK 鈥� it鈥檚 a drop in the ocean when many thousands need them.鈥�

Sinha wants to mend these hearts so that they work again. 鈥淣ot just by a few percent improvement but by a hundred percent.鈥�

He leads a team of stem cell biologists in the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute. Over the past five years, with funding from the British Heart Foundation, they have been working with materials scientists Professors Ruth Cameron and Serena Best and biochemist Professor Richard Farndale on an innovative technique for growing heart patches in the laboratory 鈥� with the aim of using these to repair weakened cardiac tissue.

鈥淚n the past, people have tried injecting cardiomyocytes into damaged hearts in animal models and shown that they can restore some of the muscle that鈥檚 been lost,鈥� says Sinha. 鈥淏ut even in the best possible hands, ninety percent of the cells you inject are lost because of the hostile environment.鈥�

Instead, the Cambridge researchers are building tiny beating pieces of heart tissue in Petri dishes. 探花直播innovation that makes this possible is a scaffold. 鈥� 探花直播idea is to make a home for heart cells that really suits them to the ground. So they can survive and thrive and function.鈥�

探花直播scaffold is made of collagen 鈥� a highly abundant protein in the animal kingdom. Best and Cameron are experts at creating complex collagen-based structures for a variety of cell types 鈥� bone marrow, breast cancer, musculoskeletal 鈥� both as implants and as model systems to test new therapeutics.

鈥� 探花直播technology we鈥檝e developed for culturing cells is exciting because it is adaptable to a huge range of applications 鈥� almost any situation where you鈥檙e trying to regenerate new tissue,鈥� explains Best.

Best and Cameron use 鈥榠ce-templating鈥� to build the scaffold. They freeze a solution of collagen, water and certain biological molecules. When the water crystals form, they push the other molecules聽to their boundaries. So, when the crystals are vapourised (by dropping the pressure to low levels), what鈥檚 left is a complex three-dimensional warren.

鈥淲e have immense control over this structure,鈥� adds Cameron. 鈥淲e can vary the pore structure to make cells align in certain orientations and control the ratios of cell types. We are building communities of millions of cells in an environment that resembles the heart.鈥�

Cardiomyocytes fare better when they are surrounded by other cell types and have something to hold on to. They use proteins on their surface called integrins to touch, stick to and communicate with their environment. Farndale has perfected a 鈥榯oolkit鈥� that pinpoints exactly which parts of collagen the integrins bind best; he then makes matching peptide fragments to 鈥榙ecorate鈥� the collagen scaffold. This gives cells a foothold in the scaffold and encourages different cell types to move in and populate the structure.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 just want a cardiac scaffold 鈥� we want it to have blood vessels and the same mechanical properties as the heart,鈥� explains Sinha. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 going to contract and function efficiently, it needs a really good blood supply. And the whole three-dimensional structure must be strong enough to survive the hostile environment of a damaged heart.鈥�

Meanwhile, Sinha鈥檚 team pioneered the production of the different cell types needed for the patch. Their starting material is human embryonic stem cells, but they have also taken adult human cells and 鈥榬eset鈥� their developmental clock. 鈥淚n theory this means we can take a patient鈥檚 own cells and make patches that are identical to their own tissue. That said, millions of people are going to need this sort of therapy and so our focus at the moment is on coming up with a system where a small number of patches might be available 鈥榦ff the shelf鈥�, with patients receiving the nearest match.聽

探花直播team is completing tests on the ideal combination of scaffold structure, peptide decoration and mix of cells to create a beating vascularised tissue. Next, the researchers will work with Dr Thomas Krieg in the Department of Medicine to graft the tissue into a rat heart. Their aim is to show that the patch makes vascular connections, integrates mechanically and electrically with heart muscle, and contracts in synchrony with the rest of the heart. Once they鈥檝e accomplished this, they will scale up the size of the patches for future use in people.

鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting,鈥� says Sinha. 鈥淲e are recreating a tissue that has all the components we see in an organ, where the cells start talking together in mysterious and wonderful ways, and they start to work together as they do in the body. Our vision is that this technology will bring hope to the millions of patients worldwide who are suffering from heart failure, and allow them to lead a normal life again.鈥�

It is almost impossible for an injured heart to fully mend itself. Within minutes of being deprived of oxygen 鈥� as happens during a heart attack when arteries to the heart are blocked 鈥� the heart鈥檚 muscle cells start to die. Sanjay聽Sinha聽wants to mend these hearts so that they work again.聽

We are recreating a tissue that has all the components we see in an organ, where the cells start talking together in mysterious and wonderful ways, and they start to work together as they do in the body.

Sanjay Sinha

探花直播District and Jonathan Settle

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Body builders: collagen scaffolds

lw355 — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 09:07:30 +0000

It may not look like much to the naked eye, but collagen is remarkably strong. 探花直播most abundant protein in the animal kingdom, it gives strength and structure to skin, tendons, ligaments, smooth muscle tissue and many other parts of the body.

Through precise manipulation at a structural level, collagen can also be used as a construction material in the laboratory or clinic to help regenerate new tissue, repair damaged cartilage and bone, or aid in the development of new therapies for cardiac disease, blood disorders and cancer.

To understand these conditions better and develop new treatments, or regenerate new tissue, researchers require models that very closely mimic the complex, three-dimensional environments found in human tissue.

As a natural material, collagen is ideal for these biomimetic applications. By shaping it into porous structures, collagen acts as a 鈥榮caffold鈥� on which cells and tissue can grow in three dimensions in predetermined forms, mimicking those found in the body.

探花直播idea of using collagen as a scaffold is not new, but the very high level of control that Cambridge researchers are able to achieve over its properties has made a huge range of clinical applications possible, including the repair of damaged joints or tissue, or accelerating the development of new therapies for cancer.

鈥淭here is an increasing need for improved materials that work with the systems in the body to regenerate healthy tissue, rather than just replacing what鈥檚 there with something synthetic,鈥� said Professor Ruth Cameron of the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, who, along with Professor Serena Best, is working with researchers from across the 探花直播 to develop the scaffolds for a range of clinical applications. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e trying to help the body to heal itself and produce what it needs in order to do that.鈥�

To build the scaffolds, the researchers begin with a solution of collagen and water and freeze it, creating ice crystals. As the collagen cannot incorporate into ice, it gathers around the edges of the crystals. When the pressure around the ice is dropped to very low levels, it converts directly from a solid to vapour, leaving the collagen structure behind. By precisely controlling how the ice crystals grow as the water freezes, the researchers are able to control the shape and properties of the resulting collagen scaffold.

By adding small groups of amino acids known as peptide sequences to the surface of the scaffold at different points, the way in which the collagen interacts with the growing cells changes, altering the potential uses for the scaffold. 探花直播peptide sequences signal certain cells to bind to the scaffold or to each other, while signalling other cells to migrate. Collectively, these signals direct the scaffold to form a certain type of tissue or have a certain type of biological response.

鈥� 探花直播scaffolds are a three-dimensional blank canvas 鈥� they can then be used in any number of different ways,鈥� said Cameron, who is funded by the European Research Council. 鈥淭hey can be used to mimic the way in which natural tissue behaves, or they can be directed to form different sized or sequenced structures.鈥�

探花直播technology has already gone from the laboratory all the way to patients, first as Chondromimetic, a product for the repair of damaged knee joints and bone defects associated with conditions such as osteoarthritis, trauma or surgery. By adding calcium and phosphate to the scaffold to mimic the structure of bone, it helps regenerate bone and cartilage. Chondromimetic has been through clinical trials and has received its CE mark, enabling its sale in Europe.

In future, the scaffolds could also see use as a treatment for cardiac disease. Working with Professor Richard Farndale from the Department of Biochemistry and Dr Sanjay Sinha from the Department of Medicine, and supported by funding from the British Heart Foundation, Best and Cameron are developing the scaffolds for use as patches to repair the heart after a heart attack.

Heart attacks occur when there is an interruption of blood to the heart, killing heart muscle. 探花直播remaining heart muscle then has to work harder to pump blood around the body, which can lead to a thickening of the heart wall and potential future heart failure.

By modifying the collagen scaffolds with the addition of peptide sequences, they could be used to grow new heart cells to 鈥榩atch鈥� over areas of dead muscle, regenerating the heart and helping it function normally. Cells could be taken directly from the patient and reprogrammed to form heart cells through stem cell techniques.

While the work is still in its early stages, the scaffolds could one day be an important tool in treating coronary heart disease, which is the UK鈥檚 biggest killer. 鈥淭hese scaffolds give cells a foothold,鈥� said Farndale, who is working with Sinha to characterise the scaffolds so that they encourage heart cells to grow. 鈥淓ventually, we hope to be able to use them, along with cells we鈥檝e taken directly from the patient, to enable the heart to heal itself following cardiac failure.鈥�

Another potentially important application for the scaffolds is in breast cancer research. By using them to grow mimics of breast tissue, the scaffolds could help accelerate the development of new therapies. Working with Professor Christine Watson in the Department of Pathology, Best and Cameron are fine-tuning the scaffolds so that they can be used to create three-dimensional models of breast tissue. If successful, this artificial breast tissue could assist with the screening of new drugs for breast cancer, reduce the number of animals used in cancer research and ultimately lead to personalised therapies.

鈥淭his is a unique culture system,鈥� said Watson. 鈥淲e are able to add different types of cells to the scaffold at different times, which no-one else can do. Better models will make our work as cancer researchers much easier, which will ultimately benefit patients.鈥�

Like breast tissue, blood platelets also require a very specific environment to grow. Dr Cedric Ghevaert of the Department of Haematology is working with Best and Cameron to use the scaffold technology to create a bone-like niche to grow bone marrow cells, or megakaryocytes, for the production of blood platelets from adult stem cells. In theory, this could be used to produce platelets as and when they are needed, without having to rely on blood donations.

鈥� 探花直播technology for culturing the cells is actually quite generic, so the range of applications it could be used for in future is quite broad,鈥� said Best. 鈥淚n terms of clinical applications, it could be used in almost any situation where you鈥檙e trying to regenerate tissue.鈥�

鈥淚n some senses, it can be used for anything,鈥� added Cameron. 鈥淎s you start to create highly organised structures made up of many different types of cells 鈥� such as the liver or pancreas 鈥� there is an ever-increasing complexity. But the potential of this technology is huge. It could make a huge difference for researchers and patients alike.鈥�

Miniature scaffolds made from collagen 鈥� the 鈥榞lue鈥� that holds our bodies together 鈥� are being used to heal damaged joints, and could be used to develop new cancer therapies or help repair the heart after a heart attack.

We are able to add different types of cells to the scaffold at different times, which no-one else can do

Christine Watson

Jennifer Ashworth

Collagen scaffold imaged using X-ray microtomography to reveal its 3D structure

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