Project Title: Extracellular Vesicle Functionalised Melt Electrowritten Materials for Bone Defect Repair
Project Description: Every 3 seconds a person suffers an osteoporosis-related bone fracture, resulting in significant morbidity, mortality, and health-care costs. Osteoporosis arises when there is an imbalance between resorption and formation resulting in net bone loss. Current therapeutics are limited in efficacy and by side-effects. A potent regulator of bone formation and repair is physical loading. Bone cells sense mechanical stimuli and subsequently coordinate net bone gain by secreting multitargeted paracrine factors. Recent findings by our group indicates that these factors are delivered via extracellular vesicles (EV), which are membrane bound cargoes that facilitate cell-cell communication. Therefore, this research aims to develop a novel EV based multitargeted therapy that mimics the beneficial effects of physical exercise, by inhibiting osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption, while also enhancing angiogenesis, osteogenesis and bone formation. The identification of EVs and associated components as central to loading-induced bone anabolism will lead to the direct manipulation of multiple cell types via mechanically activated EV based therapeutics. These therapeutics would therefore be used as a novel multitargeted strategy to treat osteoporosis. Furthermore, these EVs will be incorporated into melt electrowritten materials, generating innovative mechanobiomimetic materials for bone regeneration.
For more information, please contact Prof. David Hoey (
[email protected])
Applicant criteria: The ideal applicant will have a PhD in biomedical engineering, biomaterials, extracellular vesicles, or a related discipline. Previous experience in biomaterials, melt-electrowriting, small animal bone defect models and histology techniques would be highly advantageous. Excellent written and oral communication skills are essential. An excellent publication record and/or development of intellectual property would also be advantageous.
How to apply: CVs with the names and addresses of three referees should be submitted via email to Prof. David Hoey
[email protected] with the subject heading “Postdoctoral Researcher in Bone Repair”. Positions will remain opened until filled but preferred start date is January 2023. Only short-listed applications will be acknowledged.
The Hoey lab: This position will be based with the Hoey Lab (
www.hoeylab.com) within the Trinity Centre for Biomedical Engineering (TCBE,
https://www.tcd.ie/biomedicalengineering/) and the Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research Centre (AMBER,
http://ambercentre.ie/). Prof. Hoey is an Associate Professor in the School of Engineering at Trinity College Dublin (TCD). He is also Director of the Discipline of Biomedical Engineering and was elected Fellow of TCD in 2021. He leads a multidisciplinary research group focusing on musculoskeletal mechanobiology, mechanotransduction, and materials for regeneration in which he has pioneered research on the mechanisms of mechanotransduction involved in bone mechanoadaptation, particularly in the area of the primary cilium. This fundamental research has inspired novel mechanotherapeutics, extracellular vesicle-based therapies, and biomaterials fabricated via Melt Electrowriting that mimic the beneficial effect of biophysical stimuli to treat bone defects and orthopaedic diseases such as osteoporosis. He is also PI on several commercial projects developing novel biomaterials for musculoskeletal and vascular repair. More details can be found at
http://www.hoeylab.com
