Loughborough University launches Centre for Biological Engineering
Loughborough University has launched its new Centre for Biological Engineering (CBE) as it strives to expand its research in realising the potential of regenerative medicine, cell technologies and plasma medicine to improve human health.
The Centre, a product of Loughborough University’s forward thinking approach to cross-departmental collaboration in research, was opened on October 1 by Lord Robert Winston, who is recognised as a pioneer in the field of biological engineering.
The CBE brings together expertise from the Department of Chemical Engineering, the Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering in a multi-disciplinary research centre, which bridges the fields of engineering and biology.
Major and unmet needs in healthcare represent significant and growing opportunities for the engineering community, as Government and the research councils place an increasing emphasis on translating Britain’s world-class biomedical research into clear benefits to the society.
Within the pharmaceutical and healthcare functions there is an immediate worldwide need for the development of replacement human tissue via the regenerative medicine approach and the application of stem cells. Reliable production of proteins and cells in sufficient quantities also becomes critical in order to unlock the potential value of the recently sequenced human genome. Equally, considerable opportunities are emerging to electrically manipulate the growth and death of cells and tissues as a new gateway through which to combat hospital infection and to stimulate tissue growth. These offer a new dimension to biological engineering, and are central to the CBE’s research activity. Responding to all of these areas requires teams with breadth and good facilities.
At Loughborough the creation of the CBE enables the University to develop further its strength in engineering at a direct interface with biology and medicine and become a world-leading research centre. The new facility includes a suite of Class 2 laboratories for cell and tissue growth, a bioelectrical facility, an analytical suite to service all the laboratories and a laboratory with the potential for GMP operation. There is also an open-plan writing and meeting room space for postgraduate/postdoctoral study.
Professor David Williams, Director of the Research School of Health and Life Sciences, said: “The activities within the CBE are positioned in the translational space between scientific discovery and products, processes, techniques and therapies. This is a great opportunity for our broadly-skilled multi-disciplinary teams to work in the Loughborough problem-led research tradition.”
The CBE is based at the University’s Science and Enterprise Park on Holywell Park.
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