NanoBOOST · Nano Engineered Injectable Biomaterials for Osteoporotic Bone Treatment
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2022-01-01 → 2023-12-31
- EU contribution
- €184,591
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Nano Engineered Injectable Biomaterials for Osteoporotic Bone Treatment
My aim for this MSCA Individual Fellowship, is to tackle a devastating clinical orthopaedic challenge for which there is currently no reparative treatment. Specifically osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVFs), a serious complication of the most common metabolic bone disease associated with advancing age, by developing an advanced biomaterial technology to repair & restore structural integrity and function of disease damaged bone. My research goal is to develop a therapeutic injectable biomaterial technology that will for the first time, combine mechanically robust nano-silicates with antioxidant-ion substituted nano-particles, to target impaired bone remodelling and drive regeneration in a disease compromised load-bearing environment. My long term career goal is to establish and lead an independent research group that focuses on minimally invasive therapeutic biomaterial research, in a prestigious research performing organisation. The proposed multidisciplinary project will be carried out under the guidance of Dr. Ciara Murphy, an expert in bone regenerative biomaterials, and PI in the Tissue Engineering Research Group (TERG) at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), which is a leading partner in the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) funded Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research Centre (AMBER) in Ireland. I joined Dr. Murphy’s group in TERG and AMBER in January 2020 as a Government of Ireland (GOI) Post-Doctoral Fellow, developing a novel injectable thermoresponsive scaffold for osteoporotic bone repair. As part of the training objective of this proposal, my proposed secondment to Prof. Aldo Boccaccini’s group in Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) will provide expertise in antioxidant mesoporous bioglass nano-particles. This prestigious fellowship will provide the unique opportunity to advance and develop my research ideas from my GOI project, to mature as an independent scientist and establish a research niche in regenerative biomaterial research and development. Further to the technical expertise I will acquire, I will gain complimentary skills in project management, dissemination, leadership and networking, equipping me with the skills needed as a young ambitious postdoctoral fellow to embark on an independent research career.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
My aim as an MSCA Individual Fellow is to tackle a devastating clinical orthopaedic challenge for which there is currently no reparative treatment, specifically osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVFs), by developing an advanced biomaterial technology to restore structural integrity and function of disease-damaged bone. The scientific goal of this proposal is to develop a novel therapeutic injectable nanomaterial technology for OVFs repair. This will be achieved through an innovative research project that aims to implement a transformative strategy utilising antioxidant-ion substituted nano-particles (a-NPs) to target disease impaired osteoblast function and drive bone regeneration. In addition, an innovative biomaterial strategy will be employed, combining mechanically robust nano-silicates with a bioresorbable collagen matrix for local controlled release of therapeutic a-NPs, as a pioneering advance for OVFs treatment. As an ambitious postdoctoral fellow, the training objective of this fellowship is to attain the requisite scientific and complementary skills to successfully achieve my long-term goal of establishing an independent research programme that will contribute to Europe’s research & innovation capacity and reputation. This will be achieved through the expert supervision and input of Dr Ciara Murphy (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland –RCSI), her colleagues in RCSI and collaborative research centre AMBER, and through research secondment with Prof Boccaccini (Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg). In addition, by managing the project, I will further develop skills relating to planning and reporting, financial management and dissemination. I will also avail of opportunities to supervise students in related projects. In summary, this Fellowship will provide invaluable help to establish an independent research niche in regenerative biomaterial development, while equipping me with the skills needed to embark on my independent research career.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS IN IRELAND · DUBLIN 2CoordinatorIreland
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union