Abstract

A disagreeable side effect of longer life-spans is the failure of one part of the body – the knees, for example – before the body as a whole is ready to surrender. The search for replacement body parts has fueled the highly interdisciplinary field of tissue engineering and
regenerative medicine.
This talk will describe Professor Stevens’ research using directed stem cell differentiation for musculoskeletal engineering and new approaches in tissue regeneration including modulation of cell behavior through
nanoscale architecture and bioactive scaffolds.
 Another example of bio-inspired engineering is the use of biomolecular assembly processes to create higher order architectures. Professor Stevens’ group has current research efforts in exploiting specific biomolecular recognition and self-assembly mechanisms to create new dynamic nano-materials, biosensors and drug delivery systems. This talk will give an overview of their recently developed peptide-functionalised nanoparticles for enzyme biosensing that have enabled the most sensitive facile enzyme detection to date and have a host of applications across diseases ranging from cancer to global health applications.


Molly Stevens is currently Professor of Biomedical Materials and Regenerative Medicine and the Research Director for Biomedical Material Sciences in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College. She joined Imperial in 2004 after a Postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT ). Prior to this she graduated from Bath University with a First Class Honours degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and was then awarded a PhD from the Laboratory of Biophysics and Surface Analysis at the University of Nottingham (2000). She has been recognised by numerous awards including the 2012 EU40 Award for top materials scientist in Europe and Technology Review’s TR100 , a compilation of the top young innovators worldwide, who are transforming technology – and the world with their work. Her group is focused on both high quality fundamental science and translation for human health in the regenerative medicine and biosensing fields.