Development of bio-inspired materials for bone repair

4-year fully-funded PhD Research Position

Development of bio-inspired materials for bone repair

Project Abstract. While considerable efforts have and are being made to engineer bone-mimetic, hydroxyapatite–collagen composite materials, to date no fabrication method enables the preparation of scalable materials that replicate the intricate complexity of bone tissue. Advanced collagen processing techniques now allow for preparing collagen-based scaffolds with tailored architectural designs at the macro and micro levels using native, cross-linker free collagen. These advanced collagen-based scaffolds offer a previously unexplored perspective to engineer functional bone-mimetic materials for bone repair and regeneration, should they be mineralized to the same extent and in the same manner as human bone. The successful candidate will develop an innovative mineralization strategy to fabricate bone-mimetic materials with sizes, degrees of mineralization and biomimetic traits that have not been achieved thus far. Finally, preclinical studies will be conducted to test the hypothesis that the unique biomimetic architectural designs of the resulting bone-mimetic materials enhance their bone regeneration potential.

The position. The successful candidate will be enrolled in the Structured PhD Programme in the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences at University of Galway. The programme is fully funded and covers registration fees up to the EU fee level, a tax-free stipend of €22,000 per annum (paid monthly). The programme also offers training modules including advanced discipline-specific modules and generic/transferrable/professional skills modules.

Funding category: Contrat doctoral

PHD title: Doctorat de Chimie
PHD Country: Irlande