1. science
2. engineering

ORAL PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES
Biographies are listed in order of the Programme
Session Title:
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MSK Tribology and Biomechanics (Session 1A)
MONDAY, 7TH SEPTEMBER 2015 (DAY ONE)
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Artificial joints biomechanics and biotribology
Mazen Al-Hajjar: Variations in rotational and translational surgical position can lead to
increased frictional torque in total hip replacements
Ziyun Ding: An improvement of knee load predictions using a morphologically-similar lower limb
anatomy model
Abdellatif Abdelgaied: Influence of Simulation Input Conditions on the Wear of Total Knee
Replacement
John O'Connor: Biomechanical consequences of medialising joint centre of rotation following
Total Hip Replacement (THR): A computational study
Mazen Al-Hajjar
Dr Mazen Al-Hajjar is currently a senior research fellow at the University of Leeds who leads part of
the hip replacement tribology research. He was awarded a prestigious BORS international
fellowship in 2014. He has received his Doctorate degree from the University of Leeds in 2013 in the
field of Joint replacement technology. Thesis title: "Wear of Hard-on-Hard Hip Prostheses: Influence
of Head Size, Surgical Position, Material and Function". He has published articles in peer reviewed
scientific journals and presented his research findings in over thirty national and international
meetings.
Ziyun Ding
Ziyun Ding is a research associate in the Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London.
She received her PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering in the University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK;
MEng in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and BEng in Mechanical Engineering and Automation
in the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China. Her research interests
include lower limb musculoskeletal modelling, ergonomics analysis, computer programming using
C++ and MATLAB.
Abdellatif Abdelgaied
Abdellatif Abdelgaied is a Mechanical Engineer working in the biomedical engineering sector as a
Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Leeds. He holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering
(University of Leeds, 2012), MEng (2006) and BEng (1999) in Mechanical Engineering (Helwan
University, Cairo). Design, tribology, experimental and computational simulations of medical
implants, and biomechanical evaluation of scaffolds are his areas of interest. Abdellatif works in
collaboration with DePuy Synthes UK, Invibio Ltd UK, and Tissue Regenix plc UK.
John O'Connor
Currently in the first year of a PhD (Mechanical Engineering) at Queen’s University Belfast, my
project is focused on modelling component placement in total hip replacement surgery. Initial work
has been on multibody dynamics and finite element analysis modelling. I graduated with a first class
honours B.E. in Biomedical Engineering from National University of Ireland Galway (2014) and have
previously worked as a manufacturing engineer and a project engineer. My interests are in
computational modelling, particularly musculoskeletal and cardiovascular applications.
ORAL PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES
Biographies are listed in order of the Programme
Session Title:

MSK Tribology and Biomechanics (Session 1B)
MONDAY, 7TH SEPTEMBER 2015 (DAY ONE)
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Natural joint biomechanics and biotribology
Marlene Mengoni: Investigation of the effect of including fibre orientation in the intervertebral
disc of a cervical ovine FSU in-silico model
Iain Hannah: Modelling the distribution of vertical force in multi-segment foot models
Darshan Shah: Control of a wrist joint motion simulator: a phantom study
Danielle Miles: Developing a standardized in-vitro methodology to examine the biomechanical
performance of novel nucleus replacement procedures
Marlene Mengoni
Marlene Mengoni is a Research Fellow in spine biomechanics at the institute of Medical and
Biological Engineering (University of Leeds). She is interested in microscale aspects of tissue
biomechanics with a fundamental computational engineering approach. She holds a PhD in
Computational Biomechanics from the University of Liège (Belgium) and an MSc in Physical
Engineering. Her current work examines the micromechanical aspects of the intervertebral disc and
was selected as finalist of the ESB Clinical Biomechanics award in 2014.
Iain Hannah
Iain Hannah is a Postdoctoral Research Associate working in the modelling of musculoskeletal
biomechanics at the University of Sheffield’s INSIGNEO Institute for in silico Medicine. In 2014 he
graduated from Loughborough University's Sports Technology Institute with a PhD in Mechanical
Engineering. His thesis was on the finite element modelling of the shod human footstrike and was
completed in collaboration with the adidas Innovation Team.
Darshan Shah
Darshan Shah is currently working towards his PhD in Musculoskeletal Biomechanics at Imperial
College London. Having witnessed a surgery on his grandfather’s fractured femur during his
undergraduate degree, he decided to pursue orthopaedic biomechanics and completed his Master’s
in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, where he worked on
Total Knee Arthroplasty implants. He then moved to London and gained an MSc in Bioengineering at
Imperial College, where he worked on developing a lower limb amputation implant at the Centre for
Blast Injury Studies.
Danielle Miles
Danielle graduated with a 1st class MChem with industrial experience in 2008. She stayed at Leeds
for her PhD working on self-assembling de novo peptides in physiological conditions, under the
supervision of Prof Ruth Wilcox. During her PhD Danielle won numerous prizes including the
University postgraduate researcher of the year 2010. She is now a research fellow based within the
School of Chemistry and a member of the Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering at the
University of Leeds. Her current work concerns the development of peptide hydrogels for
intervertebral disc therapies.
ORAL PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES
Biographies are listed in order of the Programme
Session Title:
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Digital Health II
Marzieh Tehrani: An Agent-Based Model of Interacting Stem Cells and Cancer Cells
Digital Health (Session 1B)
MONDAY, 7TH SEPTEMBER 2015 (DAY ONE)
Marzieh Tehrani
I am a second year postgraduate student working on a multidisciplinary PhD at the University of
Sheffield's Insigeno institute. My undergraduate degree is in biomedical engineering and was
obtained from the University of Sheffield, June 2013.
ORAL PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES
Biographies are listed in order of the Programme
Session Title:
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Regenerative Devices (Session 1A)
MONDAY, 7TH SEPTEMBER 2015 (DAY ONE)
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Regenerative Devices; Orthopaedic applications
Andrew Pattinson: Developments in processing functionally graded osteochondral cellconducting materials'
Jennifer Edwards: Effects of chemical and irradiation sterilisation plus long term storage on the
biological properties of an acellular xenogenic tendon
Anthony Herbert: An Investigation into the Biomechanical Effects of Decellularisation on Human
Bone-Patellar Tendon-Bone Grafts for Use in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Replacement
Alam Khalil-Khan: Uses of joint resident Mesenchymal Stromal Cells for articular cartilage repair
Andrew Pattinson
Dr. Andrew Pattinson is a Postdoctoral Research Assistant at the University of Bradford. He received
both his BEng (Hons) and his PhD from Bradford. Currently his research involves developing
processing routes for functionally gradient osteochondral cell-conducting materials. Dr Pattinson
has also received a PGCE at the University of Leeds and presently works part time with special
educational needs students, specialising in secondary science and mathematics.
Jennifer Edwards
I am a postdoctoral research fellow working on acellular grafts for the repair and regeneration of
ligamentous tissues, using tendons to produce and characterise acellular scaffolds, develop
decellularisation methods and investigate terminal sterilisation. I have produced grafts for proof of
concept studies, requiring aseptic dissection and processing of tissue. Characterisation includes
biochemical assays, histology and biocompatibility testing. I am keen to increase my interaction
with clinicians and clinical need, as well as engaging with the public about biomedical research.
Anthony Herbert
I have been performing research into soft tissue mechanics for approximately 8 years, primarily with
the goal of developing products for interventional regenerative medicine. I completed my doctorate
of engineering in medical devices in 2011, following which I began my current postdoctoral position
in experimental biomechanics of acellular biological scaffolds for anterior cruciate ligament
replacement. To date, this has involved conducting mechanical testing of the products and liaising
with clinicians and external test centres to develop surgical procedures for proof of concept studies.
Alam Khalil-Khan
Dr Alam Khalil-Khan is an Orthopaedic surgical trainee/Clinical Research Fellow at NIHR/University
of Leeds/Leeds Teaching Hospitals. Currently undertaking his M.D in "Uses of joint resident
Mesenchymal Stromal Cells for articular cartilage repair." Qualification: MBBS Medicine, University
Of Newcastle Upon Tyne, Medical School 2004-2009. MSc Medical Engineering & Biomechanics,
University Of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds. 2001-2002 / BSc Medical Sciences. ,University Of
Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds. 1998-2001
ORAL PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES
Biographies are listed in order of the Programme
Session Title:
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Regenerative Devices (Session 1B)
MONDAY, 7TH SEPTEMBER 2015 (DAY ONE)
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Regenerative Devices; Non-Orthopaedic applications
Samantha Wilson: Investigating the use of dextran in corneal decellularisation: how, where, and
if?
M Tarik Arafat: Wet-spun collagen triple helices as an implantable matrix for the controlled
release of antibacterial drugs
Tayyebeh Vafaee: Decellularisation of allogeneic aortic and pulmonary valves using low
concentration SDS
Andrew Aldridge: Development and characterisation of a large diameter acellular vascular
bypass graft
Samantha Wilson
Dr Samantha Wilson (Sammy) is an EPSRC E-TERM research fellow, currently based at Academic
Ophthalmology, University of Nottingham. Sammy has a PhD from Keele University in Biomedical
Engineering, specifically looking at the development & characterisation of corneal biomimetic
tissues. Her current research focuses on developing corneal decellularisation procedures to produce
matrices which may be utilised in two key areas: i) as an effective engineered construct for corneal
transplantation; ii) a more relevant model for drug & irritant testing in order to reduce / refine /
replace animal models.
M Tarik Arafat
Dr Arafat is working as a Research Fellow in Clothworkers’ Centre for Textile Materials Innovation
for Healthcare & Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Group, School of Dentistry, University of
Leeds. He is working on the stratified design and manufacture of nonwoven collagen scaffolds, and
the project is funded by MeDe Innovation of EPSRC centre for innovative manufacturing in medical
devices. In this project he is responsible to establish a working manufacturing process to fabricate
collagen and functionalized collagen filaments and design filament for medical device assembly.
Tayyebeh Vafaee
Dr.T.Vafaee, MD, PhD Research Fellow, Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, University of
Leeds, UK. Research activities: Cardiac valve tissue engineering,Translational research of Acellular
Allogeneic & Xenogeneic Cardiac Valves(University of Leeds, UK); Investigation of epidermal H2O2mediated oxidative stress in human pigmentary disorders (University of Bradford, UK );
Investigation of molecular and cellular biology of human hair pigmentation in health and disease
(University of Bradford, UK ). Worked as GP & Obstetrician / Gynecologist (internationally).
Andrew Aldridge
After finishing my undergraduate in Biochemistry and Medical Biochemistry at Leeds University I
went onto complete a Masters in Infection and Immunity. This led onto my PhD on the
immunogenicity of adult human multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). Since the
completion of this I started my first post-doctoral research position working on the development of
a large diameter vascular graft for the NHS Blood and Tissue Transplant Service. Currently I am
looking at the assessment of the recellularisation of decellularised human tissue (amnion, tendon &
bone) with adult stem/precursor cells.
ORAL PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES
Biographies are listed in order of the Programme
Session Title:
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Osteoarthritis – novel treatments
Ruth Craven: Interactions of cobalt chromium and ceramic wear particles from total hip
replacements with the cell plasma membrane
Mansour Youseffi: Development of Novel Hydrogels Based on Chitosan/Gelatin/BGlycerophosphate for Replacement and Repair of Diseased Articular Cartilage: A Dynamic
Characterization
Hazel Fermor: Development of an acellular xenogeneic osteochondral biomaterial for
cartilage repair
Osteoarthritis (Session 2A)
TUESDAY, 8TH SEPTEMBER 2015 (DAY TWO)
Ruth Craven
A final year PhD student studying the biological responses to metal and ceramic wear particles
from total hip replacements. In particular the effect of these wear particles on the cell plasma
membrane.
Mansour Youseffi
Senior lecturer in engineering materials and head of medical and healthcare technology
department at the University of Bradford.
Hazel Fermor
Dr Fermor has a BSc in biology from the University of York and a PhD from the University of
Leeds. Research for her thesis 'Engineering of natural cartilage substitution biomaterials'• has
contributed toward a patent and a number of peer reviewed publications. Dr Fermor
continues to research acellular composite biological scaffolds for musculoskeletal regenerative
medicine at Leeds. Concomitantly, she has continued to develop skills for the
commercialisation of translational research, winning Chemistry YES in 2014 and completing a
PG Cert in Professional Innovation Management.
ORAL PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES
Biographies are listed in order of the Programme
Session Title:
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Osteoarthritis – Tissue Characterisation and Tissue
Repair
Rachel Pallan: Comparison of porcine acetabulum labrum and cartilage in terms of biological
characterisation and structure
Qingen Meng: The effect of collagen fibril orientation on articular cartilage biomechanics
Alexander Bates: Reliability of lower limb three-dimensional kinematics in people with generalised
joint hypermobility
Joshua W Giles: A Novel Patient Specific Guide For Minimally Invasive Total Shoulder Arthroplasty
Rachel Pallan
Osteoarthritis (Session 2B)
I am in my final year of my PhD on the DTC Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine at
the University of Leeds. I also completed a masters in Mechanical Engineering the University
of Leeds. My work focuses on abnormal morphologies of the hip, in diseases such as
femoroacetabular impingement. I also look at the characterisation of the acetabular labrum in
both porcine and human tissue.
Qingen Meng
Dr Qingen Meng is a postdoctoral research fellow at the iMBE of the University of Leeds,
working on biomechanics and biotribology of soft tissues (cartilage and meniscus) and natural
joints (the knee). Before he started his postdoc job, he finished his PhD, which focused on
biomechanics and biotribology of artificial hip joints, at the same institute. He has published 2
book chapters, 12 journal papers and 11 conference papers in biomedical engineering. He is
an active member of two biomedical research societies: Orthopaedic Research Society and
European Society of Biomechanics.
Alexander Bates
Alex Bates is a PhD student within the department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College
London. After graduating with a Biology BSc from the University of Sheffield in 2005, Alex
consolidated his knowledge of biomechanics with a Masters degree in Biomedical Engineering
from the University of Surrey in 2012. His PhD under the supervision of Dr. Caroline Alexander
and Professor Alison McGregor is associated with investigating the kinematics and kinetics of
people with Joint Hypermobility Syndrome.
Joshua W Giles
Dr. Giles is a Research Associate in the Mechatronics in Medicine and Biomechanics labs at
Imperial College. His research, as part of a Wellcome Trust project, focuses on the design of
novel surgical techniques and instrumentation for shoulder arthroplasty. Joshua completed his
Doctorate in Biomedical Engineering (Orthopaedic Biomechanics) at the Hand & Upper Limb
Centre, Western University, London, Canada. He focused on developing in-vitro testing
systems that replicated the joint’s in-vivo environment to allow the investigation of questions
relating to orthopaedic injuries and interventions.
ORAL PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES
Biographies are listed in order of the Programme
Session Title:
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Imaging, Modelling and Devices (Session 2A)
TUESDAY, 8TH SEPTEMBER 2015 (DAY TWO)

Modelling and Devices Session
Daniel Nolte: Statistical shape modelling research toolbox (SSMRT) – simplifying the creation of
subject-specific geometries for musculoskeletal analysis
Desmond Dillon-Murphy: A Systematic Study of the Determinants of False Lumen Pressure in Type
B Aortic Dissection
Eleni Bazigou: Effect of altered blood flow on arterial permeability in immature and mature rabbits
Lei Zheng: A sensitive biosensor for electrochemical detection of microRNA based on isothermal
strand displacement polymerase reaction and electrochemical sensing technology
Sebastien Sikora: Modelling patient variation for implant design using a principal component
analysis based approach
Daniel Nolte
Daniel Nolte is currently working as researcher in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College
London, focusing on statistical shape modelling and musculoskeletal simulation. He gained experiences
with musculoskeletal simulation at his previous post as software developer with AnyBody Technology,
Denmark. Prior to this, he worked at the Scientific Computing Centre Ulm (UZWR) in Ulm University,
Germany, on interdisciplinary projects of the Institute of Numerical Mathematics and the Institute of
Orthopaedic Research and Biomechanics, Ulm.
Desmond Dillon-Murphy
Desmond Dillon-Murphy has a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from Dublin Institute of Technology,
2004, a First place MSc in Bioengineering from Trinity College Dublin, 2007 and began his PhD in Blood
Flow Modelling with a focus on aortic dissection, Kings College London in 2012 with previous
experience in software, design and construction, and the health care industry.
Eleni Bazigou
My research interests lie in the field of mechanobiology and network remodelling.
I obtained my BSc in molecular neurobiology from King's College London and my PhD in developmental
genetics from the National Institute for Medical Research. I have worked on both neuronal and vascular
remodelling (Cancer Research UK) and I am currently (Bioengineering, Imperial College London)
developing skills to further examine these processes in the arterial system by being a part of a
multidisciplinary team and using different qualitative and quantitative methods.
Lei Zheng
Professor Zheng, a doctor of medicine(M.D.) ,doctoral supervisor,who is the deputy director of the
clinical laboratory and the director of circulating biomarker test lab in Nanfang hospital. He is currently
the chairman of Guangdong Society of Laboratory Medicine (belonging to Guangdong Province Medical
Association) from 2014 to 2018 ,the academic member of Chinese Society of Laboratory Medicine, the
expert group members of clinical blood and body fluids of Chinese Society of Laboratory Medicine and
member of the standing committee in GuangDong Medical Doctor Association of Lab Medicine.
Sebastien Sikora
After studying mechanical engineering at the University of Hull and completing an MEng with
distinction at the University of Leeds, Seb returned to Leeds to complete a PhD on the computational
and experimental study of trabecular bone-cement interfaces. He remains within the iMBE, turning his
passion for problem solving to the use of principle component analysis based techniques to aid in the
modelling of patient variation for implant design and more recently the development of experimental
testing methodologies for the evaluation of peptide hybrid hydrogels for intervertebral disc therapies.
ORAL PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES
Biographies are listed in order of the Programme
Session Title:
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
Imaging, Modelling and Devices (Session 2B)
TUESDAY, 8TH SEPTEMBER 2015 (DAY TWO)
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
Imaging Session
Junaid Muhammad: Compressed Sensing (CS) Image Reconstruction using TV and Wavelet
Constraints
Megan Rutherford: Impact of pelvic position on acetabular orientation
Rashed Karim: An MR compatible robot-assisted ablation catheter with steering based on
imaging, tension and contact-force
Samuel Vennin: From aortic flow velocity to central pressure: a non-invasive proof of concept
Ana Mercedes Campos Marin: u-Particle image velocimetry and computational fluid dynamics
study of cell seeding within a 3D porous scaffold
Junaid Muhammad
I am interested in Medical Imaging, MRI, Compressed Sensing, Mathematics, physics and NonCartesian Imaging etc. I enjoy the challenge of using scientific and mathematical (inverse problem)
ideas when solving everyday problems. While attending the University, I have enjoyed many
opportunities to learn about the computers and programming. Hands-on experiences in the lab, and
lectures from leading researchers engaged my mind and captured my interest. I'm now working as a
C++ Developer in Concurrent Systems, Pakistan. I'm formal student of COMSATS Institute of IT,
Pakistan.
Megan Rutherford
I am a second year PhD student at Queens University Belfast within the school of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering.
Rashed Karim
Rashed Karim completed a PhD in image processing algorithms from Imperial College London. He
currently develops image processing algorithms with applications ranging from tissue detection to
computer-assisted surgery. He is a research fellow at King's College London and an honorary lecturer
at Imperial College London.
Samuel Vennin
After electrical engineering studies in France, I obtained a MSc degree in Bioengineering at Imperial
College London. My master thesis was investigating a new technique to palpate tissues using
microbubbles and ultrasound. Now at King's College London British Heart Foundation Centre, I am
pursuing a PhD in cardiovascular medicine. My aim is to develop a non-invasive method to obtain
the left ventricular pressure.
Ana Mercedes Campos Marin
I hold a Mechanical Engineering degree (5 years degree) and currently I am a third year PhD student
in INSIGNEO in the Mechanical Engineering Department under the supervision of Prof. Damien
Lacroix. My work focuses on the development of a computational model able to predict cell seeding
efficiency in 3D scaffolds during in vitro experiments. For this model, well characterized data was
required and for that I spent 5 months in Politecnico di Milano (Italy) under the supervision of
Prof.Gabriele Dubini funded by Mobility Award for Young researchers (European Society of
Biomechanics).
ORAL PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES
Biographies are listed in order of the Programme
Session Title:
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Medical and Bioengineering (Session 2A)
TUESDAY, 8TH SEPTEMBER 2015 (DAY TWO)
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Medical and Bioengineering 1
Eirini Velliou: On the quantification of the role of environmental stress on the response of
leukaemic cells to chemotherapy in a 3D ex vivo bone marrow mimicry
Ayesha Bint-E-Siddiq: Mechanical Characterisation and Computational Modelling of Spinal
Ligaments
Yiorgos Kanellos: Design of medical device technology for the production and evaluation of
patient specific materials for use in orthoplastic surgery
Oscar O'Dwyer Lancaster-Jones: Variations in hip implant surgical positioning can affect the
level of dynamic microseparation, edge-loading occurrence and severity of wear
Eirini Velliou
Dr. Eirini Velliou is a Lecturer at the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering of the
University of Surrey, UK. Her research interests fall within understanding the impact of
environmental stress on the response, resistance and metabolic activity of biological systems, i.e.,
human cancerous, microbial and micro-algae cells. The last years she has been studying the impact
of oxidative and nutrient stress on the resistance of cancerous (leukaemic and more recently
pancreatic) cells to treatment (chemotherapy, radiotherapy) in 3D systems that mimic in vitro the in
vivo microenvironment.
Ayesha Bint-E-Siddiq
I am a PhD researcher at the Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (IMBE), University of
Leeds. My research involves characterizing the mechanical properties of spinal ligaments and
establishing a methodology for specimen specific modelling of ligaments. I hold a MEng in Medical
Engineering from Queen Mary, University of London. Outside of work, I actively engage in outreach
activities; and as an associate member of the IMechE, I am the Honorary secretary for North
Yorkshire young members committee, working towards getting chartered.
Yiorgos Kanellos
Yiorgos Kanellos is a final year EngD student at the University of Strathclyde.
Oscar O'Dwyer Lancaster-Jones
Oscar O’Dwyer Lancaster-Jones is currently a PhD student at the University of Leeds. His research
activity involve understanding the effect of variations in surgical positioning of total hip joint
replacements on their functional performance and their effect on the wear. Oscar’s current research
is contributing to the stratified approach for enhanced reliability (SAFER) for preclinical testing of
joint replacement. His background is in Mechanical Engineering and has completed a Masters in
Medical Engineering at Queen Mary University of London.
ORAL PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES
Biographies are listed in order of the Programme
Session Title:
Medical and Bioengineering (Session 2B)
TUESDAY, 8TH SEPTEMBER 2015 (DAY TWO)
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Medical and Bioengineering 2
Eric Kerfoot: Software framework for cardiac motion tracking using tagged MRI
Ye Li: Do backward pressure waves arise from reflections or from a reservoir?
Kok Yean Chooi: Smooth muscle tone-dependent hydraulic conductance of aortic media
Zahra Mohri: Haemodynamic wall shear stress, wall permeability and lesion frequency in the
mouse aortic arch-role of PECAM-1
Eric Kerfoot
Eric Kerfoot graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 2005 with a HBSc in Computer
Science and received his DPhil in computing from the University of Oxford in 2010. His current
research includes biomedical data visualization, image processing and analysis. Lauren Fovargue
received her BSc in Mathematics from the University of Central Florida in 2007 and in 2012
completed her PhD at the University of North Carolina in Applied Mathematics. Currently her
research is on patient-specific electro-mechanical modelling and simulation for clinically focused
workflows.
Ye Li
I am a postdoctoral research associate working in Clinical Pharmacology, King's College London.
My research interests are mainly focused on using numerical modelling and physiological
measurements to characterise the cardiovascular haemodynamics, e.g. pulse wave velocity,
central blood pressure, ventricular-arterial coupling, which might give useful explanation and
prediction of cardiovascular diseases.
Kok Yean Chooi
Yean Chooi gained his degree in Biomedical Engineering (MEng, 1st class) in 2011 from Imperial
College London. In 2011, he was awarded a studentship on the MRes/PhD program in the BHF
Centre of Research Excellence at Imperial College, conducting his MRes research in the
laboratories of Profs Peter Weinberg, Molly Stevens and Michael Schneider. His current research,
as a PhD student in the groups of Profs Peter Weinberg and Spencer Sherwin, investigates the
roles of mass transport mechanisms in the arterial wall using a combination of experimental
techniques and numerical simulations.
Zahra Mohri
Zahra obtained her PhD in Biochemistry from Royal Free Hospital before joining the institute of
Cancer Research as a Postdoctoral Fellow in 2005 working on glioblastoma therapy with Paul
Workman. In 2008, Zahra joined Peter Weinberg’s team in Imperial College London as a Research
Associate, studying the effect of permeability and flow in the development of vulnerable plaques.
She is currently investigating the proposal that endothelial cells have a “comfort zone” for
mechanical stresses and that they express a pro-atherogenic phenotype when exposed to stresses
outside this zone.
ORAL PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES
Biographies are listed in order of the Programme
Session Title:
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The Delivery of Regenerative Medicine (Session 2A)
TUESDAY, 8TH SEPTEMBER 2015 (DAY TWO)
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Cells and Scaffolds
Maryam Shariatzadeh: Effect of Mechanical Stimulation on Osteogenic differentiation of SelfAssembled Collagen-Cell Seeded scaffolds
Robert Owen: PolyHIPE Scaffolds with Tunable Mechanical Properties
Peter Iddon: Translation of EktoTherix™, a synthetic acellular scaffold for wound regeneration:
learning by doing
Maryam Shariatzadeh
Maryam Shariatzadeh is a final year PhD student in department of Mechanical Engineering at
University of Sheffield. Maryam completed her Master of Science in Biotechnology in chemical and
analytical sciences department at University of Manchester and her PharmD doctorate degree at
Tehran medical sciences university. Maryam research interests lies in the area of molecular
/cellular biology and bio engineering with the main focus on designing natural based Biomaterial
employed in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
Robert Owen
Robert Owen is a PhD student within the INSIGNEO Institute for in silico Medicine at the University
of Sheffield. Having received a Master's degree in Biomaterial Science and Tissue Engineering in
2014, Robert continued his research under the supervision of Dr. Gwendolen C Reilly, Prof. Damien
Lacroix, and Prof. Ilaria Bellantuono. His focus is on applying the principles of bone tissue
engineering to developing an in vitro model of osteoporosis.
Peter Iddon
Dr Peter Iddon's expertise is in the area of polymer chemistry. Prior to joining Neotherix, Peter
worked as a Biomaterials Specialist for Smith & Nephew where he was involved in the
development of the electrospinning process used for Neotherix scaffolds. He has held positions
with ICI and P&G and is an inventor on 4 patent applications.
ORAL PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES
Biographies are listed in order of the Programme
Session Title:
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The Delivery of Regenerative Medicine (Session 2B)
TUESDAY, 8TH SEPTEMBER 2015 (DAY TWO)
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Processing and Delivery of Cell-based Therapies
Shiraz Ziya: Using process engineering maps in the clinic to better understand an autologous
cell-based therapy
Elizabeth Stoll: Advances toward regenerative medicine in the central nervous system:
challenges in making stem cell therapy a viable clinical strategy
Alex Lyness: Overcoming the translational challenges of the effective administration and
delivery of cell-based therapies
Shiraz Ziya
Shiraz is a PhD student at RJAH Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (Keele University), part
of the EPSRC Doctoral Training Centre in Regenerative Medicine. He has a degree in Biochemistry
from University of York and a Master's in Translational Medicine from University of Manchester.
He has industrial experience, including a placement year with GlaxoSmithKline, as well as a
technical support role at UK Biobank. These have developed his interest in the manufacturing,
commercialisation and delivery of cell-based therapies, with a focus on improving the clinical
pathway.
Elizabeth Stoll
Elizabeth Stoll was born in Chicago, USA. She completed her doctoral studies in Neurobiology &
Behaviour at the University of Washington in Seattle, USA, under the supervision of Dr Philip
Horner and Dr Robert Rostomily. She moved to the U.K. to undertake post-doctoral research in the
laboratory of Professor Doug Turnbull at Newcastle University. She currently studies the regulation
of neural stem cell activity, particularly during ageing and oncogenic transformation.
Alex Lyness
Dr Alex Lyness BEng MSc PhD has been working at the academic-industry interface for 7 years;
since graduating his research has been sponsored by big and small pharma, and start-ups. His PhD
was in needle-free drug delivery and gained whilst working for Glide Pharma, Oxford. Alex now
holds an Enterprise Fellowship at Loughborough University; his work is focused on developing and
commercialising novel delivery devices for cellular therapies.