Dr Dimitrios Zeugolis, lecturer in Biomedical Engineering and Principal Investigator at the Network of Excellence for Functional Biomaterials (NFB) has received funding under the Health Research Awards 2011 scheme.
The award scheme funds researchers to conduct internationally competitive and innovative research, creating new knowledge of benefit to health, through investment in patient-oriented research. Supported by this award, Dr. Zeugolis, together with a team of co-applicants, will develop a functional peripheral nerve regeneration therapy.
Injuries and degenerative diseases of the nervous system constitute a bottleneck in medical and surgical practice. Failure to restore damaged nerves leads to loss of function, impaired sensation and painful neuropathies. There are approximately 300,000 new clinical cases for peripheral nerve repair in Europe annually. An effective nerve regeneration strategy would improve quality of life for patients, with enormous associated economic benefits, through the reduction on ongoing healthcare costs and the increased productivity of patients. In this particular project, the focus will be on the development of a host-specific therapy functionalised with biophysical, biochemical and biological cues. This host-specific approach will eliminate the possibility of an undesired immune response in the patient, whilst promoting functional peripheral nerve regeneration.
The NFB is a Science Foundation Ireland funded, Strategic Research Cluster (SRC) based at NUI Galway. Their research focuses on the design and fabrication of the next generation of functional biomaterials for use in translational medicine. Innovative structures with functionality for a wide variety of clinical targets are developed, to provide therapeutic solutions for a wide variety of human injuries and degenerative conditions. Since SRC funding in 2007, the NFB has continued, through the award of research funding, to expand its team and research interests. Current clinical targets include neural regeneration, cardiovascular repair, soft tissue repair and musculoskeletal regeneration
