The Dubrowsky Regenerative Medicine Laboratory Update: Upcoming projects as of June 2021

In conjunction with Aston University there are three PhD projects currently appointed to use the laboratory.

Project 2: The generation of a biological glue for bone regenerative medicine.

Osteoarthritis is where an inflammatory and deteriorating process occurs inside a joint leading to the loss of cartilage, exposure of the underlying bone and intense pain for the patient. This loss of cartilage means that the patients present with pain, stiffness and loss of function. Patients with osteoarthritis require long term medical and surgical therapy in the form of medication, physiotherapy and eventually surgery (often seen as total joint replacement).

Early in the osteoarthritic process, fissuring (tearing) and delamination (breakdown) of the cartilage is seen and this is a precursor to a more aggressive loss of joint cartilage.

The aim of this research project is to develop a biological glue that could be used to seal early fissures and defects in the intra-articular cartilage, in a similar fashion to the mending of pot holes in a road and preventing the replacement of the entire road surface.

The laboratory will be used to develop the glue and test its efficacy, using tissues donated from patients having surgery at the ROH, under the ethics of the Research Tissue Bank.

This project is being funded by:

1. The Dubrowsky legacy in a pump priming capacity (£10,000 per year for 3 years)
2. Aston University