An interdisciplinary field where live cells provide building blocks for engineers.
Tissue engineering
provides a means for
replacing or repairing diseased or damaged organs within a patient’s body. Based on the patient’s own cells, engineered tissues may provide better alternatives to procedures such as organ transplants, reconstructive surgery or the use of mechanical devices.
To perpetuate steady development in this field, strong interdisciplinary collaboration must be maintained between clinicians, biologists, physical scientists and engineers. Professor of Tissue Engineering in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Sheffield University, Sheila MacNeil and her team have developed two distinct skin repair products particularly useful for the treatment of burn victims. As an expert in soft tissue engineering, Sheila MacNeil is also a consortium member of the Coordination Action of the Robot Companions for Citizens FET Flagship Initiative.