People

Professor El Haj is Professor of Cell Engineering and has twice held the role of Director of the Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine (ISTM) at Keele University. ISTM forms part of a new Medical School established between Manchester and Keele Universities. She is involved in bringing together interdisciplinary groups within biomedicine, physical sciences and engineering interested in aspects of cell and tissue engineering. Under Prof El Haj's leadership the Research Institute was rated highly through the past 3 UK Research Assessment Exercises (RAE) and the research programme is at the clinical interface, with cell therapies in routine clinical practice for orthopaedic repair and leading MRC multi-centre funded trials. The Institute recently started a Doctoral Training Centre in Regenerative Medicine, funded by the UK Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Prof El Haj has published over a 100 publications in the area of cell and tissue engineering with an emphasis on developing stem cell therapy using novel enabling technology approaches with funding from the EPSRC, Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council, Wellcome Trust and EU Framework Programmes.

Prof. El Haj is a member of the European council for TERMIS, the UK National Stem Cell Advisory Board, the IFMBE Working Group for Cellular Engineering, and the IPEM Academic Advisory board and has recently stepped down from President of the UK Tissue and Cell engineering Society. She has been a member of the EPSRC and BBSRC Funding and Advisory Panels, the MRC College of Experts and a panel member for the RAE 2008.

Relevant background publications in 2008-9: 
1) Baas E, Kuiper JH, Yang Y, Wood MA, El Haj AJ (2009) In vitro bone growth responds to local mechanical strain in three-dimensional polymer scaffolds. J Biomech. 2009 Nov 24. [Epub ahead of print]
2) Araujo JV, Cunha-Reis C, Rada T, Alves da Silva M, Gomes M, Yang Y, Ashammakhi N, Reis RL, El Haj AJ, Neves NM. (2009) Dynamic culture of osteogenic cells in biomimetically coated poly(caprolactone) nanofibre mesh constructs. Tissue Eng Part A. 2009 Sep 3.
3) Aydin HM, El Haj AJ, Pi?kin E, Yang Y. (2009) Improving pore interconnectivity in polymeric scaffolds for tissue engineering. J Tissue Eng Regen Med. 2009 Aug;3(6):470-6.
4) Bagnaninchi PO, Yang Y, El Haj AJ, Maffulli N. (2007) Tissue engineering for tendon repair. Br J Sports Med. 2007 Aug;41(8):e10; discussion e10. Epub 2006 Oct 24. Review. 20.
5) Magra M, Hughes S, El Haj AJ, Maffulli N. (2007) VOCCs and TREK-1 ion channel expression in human tenocytes. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2007 Mar;292(3):C1053-60. Epub 2006 Oct 11