Funding and support

2023

• British Council Going Global Partnerships grant– UK-China Institutional Partnership Exploration Fund with Shandong First Medical University China (to Keele School of Medicine), 2023-25
• Enhancing high-throughput neurophysiology research through multiwell, multielectrode array capability, Medical Research Council equipment award

2022

• Manipulating Ependymoma Oncogenic Response Using Light-Induced Engineering and Stem Cells. Vinoj George (PI), with Dr Ruman Rahman (University of Nottingham), 2022-25, The Humane Research Trust
• Establishing in vitro models for assessing neuropathological responses to neural tissue engineering interventions, 2022, British Neuropathological Society Research Grant
• Association of Clinical Pathologists intercalation award for medical intercalater, 2022
• GlycoMatrix: Engineering Tuneable Stem Cell Niches Enhanced with Glycosaminoglycan Instructive Cues. EPSRC New Horizons award with J Turnbull, (Keele), 2022

2021

• UKRI World Class Laboratories funding for microscopy, behavioral testing and surgical facility refurbishment, 2021
• North Staffordshire medical institute funding for medical student research, open timeframe

2020

• 2020 Wolfson Foundation (Royal College of Physicians) funding for Clinical Intercalated MPhil "Refining stem cell sprays for traumatic brain injuries" with Mr Niko Tzerakis, Neurosurgery Department, University Hospital of North Midlands.

2019

• Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS)/Wellcome Trust INSPIRE grant to fund medical student research till 2022 with BioNow, Birmingham and Warwick Universities
• EPSRC Healthcare Technologies Discipline Hopper Grant "A new technology platform for neuro-regeneration: Next generation electroactive bioprostheses for spinal cord injury (SCI)"
• Faculty of Natural Sciences Research Development Fund “Developing a stem cell spray for traumatic brain injury”
• Faculty of Natural Sciences Postgraduate Research Scholarship “Developing bioelectronic implants through fusion of stem cells and electroactive scaffolds”, PhD funding in collaboration with Lancaster University
• British Society for Immunology (BSI) skills development award "Does a 'stealth' nanoparticle coating limit inflammatory responses by neural immune cells?"
• Royal Society Research Grant "Developing the chick embryo as a spinal injury model for screening new therapies"
• Faculty of Natural Sciences Research Development Fund "Fusing stem cell transplant therapy with electrical stimulation for improved neural tissue repair"
• Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS)/Wellcome Trust/North Staffordshire Medical Institute (NSMI), ASPIRE medical studentship "Assessing the effects of piezoelectric substrates on neural stem cell differentiation"

2018

• Faculty of Natural Sciences Research Development Fund "Developing the chick embryo as a neural injury model for nanotherapy testing"
• EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training; PhD studentship “Developing 3D in vitro models of traumatic neurological injury for stem cell imaging”
• Wellcome Trust Biomedical Vacation Scholarship; “Does 3D hydrogel culture induce brain immune cells to adopt more in vivo-like activation states?”
• Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS)/Wellcome Trust/North Staffordshire Medical Institute (NSMI), ASPIRE medical studentships; “Developing a novel bench-top model of demyelination using organotypic slices derived from chick embryo spinal cord” AND “Does activation of the niacin receptor (Gpr109a) reduce inflammatory responses in brain immune cells?”

2017

• MRC Confidence in Concept; “Protective matrices for delivery of genetically augmented canine olfactory ensheathing cell transplants” (with Dr Nicolas Granger, Royal Veterinary College London; Prof Nicholas Jeffery, Texas A&M University; Mr Niko Tserakis, Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of North Midlands)
• EPSRC ATREUM conference; “Advancing Tissue and Regenerative Engineering in UK Medicine”, 100 delegates, Crewe Hall 3-6 April 2017
• Association of Clinical Pathologists and Wolfson Foundation (Royal College of Physicians); Clinical Intercalated MPhil “Evaluating the feasibility of using neurosurgical hydrogel materials as protective delivery systems for stem cell transplant populations” (with Mr Niko Tzerakis and Mr Jon Sen, Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of North Midlands)
• British Neuropathological Society small grant; “Investigating the feasibility of using the chick embryo as a neurological injury model for screening new nanotherapies”
• Faculty of Natural Sciences (FNS, Keele University); PhD studentship “Investigating the chick embryo as a neurological injury model for screening new nanotherapies”
• Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS)/Wellcome Trust/North Staffordshire Medical Institute (NSMI), ASPIRE medical studentships; “Assessing the utility of jellyfish derived collagen for supporting neural stem cell transplantation” AND “An ultrastructural evaluation of multicellular neuromimetic hydrogels by electron microscopy”

2016

• Daniel Turnberg Travel Fellowship (Wellcome Trust); “Developing next generation nanoparticles for neural cell therapies” secondment at the Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
• Langford Trust PhD studentship, “Developing tissue matched implantable hydrogels for delivery of olfactory ensheathing cells into sites of spinal cord injury” (lead by Dr Nicolas Granger, Bristol University)
• Natural Sciences Faculty support fund (Keele University); “An electrophysiological investigation into the properties of nano-engineered neurons propagated on ‘neuromimetic materials’” (lead by Dr Mike Evans, Keele University)
• North Staffordshire Medical Institute (NSMI), Pump-Priming Research Award; “Assessing human brain slices as ‘benchtop’ injury models” (with Dr Niko Tzerakis, Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of North Midlands)

2015

• EPSRC E-TERM Landscape Fellowship “Engineering neural bridges to promote repair in spinal cord injury”
• Comparative Clinical Science Foundation and Wolfson Foundation (Royal College of Physicians); Clinical Intercalated MPhil “Developing tissue matched implantable hydrogels for delivery of olfactory ensheathing cells into sites of spinal cord pathology in domestic dogs” (with Nicolas Granger, Bristol University)

2014

• EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Regenerative Medicine medical research studentship; “Can magnetic hyperthermia safely enhance magnetic nanoparticle labelling of neural stem cells?” AND “Using a novel multifunctional magnetic nanoparticle with a state-of-the-art 'magnetofection' device to enhance gene transfer to neural transplant cells” (with industrial partners nanoTherics Ltd.)
• EPSRC conference; “Preclinical Modelling Workshop for Regenerative Medicine”, 58 delegates, Keele Hall 27-28 Feb 2014

2012

• EPSRC 3ME Initiative: Bridging the Gaps; “Mathematical modelling of magnetic particle uptake in neural cell populations: Can we predict modes of particle handling in complex cell systems?”
• BBSRC Project Grant; “Magnetic nanoparticle mediated delivery of neurotherapeutic genes to multipotent neural stem cell transplant populations”
• EPSRC E-TERM Landscape Fellowship “Magnetically-assisted neuroengineering techniques”

2011

• EPSRC Doctoral Training Centre; PhD studentship “Strategies to enhance magnetic nanoparticle mediated delivery of therapeutic biomolecules to neural transplant populations”

2010

• EPSRC Doctoral Training Centre; PhD studentship “Development of novel tissue engineering strategies for spinal cord repair”

2009

• Royal Society UK research grant “Magnetic nanoparticle MNP mediated gene transfer to oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) derived for transplantation”

2008

• United States National Multiple Sclerosis Society Pilot Award; “Can magnetic nanoparticles be used to modulate gene expression in demyelinated areas?”
• BBSRC New Investigator Award “Development of magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) based delivery system for gene transfer to multipotent neural precursor cells (NPCs)”

2007

• School of Medicine, Keele University; PhD studentship “Applications of magnetic nanoparticles for oligodendrocyte precursor cell transplantation strategies”