Engineering Fellowships for Growth: Building advanced materials to treat vision loss

Innovations in biomaterials science and engineering have the potential to make a significant contribution to the development of treatments for ophthalmic diseases and thus to reduce the burden of vision loss on the global community. Underpinning these developments is the design and production of advanced materials with key features that drive the biological response required to overcome the destructive nature of the disease. To achieve these outcomes there is an urgent need for engineers, scientists and clinicians to combine their knowledge and expertise to address the eye healthcare problems of the 21st century especially with an ageing population. Four key areas will be developed within this Fellowship:
1) The design and development of novel materials for contact lenses using environmentally friendly manufacturing processes; overcoming problems associated with silicone-based hydrogels and permitting modification to incorporate bioactive molecules for wound healing and antimicrobial agent delivery combating corneal infection,
2) The design of advanced gels to replace damaged corneas; overcoming current problems associated with biological materials such as collagen or amniotic membrane with the potential for greater control, reduced immunogenicity and thus more rapid product translation to the clinic,
3) The development of functionalised surfaces for conjunctival cell transplantation using novel atmospheric pin plasmas for spatially resolved surface modification without requiring high vacuum manufacturing,
4) The development of controlled substrates for cell expansion using surfaces designed to model the extracellular environment promoting expansion under well-defined GMP conditions to allow a more rapid translation of these cells in therapeutic applications.
This fellowship will allow me to use my expertise to develop advanced materials for ophthalmic applications and to co-ordinate the efforts of a number of academics into a major hub of activity and allow me to provide the expertise in the design of novel substrates to take forward advanced cell therapies for eye disease being developed by several groups both within the UK and internationally. Bringing together expertise in advanced materials with these groups will produce world leading research output with the potential for industrial exploitation and clinical translation capable of making a substantial impact on the UK economy and healthcare. This fellowship will allow me to exploit my leadership role within the University to build on the existing cross-faculty collaborations already established and through my mentoring roles to develop the next generation of academics to fulfil future leadership positions and ensure continuation of the strength of ophthalmic bioengineering at the University. It fits with the University's strategic priorities, and will enhance 'Materials for the Future' which is one of our 7 Institutional research themes. My existing collaborations with industry will provide a basis for further exploitation of new technologies into the commercial sector and my strong collaboration with clinicians at St Paul's Eye Unit, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, will allow me to reach out to the clinical ophthalmic community. I will exploit my existing international reputation to strengthen the position of Liverpool and the UK as a focus for leading world class research with impact in ophthalmic biomaterials and engineering.
For an individual the loss of sight is estimated to have a financial impact of £20k pa. For the UK economy the annual cost is around £6.5 billion in terms of direct healthcare costs and indirect costs such as unpaid carers and loss of employment. Emotionally the loss of vision can be devastating to the individual. This established career fellowship will provide the platform from which to build a centre of excellence in ophthalmic bioengineering with the capability to make a substantial contribution to addressing these problems.

Academic: The fellowship will have a large impact on the core team to be developed from this project. I shall gain the opportunity to bring together the expertise from across the University to make a significant progress in the development of advanced materials for overcoming vision loss. The replacement lecturer and the PDRAs will benefit from the cross-disciplinary expertise available and being able to build their research expertise. This will have a major impact on their careers and should lead to future leadership roles. The progress made by the core team and the wider input from cross-disciplinary groups in the University will have a significant impact on the ophthalmic biomaterials community in the UK and internationally in terms of advancing the knowledge and understanding.
Commercially: There is potential for this project to have an impact on the two SMEs with direct input into this project. The development of the gels into contact lens would be a new product stream for SpheriTech Ltd and could feed into developments of their wound dressing products. The development of collaboration between SpheriTech and UltraVision could help to establish a route to exploitation and sales. The cell culture substrates developed with Biomer Technology Ltd could provide a new extension of their current product base. The development of the expertise of the core team over the life time of the project could lead to other outputs with the potential of impact through commercialisation. We will make use of contact with the KTNs to explore these potential outcomes. The potential to protect any intellectual property from this project will be kept under review for future commercial exploitation via the University's Business Gateway department.
Clinical Ophthalmology: Right from the start of the project we will engage with clinical colleagues and this will have a significant impact in terms of increasing their understanding on how materials and surfaces can influence the cellular response and thus how to use this to address their clinical problems. Their input will benefit the whole project and through this approach there is potential to have an impact on future research and on patient care in the longer term. Visual impairment in the UK is a major societal challenge in the face of an already over-burdened healthcare system and is also a serious financial drain on the economy. The financial impact for the individual is estimated to be £20,000 per patient registered blind per year. According to the RNIB the annual cost of sight loss to the UK economy is at least £6.5 billion made up of direct health care costs, such as eye clinics, prescriptions and operations of £2.14 billion and £4.34 billion in indirect costs, such as unpaid carer costs and reduced employment rates. This proposal has the potential to reduce these burdens and increase both the quality of life for patients and lead to significant cost savings across health care providers in the long term.
NC3Rs: A significant impact could be generated from the use of the tissue equivalent gels as an in vitro model of the cornea. All academics working on potential new drug/consumer product need to evaluate them using rigorous toxicity/safety testing before approval. The cornea demonstrates particular sensitivity to numerous irritants but unfortunately, corneal tissue complexity makes ocular drug development and substance validation particularly challenging. Recent European directives (2010/63/EU) prohibit laboratory animal use for cosmetic and toxicity testing, so development of an alternative is therefore crucial, particularly for future ophthalmic drug development. Currently, no reliable and validated human in vitro corneal substitute exists, creating a unique opportunity relevant to the biotechnology, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, for a biomimetic human cornea to become the new standardised and reliable in vitro testing platform.