We were test printing into 24 well plates today, and making slight tweaks to optimise the extrusion pressure, printing speed, the supporting bath parameters and the thickness of the printed lines.
The panels on the left show how much we improved over the course of one day. Support bath is dyed red, the ink is in blue.
Top row – first attempt, fresh after print (left panel) and the lines 10 minutes after the print (right panel) showing considerable swelling.
Bottom row – printing a nice line after optimization. Left panel image taken straight after the print, right panel image taken after 10 minutes.
Not bad for a first print!
We will now work on optimising the hydrogels further before printing with living cells next month. Watch this space!
On Monday the 22nd of June we participated in the NAMs (New Approach Methodologies) Network meeting organised by the NC3Rs. Kasia presented an update on our BBSCR/NC3Rs Business Interaction Voucher project and participated in a debate panel discussing hurdles that NAMs face when it comes to uptake and commercialisation of their innovations. It was a really interesting meeting and a great network to discuss our ideas and seek new collaborations!
Great day in the Pirog lab, our bioprinter arrived today!
Part of the NC3Rs/BBSRC Business Interaction Voucher Award, the printer will help us create a novel zonally stratified model of cartilage, in partnership with Copner Biotech.
Çağla was representing the lab at Termis EU in Palma Mallorca this week, chairing a session on “Advances in Ocular Tissue Engineering” and presenting a poster of her work.
Well done Çağla!
The conference programme looks great, we are looking forward to the de-brief on your return.
With a budget of €399.05 million, the European Commission will support nearly 1,600 researchers to acquire new skills, develop their careers, and gain international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral experience by working in another country.
There are two types of fellowships:
European Fellowships – open to researchers of any nationality to carry out a personalised project in the EU or countries associated to Horizon Europe for up to 24 months
Global Fellowships – open to EU and Horizon Europe associated countries nationals or long-term residents wishing to work with organisations in third countries for a period of 12 to 24 months, before returning to Europe for 12 months
Deadline for applications is 9 September 2026, 17:00 CEST.
Postdoctoral Fellowships offer researchers holding a PhD the opportunity to acquire new skills through advanced training and international, interdisciplinary, and inter-sectoral mobility.
If cartilage is your jam, come to the North of England and work with us, we are happy to host you!
As part of the installation visit, Copner Biotech will deliver a seminar explaining their technology and potential applications. Everyone is welcome to attend.
The Biofabrication Seminar will be held next Thursday, 23rd April, 1-2 pm, in the Lecture Theatre, Ground Floor, West Wing, Centre for Life.
Established in 2020, Copner Biotech is a bioprinting biotechnology company with its focus on 3D cell culture and associated technologies. In April 2026, they will be installing their pioneering 4D Grape bioprinting system at the Centre for Life. The printer will be on loan to Newcastle University for one year as part of the NC3Rs/BBSRC Business Interaction Voucher award, awarded to Dr Katarzyna Pirog in collaboration with Dr Ana Ferreria-Duarte, Dr James Henstock (Northumbria University) and Copner Biotech. Combining expertise in biosciences, engineering, and advanced materials the team will use Copner Biotech advanced technology to generate cartilage-like structures for investigating the biological mechanisms involved in cartilage development, ageing and disease. NC3Rs/BBSRC Business Interaction Voucher is an initiative to foster academic-industry partnerships enhancing the 3Rs (Replace, Reduce, Refine). This seminar outlines the advantages and technological leaps that the 4D Grape system offers for bioprinting of living tissue models. During its residency at CfL the printer will be made available to other research groups to use provided they purchase project related consumables.
While Cagla and Kasia were representing the lab at the British Society for Matrix Biology (BSMB) in Manchester, Roufaida got a chance to present her work at the German Society for Matrix Biology (DGMB) meeting in Heidelberg, where our CHANGE DCs also organised a satellite conference as part of the meeting. Well done!
Research Assistant/Associate in Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering
We’re hiring a Biomaterials researcher! The PRISM project at Newcastle University is recruiting a Research Assistant/Associate in Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering, and we’d love to reach strong candidates through the community. This is an opportunity to work at the interface of biomaterials, regenerative engineering, and translational science within a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment.
We’re looking for someone with solid expertise in biomaterials and materials science, particularly: • Electroactive, naturally derived biomaterials (e.g. collagen or peptide-based systems) • Biomaterial chemistry and functionalisation • Nanoparticle/material fabrication and biological evaluation • AFM and multimodal characterisation
Experience in biomaterials–immune interactions or cartilage tissue engineering is desirable.
