Meet the scientists!

I lead a research group with interests in all aspects of hard tissue (bone, teeth) regeneration. We have projects investigating how stem cells from the dental pulp (soft middle part of the tooth) can repair decayed teeth naturally and if we can use this repair process to develop new treatments for dental decay.

Dental pulp stem cells stained with a protein marker (green). The nucleus is stained blue

We are also interested in understanding how inflammation in gum disease (periodontal disease) and rheumatoid arthritis causes damgae to bone and if we develop new ways of preventing this or treating it. Another area of our work is concerned with developing new exciting materials that are antimicrobial for use by the dentist in root canal treatment and also by the orthopaedic surgeon when treating osteomyelitis (infection in the bone). This work also crosses over with another area of interest which is bone regeneration around implants and ways to improve bone healing around an implant especially in the older patient and in patients with systemic disease (eg diabetes).

Bone cells growing on titanium. New bone can be seen as intense white spots in the centre

I am also involved in developing model systems which replace in vivo animal experiments, so that we can undertake good science ethically. This includes development of a tissue culture system which may be used to test the effects of novel therapeutic molecules, biomaterials and mechanical forces on tissue behaviour. Such models significantly reduce the number of animals used in research and refines experimental design to minimise any in vivo animal experiments that may have to be done before clinical trials.

A slice of mandible (jaw bone) grown in the lab for 21 days. A tooth is in the centre (a ring of hard dental tissue with a soft pulp where the nerves are in the middle), with the periodontal ligament around that attaching it to the bone of the mandible. This can be used to test new materials or drugs rather than use live animals

I am heavily involved with the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) who have funded some of my projects and I attend and speak at their workshops and events. I am currently funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, CLIC Sargent, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)

There is no typical day really! I take my eldest son to School several days during the week and when I arrive at work I grab a coffee, turn on the PC and wade through the emails that have arrived in my inbox overnight. I spend my time between writing about my research (papers on our results for journals and project proposals to get more funding to do more experiments) and discussing experiments and results with the researchers who I manage. Seeing new data which proves or disproves your hypothesis is the exciting part! Most days I will also have meetings within the School or University to attend as I am involved in several committees. I also teach both undergraduate and taught postgraduate courses and this is what I call the “hobby” part of the job – talking to people about science that really interests and excites you and being able to pass on that enthusiasm to your students. Answering emails is an ongoing process during the day because if I don’t reply almost immediately, I’ll forget!!!! I usually grab lunch at my desk (unless in a meeting) and spend 30mins reading the BBC website or in the summer keep a check on the cricket score. I tend to leave work between 5.30 and 6 most evenings except Monday’s when I leave just before 5 to get my eldest to take him to Beavers (scouting stuff) where I am also a Leader!. I do some work most evenings once my boys are in bed but the weekend tends to be family time and every other Saturday night I have a gig with one of my bands.

A new webcam and media software for my PC and MAC would let me create short 5 minute videocasts of my group’s work – what we do, how we do it, what the results mean (the biology) and how they can translate into clinic (new treatments). This would let me explain our work and what we are trying to do to the public in neat short films so that they not only see what we are doing but understand why we are doing it. Understanding the biology is crucial so that the public can make informed decisions and opinions and not have to rely on hype and sensationalism from one of the media. It is up to us as scientists to make that happen and short, understandable films explaining the facts (not the hype) will help. We spend public money on research, they deserve to know how its spent and why we spend it.