EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Advanced Biomedical Materials

生物医学材料在过去的50年里取得了巨大的进步。从历史上看，它们被认为是构成简单装置的基础材料，例如髋关节或具有主要组织界面的伤口敷料。然而，生物医学材料已经发展到现在包括智能和响应材料的发展。因此，这些材料提供关于其不断变化的生理环境的反馈，并能够相应地响应和适应一系列医疗保健应用。支撑这一快速发展的两个主要领域是生物医学材料制造及其特性的进步。由新型生物医学材料产生的医疗产品和开发它们的战略对英国和爱尔兰非常重要。正如最近的政府白皮书和展望报告所指出的那样，人们普遍认识到，我们的人口正在迅速增长和老龄化，需要更有效、更经济的医疗干预措施。这与世界生物材料市场的证据直接相关，估计为700亿美元（2016年），预计到2021年将以16%的复合年增长率增长到1490亿美元。为了满足这一需求，预计未来十年生物医学材料工程职业将增加63%。因此，国家需要一个CDT来培训一个跨学科的学生群体，并为他们提供一套全面的技能，以便他们能够在这个迅速发展的领域中竞争。除了培训高技能的劳动力外，临床和工业主导的研究将侧重于开发和翻译智能和反应灵敏的生物材料，特别注重更高的吞吐量，更高的制造和表征的可重复性。因此，我们提出了先进生物医学材料的CDT，以满足曼彻斯特大学、谢菲尔德大学和爱尔兰共和国医疗器械研究中心（CÚRAM）的需求。我们在生物材料创新、翻译和工业参与方面的综合实力和记录使英国和ROI的需求与资源、技能、工业合作和队列培训保持一致。由曼彻斯特大学及其合作伙伴谢菲尔德大学领导的英国亨利·罗伊斯研究所投资2.35亿英镑，作为生物医学材料轴的战略支撑。为了确定关键的主题需求领域，申请人在2016年和2017年期间与200名利益相关者一起领导了全国Royce范围界定研讨会。代表来自临床医生、工业界和学术界，并制定了国家景观战略。由此，我们确定了生物电子学、纤维技术、增材制造和改进的临床前表征的优先研究领域。此外，还强调了提高生产规模和可重复性的必要性。因此，该CDT将侧重于这些特定领域，培训将提供一个紧密联系的多学科生物医学材料工程师队列，以满足这些需求。所有项目都将有临床、监管和行业参与，这将使我们建立良好的临床试验单位能够轻松转化，并将研究与“下放曼彻斯特”带来的机会相结合，因为大曼彻斯特现在控制着长期的健康和社会保健支出，准备在2016/17年全面下放约60亿英镑的预算，这将持续到CDT的生命周期。

Biomedical Materials have advanced dramatically over the last 50 years. Historically, they were considered as materials that formed the basis of a simple device, e.g. a hip joint or a wound dressing with a predominant tissue interface. However, biomedical materials have grown to now include the development of smart and responsive materials. Accordingly, such materials provide feedback regarding their changing physiological environment and are able to respond and adapt accordingly, for a range of healthcare applications. Two major areas underpinning this rapid development are advances in biomedical materials manufacture and their characterisation. Medical products arising from novel biomedical materials and the strategies to develop them are of great importance to the UK and Ireland. It is widely recognised that we have a rapidly growing and ageing population, with demand for more effective but also cost effective healthcare interventions, as identified in recent government White Paper and Foresight reports. This links directly to evidence of the world biomaterials market, estimated to be USD 70 billion (2016) and expected to grow to USD 149 billion by 2021 at a CAGR of 16%. To meet this demand an increase of 63% in biomedical materials engineering careers over the next decade is predicted. There is therefore a national need for a CDT to train an interdisciplinary cohort of students and provide them with a comprehensive set of skills so that they can compete in this rapidly growing field. In addition to the training of a highly skilled workforce, clinically and industrially led research will be performed that focuses on developing and translating smart and responsive biomaterials with a particular focus on higher throughput, greater reproducibility of manufacture and characterisation. We therefore propose a CDT in Advanced Biomedical Materials to address the need across The Universities of Manchester, Sheffield and The Centre for Research in Medical Devices (CÚRAM), Republic of Ireland (ROI). Our combined strength and track record in biomaterials innovation, translation and industrial engagement aligns the UK and ROI need with resource, skills, industrial collaboration and cohort training. This is underpinned strategically by the Biomedical Materials axis of the UK's £235 million investment of the Henry Royce Institute, led by Manchester and partner Sheffield. To identify key thematic areas of need the applicants led national Royce scoping workshops with 200 stakeholders through 2016 and 2017. Representation was from clinicians, industry and academia and a national landscape strategy was defined. From this we have defined priority research areas in bioelectronics, fibre technology, additive manufacturing and improved pre- clinical characterisation. In addition the need for improved manufacturing scale up and reproducibility was highlighted. Therefore, this CDT will have a focus on these specific areas, and training will provide a strongly linked multidisciplinary cohort of biomedical materials engineers to address these needs. All projects will have clinical, regulatory and industry engagement which will allow easy translation through our well established clinical trials units and positions the research well to interface with opportunities arising from 'Devolution Manchester', as Greater Manchester now controls long-term health and social care spending, ready for the full devolution of a budget of around £6 billion in 2016/17 which will continue through the CDT lifespan.