Through the generous support of Suffolk County Council and the East of England Development Agency, UCS established the Biotechnology Unit in 2010. The Unit represents further investment in the development of a world-class research community at UCS and includes purpose-built facilities housed across two buildings on the Ipswich campus. In addition to the Geron Project, the Biotechnology Unit hosts a number of collaborations and research projects with topics under investigation highlighted below.
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Biomanufacturing
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Biomaterials
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Bone and cartilage biology
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Clinical trials
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Food science
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Healthy ageing
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High content screening and small molecule discovery
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Stem cell biology
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Induced pluripotent stem cells
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Minimally- and non-invasive imaging
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Orthopaedics / Sports Medicine
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RNA- and DNA-based technologies
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Stem cell directed differentiation and fate determination
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Tissue engineering
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Tissue-derived stem cell biology
UCS / Geron Project
In 2010, Geron Corporation (Menlo Park, USA) and UCS announced a collaborative research agreement to develop a first-in-man human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived therapy for the repair of cartilage. This project combines the bone and cartilage expertise of the UCS Regenerative Medicine Team in the Biotechnology Unit with world-leading biomanufacturing and clinical trial experts at Geron to fast-track the delivery of a cartilage repair therapy to the clinic. Enquiries about the project and opportunities for employment should be directed to cartilageucs.ac.uk|.
UCS Press Release|
Geron Press Release |
Opportunities for Involvement
In addition to employment, the Biotechnology Unit is involved in collaborations with industrial partners and hosts a number of initiatives that provide scientists and clinicians with the opportunity to engage in world leading research.
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Academic and industrial collaboration
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Equipment for hire
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Expertise on a consultancy basis
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Opportunities for employment
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Undergraduate and graduate research internships
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Specialist courses
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Post-graduate training
More information about our post-graduate programmes can be found by visiting the following pages.
MSc Regenerative Medicine|
MSc Science of Healthy Ageing|
Image: Scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of cartilage and underlying bone following freeze fracture. Courtesy Dr. David Pier, Biotechnology Unit, UCS.