The course will inform students about the latest developments in tissue engineering and the under-pinning science and technology. The student will be introduced to biomaterials, fabrication of scaffolds, the use of stem cells and exemplars of tissue engineering in the context of biology and regenerative medicine. 

There are normally 3 hours of contact on Fridays, as arranged. 

None

The course will be assessed by a 2-hour examination (75%) and in-course assessment consisting of a portfolio of summary appraisals of the primary literature accessed throughout the course (25%). 

The aim of the option is to introduce the student to tissue and cell engineering, to make the student aware of the practical devices and outcomes that can be achieved, including exposure to the conduct of experimentation, data gathering and analysis.

By the end of this course, students will be able to: 

■ Discuss current approaches and methodologies used by researchers in tissue and cell engineering;

■ Apply the core principles of tissue and cell engineering to key questions in the field;

■ Analyse the advantages and limitations of commonly used materials, technologies and techniques in tissue and cell engineering; 

■ Evaluate the relative merits of using different experimental systems to address key questions in the field;

■ Discuss the tissue type specific differences in approaches taken to the creation and analysis of tissue engineered constructs and devices.