Anthony J Bullock
Anthony joined the Tissue Engineering group in 2000 and is a senior postdoctoral research assistant currently involved in interdisciplinary work in the development of a wound modifying dressing to actively help migration.
Background
- Sheffield City Polytechnic: Biomedical Technology BSc 1988-1992.
- University of Bath: Research assistant in platelet biochemistry. Researching the role of protein kinase C in calcium signalling during agonist induced platelet activation, and development of partial agonists to the IP3 receptor.
- University of Liverpool: PhD in physiology focusing on the effects of hypoxia in the smooth muscle of the ureter, in particular species and developmental changes in the response to hypoxia. This involved study of the effects metabolic inhibition on calcium signalling and intracellular pH fluctuations in contracting smooth muscle tissue, comparing altricial and precocious neonates to adult tissue.
- University of Liverpool: Post doctoral research associate - Examining the effects of bacterial infection on the human ureter. Infections of the upper ureter are rare but can lead rapidly to ureteric dysfunction which can affect renal function. This focused on the effect of bacterial infections modified to express or lack functional pili and their effect on contractile function and calcium signalling in human ureteric smooth muscle.
Current research
Anthony is supported by a grant from the Wellcome Trust entitled "Development of a wound modifying dressing for accelerated re-epithelialisation in partial thickness burns and scalds".
This interdisciplinary research incorporates the following areas:-
- Chemistry (a calcium chelating gel component)
- Surface Chemistry (the development of a migratory surface)
- Tissue engineering and cell biology (creation of wound healing models and biological testing of candidate dressings)
- Product development
- Industry focus (CellTran Ltd)
Dr Bullock´s current challenges include the fabrication of a better in vitro model to better mimic the in vivo situation, both in terms of structure, response to wounding and wound healing therapies.
Recent publications/presentations
- Bhargava S, Chapple CR, Bullock AJ, Layton C, MacNeil S. Tissue-engineered buccal mucosa for substitution urethroplasty. BJU Int. 2004 Apr; 93(6):807-11.
- Bullock AJ, Higham MC, MacNeil S. Use of human fibroblasts in the development of a xenobiotic-free culture and delivery system for human keratinocytes. Tissue Eng. 2006 Feb; 12(2):245-55.
- Harrison CA, Gossiel F, Layton CM, Bullock AJ, Johnson T, Blumsohn A, MacNeil S. Use of an in vitro model of tissue-engineered skin to investigate the mechanism of skin graft contraction. Tissue Eng. 2006 Nov; 12(11):3119-33.
- Harrison CA, Layton CM, Hau Z, Bullock AJ, Johnson TS, MacNeil S. Transglutaminase inhibitors induce hyperproliferation and parakeratosis in tissue-engineered skin. Br J Dermatol. 2007 Feb; 156(2):247-57.
- Bullock AJ, Barker AT, Coulton L, MacNeil S. The effect of induced biphasic pulsed currents on re-epithelialization of a novel wound healing model. Bioelectromagnetics. 2007 Jan; 28(1):31-41.
- Moustafa,M, Bullock AJ, Creagh FM,Heller S, Jeffcoate W, Game F,Amery C, Tesfaye S, Ince Z, Haddow DB, MacNeil S. A randomised controlled single blind prospective pilot study on the use of autologous keratinocytes on a transfer dressing (Myskin) in the treatment of non-healing diabetic ulcers. Submitted to Wound Repair and Regeneration June 2007.