Dr Gwendolen Reilly

BSc, DPhil
Lecturer in Tissue Engineering

Address:
The Kroto Research Institute
North Campus
University of Sheffield
Broad Lane
Sheffield
S3 7HQ

Telephone: +44 (0) 114 222 5986
Fax: +44 (0) 114 222 5943

Email: g.reilly@sheffield.ac.uk

Gwendolen Reilly was appointed as Lecturer in Tissue Engineering in 2004. Previously she was a Research Assistant Professor in Bioengineering at the University of Illinois, Chicago. She has undertaken post-doctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State College of Medicine and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Gwen received her DPhil in Biology at the University of York, specializing in bone biomechanics.

Research interests

Gwen combines her previous experience of cell biomechanics, biomaterials and cell differentiation to examine the effects of mechanical stimulation in the tissue engineering of bone and cartilage. Mechanical stimuli examined include dynamic compression; stretch and fluid flow induced shear stresses. She is interested in how skeletal cells respond to a mechanical stimulus by organizing the proteins and mineral they secrete in a way which enhances the strength of the matrix. This information can then be used to manipulate tissue engineered structures in order to induce structurally sound matrix formation. This research encompasses study of the mechanical properties of biomaterial scaffolds, cell-material interactions, cell mechanics and cell signaling. The results of this research will have applications in orthopaedic and dental medicine, where clinicians are looking for improved methods to repair bone and cartilage.

Key projects

• Investigating the effect of controlled mechanical loading on bone cells grown in a 3D scaffold under biomechanical stimulation.
• Investigating whether the collagen orientation of bone grown in a tissue engineered scaffold can be manipulated by mechanical loading.
• Examining how 3D and dynamic culture affect the differentiation of human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (with Andy Scutt, Medical School and Anna Osyczka, Jagiellonian University Krakow)
• Examining how components of the cell membrane help it to transmit mechanical signals (with Chris Jacobs, Columbia University New York).
• Optimising scaffold mechanical properties using nanotechnology (with Beppe Battaglia, Engineering Materials and Adam Engler, University of California San Diego).
• Modeling of bone growth in 3D scaffolds with and without implants (with Michael Fagin, University of Hull).

Professional activities and recognition

• Elected council member and chair of publications committee for the European Society of Biomechanics http://www.esbiomech.org/
• Alice L Jee Young Investigator Award at the 37th International Sun Valley Workshop on Skeletal Biology.
• Invited lecture at the Institute of Physics.
• Invited lecture at the Italian Interuniversities research centre on Materials for Biomedical Engineering.
• Member of the European network of Excellence EXPERTISSUES.
• Member of the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research.
• Member of the Orthopaedic Research Society.
• Member of the Society for Physical Regulation in Biology and Medicine.
• Member of the Tissue and Cell Engineering Society (conference organizing committee 2006).
• Member of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society.

Key publications

• A. Sittichockechaiwut, A.M. Scutt, A.J. Ryan, L.M. Bonewald, G.C. Reilly: Use of rapidly mineralising osteoblasts and short periods of mechanical loading to accelerate matrix maturation in 3D scaffolds. Bone. 44: 822-829. 2009.
• D.J. Rosario, G.C. Reilly, E.A. Salah, M. Glover, A.J. Bullock. S.MacNeil. Decellularization and sterilization of porcine urinary bladder matrix for tissue engineering in the lower urinary tract. Regenerative Medicine. 3: 145-156. 2008.
• G.C. Reilly, S Radin, A Chen, P. Ducheyne. G.C. Reilly, S. Radin, A. Chen, P. Ducheyne. ‘Differential alkaline phosphatase responses of rat and human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells to 45S5 bioactive glass’. Biomaterials. 28: 4091–4097, 2007.
• S. Radin G. Reilly, G. Bhargave, P.S. Leboy, and P. Ducheyne. ‘Osteogenic effects of bioactive glass on bone marrow stromal cells’. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research A, 73A: 21-29, 2005.
• G.C. Reilly, E.B. Golden, G. Grasso-Knight and P.S. Leboy. ‘Differential effects of ERK and p38 kinase pathways on type X collagen and alkaline phosphatase during chondrocyte hypertrophy’. Cell Communication and Signaling, 3: 3, 2005.
• G.C. Reilly, T.R. Haut, C.E. Yellowley, H.J. Donahue and C.R. Jacobs. ‘Fluid flow induced PGE₂ release by osteocyte-like cells is reduced by glycocalyx degradation whereas intracellular calcium signals are not’. Biorheology, 40(6): 591-603, 2003.
• J. You, G.C. Reilly, X. Zhen, C.E. Yellowley, Q. Chen, H.J. Donahue and C.R. Jacobs. ‘Osteopontin gene regulation by oscillatory fluid flow via intracellular calcium mobilization and activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase in MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts’. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 276(16): 13365- 13371, 2000.
• G.C. Reilly, J.D. Currey. ‘The development of microcracking and failure in bone depends on the loading mode to which it is adapted’. Journal of Experimental Biology 202(5): 543-552, 1999.

Research group

MPhil/PhD students:
Anuphan Sittichokechaiwut
Miriam Merino
Jenna Stevens-Smith
Robin Delaine-Smith
Nathan Walker
Priya Vishwanathan
Nick Emerson

White Rose DTC students:
Hayley Morris
Jennie Robertson

Research centres

Centre for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering

White Rose Doctoral Training Centre at the Life Sciences Interface