Professor Sheila MacNeil

BSc, PhD
Professor of Tissue Engineering
Director, Interdisciplinary Programmes, Faculty of Engineering

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

Telephone: +44 (0) 114 222 5995
Fax: +44 (0) 114 222 5943

Email: s.macneil@sheffield.ac.uk

Sheila MacNeil is Professor of Tissue Engineering in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. She has an undergraduate degree in physiology from the University of Aberdeen and a doctorate on the endocrinology of manic depression from the Medical School of the University of Sheffield. After a long career within the Medical School she joined the Department of Engineering Materials in 2000 and is academic lead for the Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Group based within the Kroto Research Institute.

She is currently Director of the Interdisciplinary Programmes Office for the Faculty of Engineering (from February 2010) and the Sheffield lead for an EPSRC Doctoral Training Centre in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (a DTC held between three Universities, Leeds, Sheffield and York) from 2008.

She has previously been Deputy Director of the Kroto Research Institute (from 2005 to 2009) and Director of the University Centre for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering from 2002 to 2009, promoting interdisciplinary research between engineering, physical sciences and life sciences (see www.cbte.group.shef.ac.uk).  She was also a founding Director of the University of Sheffield spin-out company, CellTran Limited from 2000 to 2007.

Research interests

Her research focuses on developing tissue engineering which will benefit patients, alongside fundamental work to develop new understanding and tools in the area of tissue engineering. Her primary research interests are in tissue engineering of soft tissues – skin, oral mucosa, urethra and cornea, with a strong focus on translating research for clinical benefit. Her group have a long history of working with clinical NHS colleagues using tissue engineered skin to benefit burns patients (from 1992) and more recently patients with chronic ulcers (2004) and patients requiring reconstructive surgery of the urethra (from 2007). Additionally she has developed 3D tissue engineered models used to study a wide range of normal and abnormal conditions spanning wound healing, skin contracture, pigmentation, melanoma invasion, angiogenesis, bacterial infection and skin sensitisation.

Key projects

• Development of biodegradable electrospun scaffolds for use in tissue engineering of skin and oral mucosa. Applications - reconstructive surgery for burns contractures, replacement of scarred tissue of the urethra and more recently for repair of the weakened tissues of the human pelvis.
• Development of biodegradable electrospun carriers for delivery of corneal cells for treatment of diseases of the cornea (in collaboration with LVPEI, Hyderabad, India).
• Development of a tissue engineered model of the human oesophagus in which to study Barratt’s Oesophagus, an early pre-cancerous lesion. (In collaboration with Dr Jon Bury).
• Development of a tissue engineered model of head and neck cancer. (In collaboration with Professor Martin Thornhill, Dental School).
• Development of non-invasive methodologies for imaging of cells in 3D tissue constructs.
• Development of a polymer for specifically recognising and binding bacteria (in collaboration with Dr Steve Rimmer, Chemistry and Professor Ian Douglas, Dental School).
• Computational modelling of epithelial tissues (in collaboration with Professor R Smallwood).

Professional activities and recognition

• Member of EPSRC Peer Review College (2010 onwards)
• Member of UK Tissue and Cell Engineering Society (TCES) (2009 onwards)
• Member of Swiss National Science Foundation NRP 63 - Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine (2008 onwards)
• NC3R Grant Reviewing Panel (2008 onwards)
• MRC Small Grant Reviewing Panel (2006-2007)
• Member of EPSRC Grant Reviewing College (2003-2006)
• Member of BBSRC Engineering and Biological Systems Panel (2000-2003)

Key publications

• Sun T, Adra S, Smallwood R, Holcombe M and MacNeil S. Exploring Hypotheses of the Actions of TGF-β1 in Epidermal Wound Healing Using a 3D Computational Multiscale Model of the Human Epidermis.  PloS One. Available Online. (2009).
• Canton I, McKean R, Charnley M, Blackwood KA, Fiorica C, Ryan AJ and MacNeil S.  Development of an ibuprofen-releasing biodegradable PLA/PGA electrospun scaffold for tissue regeneration.  Biotechnology & Bioengineering 105(2): 396-408. (2010).
• Deshpande P, McKean R, Blackwood KA, Senior RA, Ogunbanjo A, Ryan AJ, MacNeil S. Using poly(lactide-co-glycolide) electrospun scaffolds to deliver cultured epithelial cells to the cornea. Regen Med. 5(3):395-401. (2010).
• Krajewsak E, Lewis C, Staton C, MacGowan A and MacNeil S.  New insights into induction of early-stage neovascularization in an improved tissue-engineered model of psoriasis.  Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine.  Available Online. (2010).
• Shepherd J, Sarker P, Rimmer S, Swanson L, MacNeil S and Douglas I. Hyperbranched poly(NIPAM) polymers modified with antibiotics can both bind bacteria and reduce Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial burden in infected human tissue engineered skin. Biomaterials. 32:258-267 (2011).
• Eves PC, Baran M, Bullet NA, Way L, Haddow D and MacNeil S. Establishing a transport protocol for the delivery of melanocytes and keratinocytes for the treatment of vitiligo.  Tissue Engineering (Available online) (2011).

Publications 2005 onwards (pdf, 75kb)

Research group

Postdoctoral Research Assistants
Dr Anthony Bullock
Ms Pallavi Deshpande
Dr Farshid Sefat
Dr Ilida Ortega
Dr Shweta Mittar

Clinical Research Fellows
Mr Altaf Mangera

PhD Students
Miss Alison Hand
Miss Carla Pegoraro
Mrs Munira Shahbuddin (co-supervised with Chemistry)
Miss Annika Clifton (co-supervised with Chemistry)
Miss Amanda Harvey (co-supervised with Chemistry)
Miss Enas Hassan (co-supervised with Chemistry)
Mr Frazer Bye (co-supervised with Chemistry)
Mr Sabiniano Roman (co-supervised with Mr Chris Chapple, Consultant Urologist, Royal Hallamshire Hospital).

Research centres

Centre for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering

Teaching

MAT206 – 10 credits – Physiology of Neural and Endocrine System
MAT300 – 20 credits – Tissue Engineering

Supervision of 2 to 3 honours project students per year for 30 credit BEng (MAT356) and 60 credit (MAT404) research projects.

Administration

Director of Interdisciplinary Programmes, Faculty of Engineering
Sheffield lead for DTC in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
Chair of Management Committee for BBSRC Doctoral Training Award (studentships held jointly between the Kroto Research Institute and Faculty of Medicine, Sheffield).