Combining expertise in glycobiology and stem cell science

Cathy Merry studied Biochemistry at the University of Manchester during which time she spent a year working for Amgen Inc. in California where she studied the glycosylation of EPO. She then started her PhD studies, working with Prof. John Gallagher at the Paterson Institute, Manchester. During her PhD, she developed a novel method for the sequence analysis of heparan sulphate and an ongoing passion for glycobiology.

After completing her PhD, she stayed with John’s group and, in collaboration with Prof. Austin Smith and Dr Val Wilson, learnt how to grow and study embryonic stem (ES) cells. In 2006 she moved to Materials Science to take up a lectureship and establish an independent research group. After a productive and fun sabbatical spent working with Prof. Lena Kjellén at Uppsala University (2014-2015) Cathy returned to the UK to join the STEM (Stem Cells, Tissue Engineering and Modelling) Centre at the University of Nottingham.

Kasia graduated with BSc in Biomedical Sciences in 2010 from Nottingham Trent University. She is skilled in stem cell culture, confocal microscopy, high content screening and analysis, and cell culture automation.

In 2018, she joined nu-Sense team as a Stem Cell Technician in the Stem Cell Glycobiology Group at the University of Nottingham. As a support to the project, Kasia will provide 3D models grown in peptide hydrogels for testing the methodology being developed by the team, as well as carry out phenotypic characterisation of the cells.

Additionally, Kasia supports some aspects of day-to-day lab management and provides specialist technical training at the Biodiscovery Institute.

Jenny joined the Merry lab after completing her PhD in Materials Science at the University of Cambridge. Since then, she has been responsible for developing self-assembling peptide hydrogels for in vitro breast cell culture, as part of the NC3Rs funded project “A multi-cellular 3D hydrogel model of human breast tissue to replace rodent xenograft models”. With a background in materials science, her expertise lies predominantly in materials fabrication and characterization by image analysis. In particular, she has been responsible for developing independent control of fully-defined composition and mechanical properties within the peptide gels.

Jenny now works with Professor Anna Grabowska, focussing on the characterisation and development of close-to-patient models of cancer. Alongside this, she still works closely with the Merry lab as co-investigator on three current NC3Rs-funded grants using and disseminating the peptide gels.

Rebecca completed her BSc in Biochemistry at the University of York, which included an industrial placement year at Kew Botanical Gardens in London. She then joined the Centre of Doctoral Training (CDT) in Regenerative Medicine, based between Loughborough University, Keele University and the University of Nottingham. Upon completion of the initial training year, Rebecca started her PhD project, supervised by Prof. Cathy Merry and Dr Oksana Kehoe from Keele University. This project aimed to uncover the role of heparan sulphate in the production of exosomes as a potential method for optimising these vesicles for regenerative medicine applications.

Upon completion of her PhD in 2020, Rebecca started a PDRA position within the Stem Cell Glycobiology group, funded by the NC3Rs and Manchester Medicines Discovery Catapult. This project focusses on developing a rapid mass spectroscopy method to identify key matrix components that define tissues, in order to create an array of tissue-specific peptide hydrogels for human-relevant 3D culture.

Jamie completed her BSc in Biochemistry at the University of Manchester, during which she undertook an industrial placement year at Boehringer Ingelheim in Vienna, Austria. Jamie started her PhD at the University of Nottingham in May 2017 on the EPSRC Programme Grant in Next Generation Biomaterials Discovery, jointly supervised by Prof Cathy Merry and Prof Morgan Alexander. Her project focuses on combining human pluripotent stem cells and biomaterials to create defined, 3D culture models to study the role of glycosaminoglycans in human development and diseases such as Multiple Osteochondroma.

Johnathan obtained a BSc (Hons) in Biology at the University of York in 2013, which incorporated a final year research project that aimed to produce a computational model of N-linked glycosylation using Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Later he moved to Nottingham to pursue a master’s degree in oncology. This also included an original research project which investigated signalling pathways contributing to metastasis in colorectal cancer. In 2017 he graduated with distinction, at the top of his class.

Currently, Johnathan is undertaking a 4-year PhD, studying Industrial Biotechnology and Bioeconomy as part of the BBSRC DTP program. Under the supervision of Prof. Cathy Merry, his work is focused on developing a fully customisable, synthetic peptide hydrogel model for use in brain tumour research.

Jenna graduated from the University of Hull with a first class MPhys in Physics in 2016. Following a two-month placement at Keele University studying microfluidics, Jenna joined the CDT of Regenerative Medicine in collaboration with the University of Nottingham, Loughborough University, and Keele University.

Within the CDT Jenna completed research projects at each of the collaborating universities before beginning her PhD at the University of Nottingham within the School of Medicine. Under the supervision of Dr Alex Thompson, Dr Amanda Wright, Prof. Cathy Merry, and Dr Kenton Arkill, her interdisciplinary PhD project aims to use a defined peptide hydrogel to produce a 3D-model of the bone marrow microenvironment for comparative biophysical analysis at the single-cell scale using novel optical trapping techniques. These models will be used for screening repurposed drugs for treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia.

Adam has always had a keen interest in scientific research and is eager to develop multidisciplinary study incorporating a variety of academic fields. Having completed an MPhys Physics degree at the University of Hull, he began studying as part of the Regenerative Medicine CDT, completing projects at Universities in Loughborough, Keele, and Nottingham, before then starting his PhD at the University of Nottingham in September 2017 supervised by Prof. Stephanie Allen, Prof. Phil Williams, and Prof. Cathy Merry. Adam’s project is a collaborative research interest between the schools of Pharmacy and Medicine; and uses single molecule force spectroscopy alongside peptide treatment of mouse embryonic stem cells to try and further develop our knowledge of E-cadherin mediated process.

Ilona completed her BSc in Biological Science at Aston University in 2016. She then undertook a MSc course in Cancer Immunology and Biotechnology at the University of Nottingham. The research project looked at polymer microparticles and delivery of chemokines to regulate T cell function. The combination of material science and immunology influenced Ilona’s choice to join a PhD project at the University of Nottingham looking at peptide gel as a 3D cell culture model for human T cells. This project is funded by EPSRC and supervised by Dr Andrew M. Jackson, Prof. Cathy L. Merry and Dr Ian Spendlove.

John Whitelock graduated with a PhD from the University of Technology, Sydney in 1991 where he identified and characterised matrix metalloproteinases and the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases produced by breast cancer cells. He completed post-doctoral studies at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, USA where he investigated the role of metalloproteinases and their inhibitors in oral pathologies like periodontal disease. He returned to Australia and took up a post-doctoral position with the Division of Biomolecular Engineering and Molecular Sciences, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in 1993 where he began to investigate the role of extracellular matrix proteoglycans and wound healing in the cardiovascular system.

In 2003, he moved his research activities to the Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of New South Wales in Sydney Australia. He took on the role of the Associate Dean for Research in the Faculty of Engineering at UNSW between 2010 and 2012 and the Head of the Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering between 2012 and 2017. John now leads a multi-disciplinary team focused on research into the roles of the extracellular matrix in health and disease. His particular interest areas include the roles of proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans (heparin /heparan and chondroitin sulphate) in the extracellular matrix and how they control tissue and organ development, wound healing and tissue regeneration, and the role the extracellular matrix plays in the response to the progression of atherosclerosis, arthritis and cancer.

In 2017, he was awarded a Leverhulme Trust Visiting Professorial Fellowship to complete a sabbatical at the University of Nottingham with the Stem Cell Extracellular Matrix & Glycobiology laboratory within the Wolfson Centre for Stem Cells, Tissue Engineering and Modelling. Here he designed and generated CRISPR/Cas targeting plasmids for perlecan. He was awarded an Honorary Professorship at the University of Nottingham in 2018.

Amanda Wright graduated from the University of Manchester in 2000 with a 2MPhys in Physics, from here she joined the Laser Photonics Group also at the University of Manchester and studied for her PhD in Optical Trapping. In 2004 she was awarded her PhD on the measuring and characterising optical trapping forces.

Amanda took up a Research Associate post at the University of Strathclyde in 2004 at the Institute of Photonics and the Applications Team. Whilst at the Institute of Photonics, Amanda was awarded a 5-year Royal Academy of Engineering / EPSRC personal research fellowship titled 'New Horizons in Adaptive Optics for Life Science Research: Adaptive Microscopy' aimed at improving image quality and resolution in optical sectioning microscopes using a technique known as adaptive optics.

In December 2012 Amanda transferred her fellowship to the University of Nottingham and is now Associate Professor in the Optics and Photonics Group and a member of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department.

Dr Kate Meade graduated from the Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester with a BSc in Biology.

After working as a research technician as part of the UK Centre for Tissue Engineering, Kate completed a PhD with Dr Merry at the School of Materials. Her work focused on developing novel heparin/heparan sulphate functionalised electrospun scaffolds for embryonic stem cell culture and differentiation.

Kate carried out research associated with Dr Merry in collaboration with Dr Alberto Saiani, developing novel self-assembling peptide scaffolds for stem cell culture and helping prepare this technology for patenting. Kate is now working on an EPSRC funded project, inspired by her PhD, using microfluidics and matrix adhesion to fractionate stem cell populations.

Natalie obtained a BSC(Hons) in Human Biology at The University of Birmingham in 2007. She then joined Pharmaceutical Profiles as a Clinical Scientist before returning to The University of Birmingham to complete an MRes in Mechanistic Molecular Toxicology.

As part of her Masters project, Natalie completed a six month research project in industry which focussed on differentiation of human adult stem cells.

Natalie went on to spend a year and a half working in the pharmaceutical industry before beginning a PhD at The University of Manchester which focuses on the role of E-cadherin in stem cells and tumourigenesis.

Beth completed her BSc in Biological Sciences at the University of East Anglia, before undertaking an MSc in Stem Cell Technology at the University of Nottingham.

Following on from this, Beth started her PhD in September 2012. She is on the joint PhD programme, splitting her time between the University of Manchester, with supervisors Dr. C. Merry and Prof. T. Day, and the Singapore A*STAR Research Institute, under the supervision of Prof. V. Nurcombe and Prof. S. Cool.

Her project will focus on combining biomaterials and glycosaminoglycans to create a synthetic ECM-mimetic in order to promote the efficient formation of cartilage-like tissue from mesenchymal stem cells.

Samantha completed her BSc (Hons) in Pharmacology and Physiology with Industrial Experience at the University Of Manchester in 2011. For her industrial placement, Samantha spent 12 months at AstraZeneca, Alderley Park. During this time, her work focused on the validation of an in vivo model for the cardiac safety evaluation of drug candidates in pre-clinical development.

Following this, Samantha decided to continue her studies in Manchester and joined the British Heart Foundation 4-year PhD programme in 2011. Under the supervision of Dr Catherine Merry and Prof. Ann Canfield, her interdisciplinary PhD project aims to understand the role of glycosaminoglycans in fine-tuning the signalling pathways that are active in vascular calcification, a disease where the aberrant osteogenic differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells leads to the deposition of bone in blood vessels.

Dr Sarah Ritson graduated from UMIST with a BSc(Hons) in Biochemistry in 2001. During a 4 year period working as a Biomedical Scientist at Hope Hospital in Salford she studied Interleukin-8 expression in stroke patients as part of an MSc in Biomedical Science, obtained from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2006.

Following this, Sarah joined Dr Chris Ward's research group at the Univeristy of Manchester as a Research Assistant, receiving her PhD for the study of the cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin in mouse ES cells in 2010.

Sarah currently works for Dr Chris Ward as a PDRA on an interdisciplinary EPSRC-funded project researching stem cell fractionation using interactions with artificial matrices. Sarah's contribution to the project includes the large-scale culture of mouse and human ES cells, assessment of the suitability of various materials for ES cell fractionation, and ES cell characterisation following fractionation.

Dr. Lisa Mohamet obtained a first class honours undergraduate degree in Applied Biology from the University of the West of England (Bristol) in 2002. During this time, she spent a year working at The University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA investigating the role of prolactin in breast cancer under the supervision of Prof Ben-Jonathan.

She obtained her PhD in Reproductive Biology at The University of Manchester in 2006, specialising on the role of LIF during embryo formation in the mouse and was subsequently employed by Dr Chris Ward on a BBSRC Follow-on-Fund.

The work from this initial project was instrumental in securing a three year funded project through the Technology Strategy Board in partnership with Lonza. The focus of her current research is cellular manufacturing of human ES cells in bioreactor culture.

Dr Claire Johnson graduated from the University of Bristol in 2002 with a BSc(Hons) in Cellular Pathology and Microbiology.

Claire gained her PhD in 2006 after working with Dr Catherine Merry and Prof. John Gallagher at the University of Manchester, Paterson Institute. Her studies were centered on understanding the role of heparan sulphate (HS) proteoglycans in embryonic stem cell biology. Her first PDRA position was also completed in Prof. Gallaghers lab, and in summer 2008 she began a three year PDRA position in Dr Merry’s new group at Materials Science. The focus of her current project is to expand our knowledge of the role of HS in mES cells to the human embryonic stem cell niche, which has several features distinct from mouse. She is also involved in the day-to-day supervision of a range of undergraduate and postgraduate students, from the School of Materials and the wider University.

Claire has extensive experience in embryonic stem cell culture techniques, HS analytical techniques, flow cytometry, immunofluoresence and molecular biology

Claire is now Mum to Matthew and is taking a break from the lab

Rebecca Holley (Baldwin) is a post-doctoral research associate working on the design and incorporation of heparan sulphate oligosaccharides into peptide hydrogels for embryonic stem cell growth and differentiation. She has a degree in biological sciences from Warwick University before working for a year in the pharmaceutical industry. She obtained her PhD at the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research, Manchester where she studied the role of sulfatases in the regulation of heparan sulphate 6-0-sulphation and also looked at the changes in heparan sulphate sulphation patterning during directed embryonic stem cell differentiation to mesodermal/blood lineages. She has recently spent 3 months working in the US at Dartmouth College under Prof. Nicholas Shworak.

She has extensive practical experience of heparan sulphate structural analyses, embryonic stem cells growth and differentiation, molecular biology and peptide hydrogels.

Becki recently worked on a joint MRC/BHF funded project with Profs Cay Kielty, Ann Canfield and Tony Whetton focussed on adult stem cell culture and proteomics. Becki has now joined the Stem Cell and Neurotherapies Laboratory, working with Dr Brian Bigger http://www.manchester.ac.uk/research/brian.bigger/research

Prior to joining the University of Manchester Alex gained a BSc in Biology from MMU, after graduating he worked as a science technician for Nelson and Colne College, Lancashire.

Alex then completed an MRes in Tissue Engineering for Regenerative medicine at the University of Manchester between 2009 and 2010. During this time he researched the production of TSG-6 by mouse embryonic stem cells during a 10 week project and the use of mouse ES cell models of Hurler and Sanfilippo syndromes in a 25 week project, both supervised by Dr. Merry.

Alex started a PhD supervised by Dr. Merry in September 2010, his main focus is the study of proteoglycan and glycosaminoglycan expression in stem cells.

After his PhD Alex spent a year working in the lab of Assit. Prof. Kamil Godula at UCSD (http://www-chem.ucsd.edu/faculty/profiles/godula_kamil.html) and has now moved to Singapore to join the group of Profs. Nurcombe and Cool (http://www.imb.a-star.edu.sg/php/vnsc-biography.php).

Marissa obtained a BSc in Cell Biology at the University of Manchester before tackling an interdisciplinary MRes in Tissue engineering for Regenerative Medicine, where she focused on type II collagen in tendon development.

Following this Marissa changed focus but continued her studies with an interdisciplinary PhD project under the supervision of Dr. C. Merry, Dr. J. Gough and Prof. S. Flitsch.

Her work involves close collaboration with synthetic chemists and biomaterial experts in order to understand stem cell behaviour in the context of sugars and lectin binding.

After completing her PhD, Marissa has joined Dr. Mark Skidmore’s group at Keele University (http://www.keele.ac.uk/lifesci/people/markskidmore/).

Emma graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in Biomedical Sciences. After working on the flu vaccine in Liverpool she moved to Manchester University to join the faculty of Life Sciences.

She spent 6 years with Professor Charles Streuli investigating how cell matrix interactions control mammary gland differentiation and development.

Emma then joined Professor Tim Hardingham’s lab in the Centre for Tissue Engineering where she worked on the differentiation of chondrocytes from stem cells.

After a stint in industry working in the personalised medicine sector Emma joined the Merry Group culturing human stem cells in self assembling peptide scaffolds, optimising the hydrogel technology for various stem cell applications. Since November 2014, Emma has returned to the personalised medicine sector.

Dr Alison Harvey graduated from The University of Manchester in 2005 with an MEng in biomedical material science.

In 2010 Alison completed a PhD working with Professor Rein Ulijn at the School of Materials in Manchester University. Her PhD work involved developing fluorescent sensor particles for the detection and capture of proteases. Alison then went on to spend a year working as a PDRA in Dr Ardeshir Bayat’s research group in the Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre developing tailored surface topographies for breast implants with the aim of reducing capsular contracture.

Alison is currently working as a PDRA with Dr Catherine Merry on a project with Drs Julie Gough and Steve Eichhorn and in collaboration with Glycomar. Her current work is involved in producing 3D hydrogel/cellulose nanowhisker composites in which the nanowhiskers are aligned and investigating the effects of these materials on stem cell behaviour with the aim of inducing differentiation into skeletal muscle cells.

Kathryn Aviss did her BSc(hons) in Human Biology at the University of Huddersfield, followed by an MRes in Biosciences from the University of Leeds.

For her PhD, at the University of Manchester, she now works with electrospun PLGA to form a totally synthetic scaffold for skeletal muscle regeneration.

She specialises in creating highly aligned fibrous meshes as this creates a scaffold with the correct topography to provide contact guidance for bipolar, elongated myoblast growth and differentiation.

Angharad has now moved to Cardiff University to work with Dr Ann Ager in the newly-formed Institute for Infection and Immunity, based at the University Hospital of Wales, Heath Park. Her new project is focussed on the role of the adhesion molecule CD62L in the migration, infiltration and cytotoxicity of T cells in health and disease.

Kate graduated from the University of Manchester with an MEng (Hons) in Biomedical Material Science, incorporating an industrial placement at Johnson and Johnson Wound Management, now Systagenix.

She is currently working towards a PhD under the supervision of Prof. Ulijn (University of Strathclyde) and Dr. Merry into enzyme triggered self-assembled peptide hydrogels for the culture of embryonic stem cells.

Felicity completed an MChem in Chemistry at the University of York in 2008. She is now working on creating magnetically controlled alginate biomaterials for targeted drug delivery and differentiation.