Although inorganic materials such as hydroxyapatite and calcium sulphate are widely used for the reconstruction of hard tissue defects or for coating metallic prosthetics, few recognise the importance and therefore potential of a range of more complex inorganic materials to control the process of ossification. This talk will discuss how making subtle changes to the chain length of phosphate ions can generate materials that can bond bone, trigger extensive bone formation or even demineralise hard tissue. It will describe how we are utilising this complexity to aid in the repair of non-union and the regeneration of larger bone defects. Understanding the complexities of the mineralisation process has also enabled us to tissue engineer 3D in vitro models of bone that can maintain osteocyte viability for in excess of one year. These models have been used as a platform to screen novel treatments for the dispersion of heterotopic ossification following traumatic insult.
Prof. Grover is a biomaterials scientist whose research focuses on designing materials that enhance the tissue regeneration process. He studied for both his undergraduate degree (biomedical materials science) and his PhD on the development of a novel bioresponsive ceramic (under the supervision of Jake Barralet) at the University of Birmingham, UK. On completion of his PhD, Prof. Grover spent two years working in the labs of Jake Barralet and Marc McKee at McGill University, Montreal, where he was awarded a CIHR Skeletal Health Scholarship to study the role of a range of proteins and condensed phosphates in the formation of minerals. He returned to the University of Birmingham in 2006 to establish a research group in the School of Chemical Engineering. In the time since, Prof. Grover has held funding from a multitude of funding bodies, including: the EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC, NC3Rs, the Wellcome Trust, Orthopaedics Research UK, the MoD, the EU, the Drummond Foundation and the NIHR, as well as numerous industrial partners. Since 2006, he has been involved in raising more than £20m of research funding that has provided the University of Birmingham with an exceptional infrastructure for the development of medical technologies and Directs it nascent Healthcare Technology Research Institute. He has published in excess of 100 peer reviewed publications, more than 200 conference contributions, 4 book chapters, has been an inventor on eight patent applications and has made more than 35 invited presentations. He was made a Fellow of the Institute of Materials at 30 and was made one of the youngest full Professors in the history of the University of Birmingham at 32. He is a visiting Professor at the University of Sao Paolo.