Anatomy - About Tissue Engineering

• What is tissue engineering?
• Are there really ’tissue engineers’?
• More about tissue engineering.
• Science Fact or Science Fiction?
• Where and how can I study tissue engineering?

What is tissue engineering?

Tissue engineering is a multidisciplinary approach to a critical problem in modern medicine – the supply of organs and tissues for transplant. Most people know that there are more patients waiting for hearts, lungs, livers, kidneys, e.t.c., than there are organs available (so if you are old enough you might consider becoming an organ donor by carrying an organ donor card. One of the goals of tissue engineering is to develop methods to construct organs in the laboratory that can subsequently be used in medical applications. Another goal is to produce organs or tissues that can be used for research purposes. Such research might include testing new drugs, simulating diseases in order to develop better treatments and reducing the use of animal tissues and organs in biological research in general.

| Back to Top |

Are there really ’tissue engineers’?

In Ireland at least, there are no professional programs that lead to qualification as a ’tissue engineer’. It is better to consider tissue engineering as an approach to biomedical problems, rather than a profession into itself. Clinicians, engineers and scientists all contribute to tissue engineering, usually working in multidisciplinary teams. In such teams each individual brings their own particular area of expertise, allowing the group as a whole to address the very complex problems that tissue engineering presents. So if you wanted to be a tissue engineer, you would begin by pursuing a career in Medicine, Biomedical Engineering or Science.

| Back to Top |

More about tissue engineering.

Tissue engineering begins with a defined problem encountered by clinicians. For example, there are fewer livers available for transplant than there are patients waiting for new livers. The solution from a tissue engineering perspective is to have tissue engineers construct livers in the lab that could then be used for transplant to alleviate the shortage of ’natural’ livers.

Realising the solution begins with a thorough understanding of the anatomy (structure) of the organ to be tissue engineered. This involves knowledge not only of the organs shape, but also of the cells that make up that organ, their interrelationships with one another, patterns of blood supply and flow, and a thorough understanding of the function of the organ and the cells of which it is composed.

Next a strategy for construction of the organ must be developed. This might include biologists sourcing and growing the cells that will be used to construct the organ, chemists developing a suitable scaffold on which the cells can be grown, engineers fabricating the scaffold and ensuring it has the appropriate physical characteristics, biochemists and physiologists testing cells grown on the scaffold to ensure that they function correctly, and clinicians implanting and testing the organ in patients. Each organ or tissue to be engineered presents different challenges, but in every case these challenges can only be met by multi-disciplinary, multi-skilled teams.

In addition to alleviating the shortage of organs available for transplant, tissue engineering holds the promise of producing better organs for transplant. This is because it may be possible to construct such organs using cells harvested from the patients themself. This would eliminate the problem of organ rejection and the necessity for the patient to remain on lifelong medication as a result. Even more exciting from a clinician or researcher’s point of view is the idea of using tissue engineering in combination with stem cell technology. Stem cells are immature cells which, when appropriately stimulated, can mature and become many different adult cell types. Using stem cells and tissue engineering it may one day be possible to order ’off-the-shelf’ tissues and organs to alleviate any number of medical conditions. Finally, using tissue engineering techniques and gene therapy it may be possible to correct many otherwise incurable genetic defects. For example some diabetics have a genetic abnormality that prevents cells in their pancreas from producing insulin. For such persons it may be possible to remove some of the defective cells, correct the defect using gene therapy in the lab, grow the ’repaired’ cells in large numbers and then re-implant them in the patient’s pancreas, thus ’curing’ them of their diabetes.

| Back to Top |

Science Fact or Science Fiction?

Tissue engineering is a new discipline, and although there has been some publicity concerning its potential, many people are unaware of just how advanced the field really is. Tissue engineered skin is commercially available and widely used in medicine. Tissue engineered cartilage is also available in Europe. Many other engineered tissues and organs including bladder, heart valves, and blood vessels are in advanced stages of development and can be expected to be marketed worldwide in the next couple of years. Believe it or not, even special tissues for women and men have been tissue engineered. It is not unreasonable to expect that complete tissue engineered organs will be available during your lifetime.

| Back to Top |

Where and how can I study tissue engineering?

You can pursue any of these degree programs at NUI, Galway. The subjects studied in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering are chosen for you, but in Science you make the choice of subjects for your degree yourself. We would recommend that you do Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and one of the Mathematical subjects in First Science. In Second Science there are a large number of subject choices to choose from. We would recommend choosing some combination of subjects from among Anatomy, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Physiology, Chemistry options, Physics options, Maths options. Of course, as we are in the anatomy department we would strongly recommend that anatomy should be one of the subjects you should study.

NUI, Galway has certain specific advantages if you are interested in tissue engineering as a career. First and foremost is the NCBES, an interdisciplinary centre that brings together all the expertise needed for tissue engineering. Secondly, NUI Galway has a well established and well regarded medical school which has close links with both the science and engineering faculties. Thirdly, NUI, Galway has an innovative denominated programme in Biomedical Engineering that includes tissue engineering in the curriculum. The science faculty at NUI, Galway has a number of excellent academic departments with outstanding track records in teaching and research in subject areas relevant to tissue engineering. Additionally, NUI, Galway is the only university in Ireland where you can follow a complete honours B.Sc. in anatomy.

You might also consider that NUI, Galway was named Sunday Times Irish University of the Year for 2002

The reasons included the lowest dropout rate, highest graduate employment rate, and strong research profile – not to mention the quality of student life for which NUI, Galway and Galway City are renowned.

• Disclaimer
• Privacy
• Copyright
• Accessibility