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Bioengineering

Name and Contact Details	Research Interests
Professor Peter Brett Role: Professor of Biomedical Engineering / Institute Director Phone: +44 (0)1895 267859 Email: peter.brett@brunel.ac.uk Office: Heinz Wolff 001a	Peter Brett has leading research experience in robotics for surgery and cellular processing, and smart sensing in biomedical applications. His work on robotic surgery commenced in 1989, and he has focused on the real time control of tools in tissues to control interaction, behaviour and state. The novel techniques have been demonstrated successfully in the operating room and work in real time, sensing tool progress relative to flexible, deforming and soft tissues, The techniques are an efficient means for sensing and requiring few sensing elements in contrast to the number of outputs. The new distributive approach to sensing has also been demonstrated successfully in a range of applications from discriminating human motion and behaviour to tactile sense for discriminating contacting conditions on steerable endoscopes and catheters, to discriminating cells and in other defence related applications. The research has been funded by the European Union, EPSRC, BHF, Industry and by the MoD. Keywords Robotics, Surgery, smart surgical tools, soft tissues, flexible tissues, smart sensing, real-time, bio-sensing, biosensors.
Dr Krishna Burugapalli Role: Research Fellow Phone: +44 (0)1895 266926 Email: krishna.burugapalli@brunel.ac.uk Office: Heinz Wolff 001	Biomaterials; tissue engineering; biosensors; drug and gene delivery; glucose biosensing; hydrogels; interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs); composites; combinatorial biomaterials; biodegradable biomaterials; scaffolds; decellularised extracellular matrix; biocompatibility; in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo functional efficacy testing of biomedical devices; coatings for implantable biomedical devices to combat biological rejection; stereology; histomorphometry; histopathology; image analysis.
Dr Xinli Du Role: Lecturer Phone: +44 (0)1895 265848 Email: xinli.du@brunel.ac.uk Office: Heinz Wolff 001
Professor Derek Fisher Role: Professor of Biochemistry Phone: +44 (0)1895 266907 Email: derek.fisher@brunel.ac.uk Office: Heinz Wolff 001	At BIB he is developing biological applications of countercurrent chromatography (CCC). These include separation of bioactive components of Chinese Herbal Medicine (with collaboration within the UK Consortium for the Globalisation of Chinese Medicines and with the XiangCam TCM Research Centre at Babraham) , peptides, proteins and nanoscale particles such as plasmids, viruses and virus-like particles. and using CCC as a bioreactor.
Dr Ian Garrard Role: ABC Lab Manager Phone: +44 (0)1895 266908 Email: ian.garrard@brunel.ac.uk Office: Heinz Wolff 001
Lukasz Grudzien Role: Research Assistant Phone: +44 (0)1895 265279 Email: lukasz.grudzien@brunel.ac.uk Office: Heinz Wolff 001
Justin Halls Role: Project Leader for Millenium Homes Phone: +44 (0)1895 266909 Email: justin.halls@brunel.ac.uk Office: Heinz Wolff 001	Originally a biologist I did postgraduate work on bat echolocation systems and developing equipment for use in studying ultrasonic bioacoustics. In particular a broad band/tuned bat detector, an improved ultrasound microphone and an analogue computer for generating sonar ambiguity diagrams from real bat echolocation signals. Since then I have worked at the CRC in Harrow and at BIB as an electronics and computer software engineer and designer, developing equipment for biomedial applications, biological research in space (primarily for ESA) and aids for the elderly and the handicapped. These include WASP - a closed loop drug infusion system, BIOLAB - a biological laboratory for the Columbus module of the International Space Station, EPU - an experiment preparation unit for use with BIOLAB, MCS - a microwell cultivation system for the space station, EXO - an exobiology facility for a proposed Mars lander. Recently I have been involved in the development of the Millennium Homes system, and related facilities. This is a caring home system intended to make it possible for elderly or frail people to remain living in their own homes for longer than would otherwise be possible.
Professor Emeritus Heinz Wolff Role: Founding Director Phone: +44 (0)1895 266922 Email: heinz.wolff@brunel.ac.uk Office: Heinz Wolff 008a
Peter Hewitson Role: Bioprocess Research Engineer Phone: +44 (0)1895 266917 Email: peter.hewitson@brunel.ac.uk Office: Heinz Wolff 001	Counter-current Chromatography Liquid-liquid Counter-current Extraction and Scale-up Photographic Systems and Media Flexible Conductive Circuits and Flexible Solar Cells
Dr Svetlana Ignatova Role: Research Fellow Phone: +44 (0)1895 266911 Email: svetlana.ignatova@brunel.ac.uk Office: Heinz Wolff 001
Felicity Jowitt Role: Industrial Designer Phone: +44 (0)1895 266913 Email: felicity.jowitt@brunel.ac.uk Office: Heinz Wolff 001	Non-Invasive Continence Management System The system was designed for women who have continence management difficulties. A completely novel device in the field of continence management, it removes the urine from the body of the user as quickly as it is produced, into a remote container which can be emptied at the convenience of the user. This project was funded by Action research and the European Union. TACT3 Two products which address major worries for continence pad users, the fear of leakages and the fear of smelling of stale urine, were requested by people with continence difficulties. Smart underwear that informs the user when their continence pad has leaked and a colour change odour detector have been designed, developed and tested in the TACT3 project. This project was funded by the “New Dynamics of Ageing” Programme. Other Interests The safety aspects of cycling, especially electric assist bicycles The design of products to help people with continence difficulties Reusable sanitary protection Rehabilitation engineering
Dr Ashraf Khir Role: Reader in cardiovascular mechanics Phone: +44 (0)1895 265857 Email: ashraf.khir@brunel.ac.uk Office: Tower A 310	Arterial Hemodynamics Experimentalist in biofluid mechanics Arterial Waves; wave intensity analysis and wave speed Cardiac mechanics and analysis of cardiac wall movements CFD of Cardiac assist Devices Design of micro axial flow blood pump Intra Aortic Balloon Pump and pusher-plate blood pump
Dr Carola Koenig Role: Research Fellow Phone: +44 (0)1895 266915 Email: carola.koenig@brunel.ac.uk Office: Heinz Wolff 001	two-phase flow modelling related to countercurrent chromatography (CCC) cardiovascular flows and prostheses biological network flows respiratory flows plume flow modelling with chemical reaction modelling
Dr Quan Long Role: Senior Lecturer Phone: +44 (0)1895 266689 Email: quan.long@brunel.ac.uk Office: Heinz Wolff 001
Professor Ian Sutherland Role: Professor of Bioprocess Engineering / Director ABC Phone: +44 (0)1895 266920 Email: ian.sutherland@brunel.ac.uk Office: Heinz Wolff 005a	The majority of these collaborations have resulted in commercial hardware and all have contributed to improved quality of life for the beneficiaries Portable insulin infusers The treatment of infertility The study of pelvic blood flow The development of space flight hardware for NASA Separation technologies for the purification of drugs
Eleanor van den Heuvel Role: Research Fellow Phone: +44 (0)1895 266921 Email: eleanor.van.den.heuvel@brunel.ac.uk Office: Heinz Wolff 001	Current research interests include Ageing, Assistive Technology, Dementia and Continence.
Eddie Varney Role: Software Engineer Phone: +44 (0)1895 266914 Email: edward.varney@brunel.ac.uk Office: Heinz Wolff 010
Dr Masoud Zoka Assadi Role: Research Fellow Phone: +44 (0)1895 267907 Email: masoud.zokaassadi@brunel.ac.uk Office: Heinz Wolff 001

Page last updated: Friday 02 December 2011

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