Staff Profile:Dr Alexander Edwards
- Name:
- Dr Al Edwards
- Job Title:
- Associate Professor
- Responsibilities:
Impact Lead for Pharmacy Research Division
- Areas of Interest:
With a background in fundamental immunology combined with expertise in biochemical engineering, I am an interdisciplinary researcher focussed on solving current and future healthcare challenges using an engineering science approach that combines a range of fields from biology, biochemistry, chemistry and physics. I work at the interface between academic technology discovery and industrial development and have experience of both fundamental research and the commercialisation of new technology.
The two main challenges I currently work on are the development of affordable microfluidics for clinical diagnostics and microbiology, and the engineering science of complex biologic therapeutics such as vaccines.
Affordable microfluidic diagnostics from Micro Capillary Film and "µMicro" miniaturised microbiology
A major area of research focuses on developing simple devices for portable, low-cost, point of care bioassay testing exploiting a novel melt-extruded microstructured material called Micro Capillary Film (MCF). Because the melt-extrusion manufacture process is highly scaleable, MCF represents an exceptionally low cost microfluidic material.
Our current work has two objectives: Firstly, we are developing a range of devices that can perform rapid tests using standard immunoassay chemistry in different settings, ranging from fully automated bedside testing, to simple, portable manually operated devices for testing in the field. and then be read using simple optical readers such as a smartphone camera. Secondly, MCF is especially suitable for performing the many and varied tests that are used to detect and identify microorganisms such as bacterial pathogens. We are therefore pioneering the miniaturisation of microbiology tests using MCF. We believe that microfluidics will become an especially important tool for analytical microbiology, a new field we term "µMicro".
In 2012 Dr Edwards co-founded Capillary Film Technology Ltd, a healthtech startup company that aims to commercialise MCF immunoassay technology for diagnostic applications. CFT's lead product is a fully automated rapid test platform, which will initially allow faster heart attack diagnostics.
Engineering next generation vaccines: formulation and function:
Conventional vaccines require injection, refrigerated distribution, and challenging manufacturing processes. New vaccines against emerging infections are slow and expensive to develop. This is partly because existing vaccines are typically developed using decades-old empirical methods. I am interested in developing technologies that allow rapid, low-cost discovery and manufacture of fully engineered vaccines against emerging and existing infections.
One example of such a technology is live bacterial vaccines (LBV) based on safe, attenuated intestinal pathogens such as salmonella. These can be genetically modified to carry protein antigens from, and protect against other pathogens such as anthrax or influenza. LBV offer the benefits of oral administration (a 'vaccine pill'), storage and distribution without refrigeration, and simple, low-cost, rapid manufacture. Although much progress has been made in the attenuation of pathogens to develop effective LBV strains, and in genetic engineering to carry other antigens, less is known about formulation and delivery. Yet live bacteria represent a highly complex therapeutic agent, and formulation is therefore likely to have a critical impact on function.
Likewise, human approved adjuvants have limited immunogenicity. Improved formulation of subunit vaccines is essential to make this vaccine class effective against emerging and existing infectious threats.
Dr Edward's research is funded from a wide range of sources, including EPSRC, SBRI Healthcare, the Wellcome Trust, Innovate UK and industry.
Patent Applications
- WO2010079343. "Formulations of viable bacteria for oral delivery" NKH Slater and AD Edwards.
- WO2011117579. "Immunoassays, methods for carrying out immunoassays, immunoassay kits and methods for manufacturing immunoassay kits" AD Edwards, NM Reis, NKH Slater and MR Mackley.
- WO2016012778 "Capillary assay device with internal hydrophilic coating" AD Edwards, NM Reis.
- Research groups / Centres:
- Publications:
-
YNumber of items: 32.
2019
- Dobia, A., Ryan, K., BaHammam, A. and Edwards, A. (2019) Using benzodiazepines and Z-Drugs for managing primary insomnia in adults in Saudi Arabia: an e-Delphi study to aid the development of clinical guidelines. Sleep and Breathing. ISSN 1520-9512 doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-019-01794-7
2018
- Gadd, A. J. R., Castelletto, V., Kabova, E., Shankland, K., Perrie, Y., Hamley, I., Cobb, A. J. A., Greco, F. and Edwards, A. D. (2018) High potency of lipid conjugated TLR7 agonist requires nanoparticulate or liposomal formulation. European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 123. pp. 268-276. ISSN 0928-0987 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejps.2018.07.048
- Thangsupanimitchai, N. and Edwards, A. D. (2018) Mixing is required for uniform reconstitution of filter-dried protein antigens in a single-injection vaccine formulation. Vaccine, 36 (3). pp. 5058-5064. ISSN 0264-410X doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.07.001
- Dahal, L. N., Gadd, A., Edwards, A. D., Cragg, M. S. and Beers, S. A. (2018) UC-1V150, a potent TLR7 agonist capable of activating macrophages and potentiating mAb-mediated target cell deletion. Scandinavian Journal of Immunology, 87 (6). e12666. ISSN 0300-9475 doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/sji.12666
2017
- Pivetal, J., Pereira, F. M., Barbosa, A. I., Castanheira, A. P., Reis, N. M. and Edwards, A. D. (2017) Covalent immobilisation of antibodies in Teflon-FEP microfluidic devices for sensitive quantification of clinically relevant protein biomarkers. The Analyst, 142 (6). pp. 959-968. ISSN 0003-2654 doi: https://doi.org/10.1039/C6AN02622B
2016
- Reis, N. M., Pivetal, J., Loo-Zazueta, A. L., Barros, J. M. S. and Edwards, A. D. (2016) Lab on a stick: multi-analyte cellular assays in a microfluidic dipstick. Lab on a Chip, 16 (15). pp. 2891-2899. ISSN 1473-0189 doi: https://doi.org/10.1039/C6LC00332J
- de Barros, J. M.S., Costabile, A., Charalampopoulos, D., Khutoryanskiy, V. V. and Edwards, A. D. (2016) Evaluating and optimizing oral formulations of live bacterial vaccines using a gastro-small intestine model. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 102. pp. 115-122. ISSN 0939-6411 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpb.2016.03.010
- Loughborough University (2016) Capillary assay device with internal hydrophilic coating. WO2016012778. doi: WO2016012778
2015
- de Barros, J. M.S., Lechner, T., Charalampopoulos, D., Khutoryanskiy, V. V. and Edwards, A. D. (2015) Enteric coated spheres produced by extrusion/spheronization provide effective gastric protection and efficient release of live therapeutic bacteria. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 493 (1-2). pp. 483-494. ISSN 0378-5173 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2015.06.051
- Barbosa, A. I., Gehlot, P., Sidapra, K., Edwards, A. D. and Reis, N. M. (2015) Portable smartphone quantitation of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in a fluoropolymer microfluidic device. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 70. pp. 5-14. ISSN 0956-5663 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2015.03.006
- Castanheira, A. P., Barbosa, A. I., Edwards, A. D. and Reis, N. M. (2015) Multiplexed femtomolar quantitation of human cytokines in a fluoropolymer microcapillary film. Analyst, 140 (16). pp. 5609-5618. ISSN 0003-2654 doi: https://doi.org/10.1039/C5AN00238A
- Gadd, A. J. R., Greco, F., Cobb, A. J. A. and Edwards, A. D. (2015) Targeted activation of toll-like receptors: conjugation of a toll-like receptor 7 agonist to a monoclonal antibody maintains antigen binding and specificity. Bioconjugate Chemistry, 26 (8). pp. 1743-1752. ISSN 1043-1802 doi: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.5b00302
2014
- de Barros, J. M. S., Scherer, T., Charalampopoulos, D., Khutoryanskiy, V. V. and Edwards, A. D. (2014) A laminated polymer film formulation for enteric delivery of live vaccine and probiotic bacteria. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 103 (7). pp. 2022-2032. ISSN 1520-6017 doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/jps.23997
- Mahbubani, K. T., Slater, N. K. H. and Edwards, A. D. (2014) Protection of dried probiotic bacteria from bile using bile adsorbent resins. New Biotechnology, 31 (1). pp. 69-72. ISSN 1871-6784 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbt.2013.09.001
- Barbosa, A. I., Castanheira, A. P., Edwards, A. D. and Reis, N. M. (2014) A Lab-in-a-briefcase for rapid prostate specific antigen (PSA) screening from whole blood. Lab on a Chip, 14 (16). pp. 2918-2928. ISSN 1473-0197 doi: https://doi.org/10.1039/C4LC00464G
2013
- Cook, M. T., Saratoon, T., Tzortzis, G., Edwards, A., Charalampopoulos, D. and Khutoryanskiy, V. V. (2013) CLSM method for the dynamic observation of pH change within polymer matrices for oral delivery. Biomacromolecules, 14 (2). pp. 387-393. ISSN 1525-7797 doi: https://doi.org/10.1021/bm301569r
- Edwards, A.D. (2013) What have dendritic cells ever done for adjuvant design? Cellular and molecular methods for the rational development of vaccine adjuvants. In: Flower , D. R. and Perrie, Y. (eds.) Immunomic Discovery of Adjuvants and Candidate Subunit Vaccines. Immunomics reviews (5). Springer, New York , pp. 131-154. ISBN 978-1-4614-5070-2 doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5070-2_8
2012
- Jopeace, A.L., Howard, C.B., Murton, B.L., Edwards, A. and Monie, T.P. (2012) Pattern recognition receptors and infectious diseases. In: Insight and control of infectious disease in global scenario. InTech Open. ISBN 9789535103196
- Gerrard, S. E., Baniecki, M. L., Sokal, D. C., Morris, M. K., Urdaneta-Hartmann, S., Krebs, F. C., Wigdahl, B., Abrams, B. F., Hanson, C. V., Slater, N. K.H. and Edwards, A. D. (2012) A nipple shield delivery system for oral drug delivery to breastfeeding infants : Microbicide delivery to inactivate HIV. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 434 (1-2). 224- 234. ISSN 0378-5173 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2012.05.035
2011
- Edwards, A. D., Reis, N. M., Slater, N. K. H. and Mackley, M. R. (2011) A simple device for multiplex ELISA made from melt-extruded plastic microcapillary film. Lab on a Chip, 11 (24). pp. 4267-4273. ISSN 1473-0197 doi: https://doi.org/10.1039/C0LC00357C
- Cambridge Enterprise Ltd (2011) Immunoassays, methods for carrying out immunoassays, immunoassay kits and method for manufacturing immunoassay kits. WO/2011/117579. doi: WO/2011/117579
2010
- Edwards, A. D., Chatterjee, P., Mahbubani, K. T., Reis, C. M. and Slater, N. K.H. (2010) Optimal protection of stabilised dry live bacteria from bile toxicity in oral dosage forms by bile acid adsorbent resins. Chemical Engineering Science, 65 (16). pp. 4844-4854. ISSN 0009-2509 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2010.05.030
- Cambridge Enterprise Ltd (2010) Formulations of viable cells for oral delivery. WO2010079343. doi: WO2010079343
2009
- Cheeks, M. C., Edwards, A. D., Arnot, C. J. and Slater, N. K.H. (2009) Gene transfection of HEK cells on supermacroporous polyacrylamide monoliths: a comparison of transient and stable recombinant protein expression in perfusion culture. New Biotechnology, 26 (6). pp. 289-299. ISSN 1871-6784 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbt.2009.08.006
- Edwards, A. D. and Slater, N. K.H. (2009) Protection of live bacteria from bile acid toxicity using bile acid adsorbing resins. Vaccine, 27 (29). pp. 3897-3903. ISSN 0264-410X doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2009.04.006
2008
- Edwards, A. D. and Slater, N. K.H. (2008) Formulation of a live bacterial vaccine for stable room temperature storage results in loss of acid, bile and bile salt resistance. Vaccine, 26 (45). pp. 5675-5678. ISSN 0264-410X doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2008.08.024
2006
- Carr, J. M., Carrasco, M. J., Thaventhiran, J. E. D., Bambrough, P. J., Kraman, M., Edwards, A. D., Al-Shamkhani, A. and Fearon, D. T. (2006) CD27 mediates interleukin-2-independent clonal expansion of the CD8+ T cell without effector differentiation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103 (51). p. 19454. ISSN 0027-8424 doi: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0609706104
2005
- Rogers, N. C., Slack, E. C., Edwards, A. D., Nolte, M. A., Schulz, O., Schweighoffer, E., Williams, D. L., Gordon, S., Tybulewicz, V. L. and Brown, G. D. (2005) Syk-Dependent Cytokine Induction by Dectin-1 Reveals a Novel Pattern Recognition Pathway for C Type Lectins. Immunity, 22 (4). p. 507. ISSN 10747613 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2005.03.004
2003
- Edwards, A. D., Chaussabel, D., Tomlinson, S., Schulz, O., Sher, A. and Reis e Sousa, C. (2003) Relationships Among Murine CD11chigh Dendritic Cell Subsets as Revealed by Baseline Gene Expression Patterns. The Journal of Immunology, 171 (1). pp. 47-60. ISSN 0022-1767 doi: https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.171.1.47
- Edwards, A. D., Diebold, S. S., Slack, E. M. C., Tomizawa, H., Hemmi, H., Kaisho, T., Akira, S. and Sousa, C. R. e. (2003) Toll-like receptor expression in murine DC subsets: lack of TLR7 expression by CD8α+ DC correlates with unresponsiveness to imidazoquinolines. European Journal of Immunology, 33 (4). p. 827. ISSN 00142980 doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/eji.200323797
2002
- Edwards, A. D., Manickasingham, S. P., Sporri, R., Diebold, S. S., Schulz, O., Sher, A., Kaisho, T., Akira, S. and Reis e Sousa, C. (2002) Microbial Recognition Via Toll-Like Receptor-Dependent and -Independent Pathways Determines the Cytokine Response of Murine Dendritic Cell Subsets to CD40 Triggering. The Journal of Immunology, 169 (7). pp. 3652-3660. ISSN 0022-1767 doi: https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.169.7.3652
2000
- Schulz, O., Edwards, A. D., Schito, M., Aliberti, J., Manickasingham, S., Sher, A. and Reis e Sousa, C. (2000) CD40 Triggering of Heterodimeric IL-12 p70 Production by Dendritic Cells In Vivo Requires a Microbial Priming Signal. Immunity, 13 (4). p. 453. ISSN 10747613 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1074-7613(00)00045-5
Selected Pre-2008 Publications:
J. M. Carr, M. J. Carrasco, J. E. Thaventhiran, P. J. Bambrough, M. Kraman, A. D. Edwards, A. Al-Shamkhani, D. T. Fearon. CD27 mediates interleukin-2-independent clonal expansion of the CD8+ T cell without effector differentiation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA vol 103 p 19454-9, 2006.
N. C. Rogers, E. C. Slack, A. D. Edwards, M. A. Nolte, O. Schulz, E. Schweighoffer, D. L. Williams, S. Gordon, V. L. Tybulewicz, G. D. Brown, C. Reis E Sousa. Syk-dependent cytokine induction by Dectin-1 reveals a novel pattern recognition pathway for C type lectins. Immunity vol 22 pp. 507-17, 2005.
A. D. Edwards, D. Chaussabel, S. Tomlinson, O. Schulz, A. Sher and C. Reis e Sousa. Relationships among murine CD11chigh dendritic cell subsets as revealed by baseline gene expression patterns. J Immunol, vol 171 pp. 47-60, 2003.
A. D. Edwards, S. S. Diebold, E. M. C. Slack, H. Tomizawa, H. Hemmi, T. Kaisho, S. Akira, and C. Reis e Sousa. Toll-like receptor expression in murine DC subsets: lack of TLR7 expression by CD8a+ DC correlates with unresponsiveness to imidazoquinolines, European J Immunol, vol. 33, pp. 827-833, 2003.
A. D. Edwards, S. P. Manickasingham, R. Spörri, S. S. Diebold, O. Schulz, A. Sher, T. Kaisho, S. Akira, and C. Reis e Sousa. Microbial recognition via toll-like receptor-dependent and -independent pathways determines the cytokine response of murine dendritic cell subsets to CD40 triggering, J Immunol, vol. 169, pp. 3652-3660, 2002.
Schulz, A. D. Edwards, M. Schito, J. Aliberti, S. Manickasingham, A. Sher, and C. Reis e Sousa. CD40 triggering of heterodimeric IL-12 p70 production by dendritic cells in vivo requires a microbial priming signal, Immunity, 13 p 453-462, 2000.
Certificate of Business Administration for MPharm students:
http://www.reading.ac.uk/pharmacy/ug/pharm-ugcba.aspx
Academia:
http://rdg.academia.edu/AlexanderEdwards
LinkedIn:
http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/alexander-edwards/10/70b/218
Web of Science ResearcherID F-7440-2010
