Staff Profile:Dr Che Connon

Name:

Dr Che Connon

Job Title:

RCUK Academic Fellow in Stem Cells and Nanomaterials

Responsibilities:

• Team Leader for the Corneal Stem Cell Laboratory. Current team members include: Dr Bernice Wright, Dr Dan Calladine, Dr Bo Chen, Mr James Foster and Ms Roanne R Jones
• Deputy Post Graduate Admissions Officer
• School Website Support Officer
• Biomedical and Pharmacology Seminar Series Co-ordinator
• Joint Theme Leader, Nanoscience and Materials

 

Vision statement:

Diseases affecting the cornea are a major cause of blindness worldwide. Current treatments are limited by availability of donor tissue. Over the next 5 years we aim to apply both basic and applied research to improve corneal stem cell isolation and characterisation as well as providing novel therapeutic stem cell delivery systems using nanomaterials.

 

Areas of Interest:

Research in the Connon laboratory is primarily in the area of corneal tissue engineering. Within our research program, we seek to engineer functional replacement and temporary 'bridge' tissues while also developing model systems to study physiological and pathophysiological corneal tissue formation.

All projects in the lab are linked by the hypothesis that combinatorial approaches to tissue formation are superior to individual stimulation. More specifically, successful tissue engineering approaches will be realised upon the proper spatial and temporal presentation of cells, signalling molecules, biomaterials, and mechanical stimulation.

Presently the lab consists of 3 PDRA's, 3 PhD students and 2 ophthalmic clinical fellows funded mainly by four current Research Council grants. The first is using BBSRC funding to develop adult stem cell based models to replace animals used in oculotoxicity testing and to improve biomaterials used for corneal stem cell transplantation. Secondly, using MRC funding, we aim to develop a simplified corneal stem cell transplant procedure that doesn't require ex vivo expansion or GMP facilities. The third is a BRIC enabling award aimed at developing a technology to solve distribution problems for future cell based therapies. Finally a new BBSRC grant tasked with the radical idea of casting a bioprosthetic cornea using stem cells.

We believe commercialisation, IP and the basic research underpinning a new wave of regenerative medicines are intertwined and as such we are actively involved in ensuring the UK competes globally by maintaining its competitive edge in the regenerative medicine space. For example we currently hold a patent for the first stem cell engineered ocular surface (link) and have recently filed a patent for our work on stem cell storage. We are actively searching for complimentary partners to commercialise our work or further our basic understanding around these topics:

• Tissue engineering of the cornea, including a stem cell based oculotoxicity tests.
• Developing model systems to study physiological and pathophysiological corneal tissue formation using synthetic and biological hydrogels.
• Developing smart cell-instructive biomaterials to control cell growth/differentiation.
• Use of hydrogels as corneal stem cell transplantation vehicles.

Current Research Funding:

1. MRC Project grant (2010 - 2013) "Therapeutic corneal stem cell delivery using hydrogels without the need for ex vivo expansion"
2. EPSRC PhD project (2010 - 2014) "Polymeric hydrogels for corneal stem cells"
3. EPSRC PhD project (2010 - 2014) "Hydrogel delivery of ocular therapeutics"
4. BBSRC PhD project (2010 - 2014) "Trans-epithelial dug delivery via the cornea"
5. Industrial funded project (2010 - 2013) "Further applied uses of hydrogel based ocular bandages"
6. BBSRC/EPSRC BRIC project (2011 - 2012) "Stoarge and distribution of stem cells"
7. BBSRC Project grant (2011 - 2014) "Smart materials to direct production of Bioprosthetic cornea"

Past Research funding:

1. BBSRC Project grant (2008 - 2011) "A tissue engineered corneal epithelium replacement for animal testing using human stem cells"

Professional affiliations:

• Visiting Professor, Shaanxi Ophthalmic Research Center, Xi'an Eye Hospital, China.
• Member of International Committee for Association for Research In Vision and Ophthalmology
• Member of Executive Committee for Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science UK Alumni
• Member of Editorial Board of PLoS ONE
• Member of Editorial Board of Nature: Scientific Reports

Industrial partners:

• Novozymes
• The Electrospinning Company Ltd

Research groups / Centres:

Publications:

Y

Jump to: 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2007

Number of items: 13.

2012

• Jones, R. R., Hamley, I. and Connon, C. (2012) Ex vivo expansion of limbal stem cells is affected by substrate properties. Stem Cell Research, 8 (3). pp. 403-409. ISSN 1876-7753 doi: 10.1016/j.scr.2012.01.001
• Cave, R., Cook, J., Connon, C. and Khutoryanskiy, V. (2012) A flow system for the on-line quantitative measurement of the retention of dosage forms on biological surfaces using spectroscopy and image analysis. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 428 (1-2). pp. 96-102. ISSN 0378-5173 doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2012.02.047
• Mi, S., David, A. L., Chowdhury, B., Jones, R. R., Hamley, I., Squires, A. and Connon, C. J. (2012) Tissue engineering a fetal membrane. Tissue Engineering Part A, 18 (3-4). pp. 373-381. ISSN 2152-4955 doi: 10.1089/ten.tea.2011.0194
• Wright, B., Cave, R. A., Cook, J. P., Khutoryanskiy, V., Mi, S., Chen, B., Leyland, M. and Connon, C. (2012) Enhanced viability of corneal epithelial cells for efficient transport/storage using a structurally-modified calcium alginate hydrogel. Regenerative Medicine. ISSN 1746-076X (In Press)

2011

• Mi, S., Khutoryanskiy, V. V., Jones, R. R., Zhu, X., Hamley, I. W. and Connon, C. J. (2011) Photochemical cross-linking of plastically compressed collagen gel produces an optimal scaffold for corneal tissue engineering. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, 99A (1). pp. 1-8. ISSN 1549-3296 doi: 10.1002/jbm.a.33152
• Cheng, G., Castelletto, V., Jones, R. R., Connon, C. J. and Hamley, I. W. (2011) Hydrogelation of self-assembling RGD-based peptides. Soft Matter, 7 (4). pp. 1326-1333. ISSN 1744-683X doi: 10.1039/C0SM00408A

2010

• Mi, S., Chen, B., Wright, B. and Connon, C. J. (2010) Plastic compression of a collagen gel forms a much improved scaffold for ocular surface tissue engineering over conventional collagen gels. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, 95A (2). pp. 447-453. ISSN 1549-3296 doi: 10.1002/jbm.a.32861
• Chen, B., Mi, S., Wright, B. and Connon, C. J. (2010) Differentiation status of limbal epithelial cells cultured on intact and denuded amniotic membrane before and after air-lifting. Tissue Engineering, 16 (9). pp. 2721-2729. ISSN 1937-3341
• Connon, C. J., Doutch, J., Chen, B., Hopkinson, A., Mehta, J., Nakamura, T., Kinoshita, S. and Meek, K. (2010) The variation in transparency of amniotic membrane used in ocular surface regeneration. British Journal of Ophthalmology, 94 (8). pp. 1057-1061. ISSN 0007-1161 doi: 10.1136/bjo.2008.153064
• Mi, S., Chen, B., Wright, B. and Connon, C. J. (2010) Ex Vivo Construction of an Artificial Ocular Surface by Combination of Corneal Limbal Epithelial Cells and a Compressed Collagen Scaffold Containing Keratocytes. Tissue Engineering, 16 (6). pp. 2091-2100. ISSN 1937-3341 doi: DOI:10.1089/ten.TEA.2009.0748
• Chen, B., Mi, S., Wright, B. and Connon, C. J. (2010) Investigation of K14/K5 as a stem cell marker in the limbal region of the bovine cornea. PloS ONE, 5 (10). e13192. ISSN 1932-6203 doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013192

2007

• Connon, C. J., Nakamura, T., Hopkinson, A., Quantock, A., Yagi, N., Doutch, J. and Meek, K. M. (2007) The biomechanics of amnion rupture: an X-ray diffraction study. PloS ONE, 2 (11). e1147. ISSN 1932-6203 doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0001147
• Ma, A., Boulton, M., Zhao, B., Connon, C., Cai, J. and Albon, J. (2007) A role for Notch signaling in human corneal epithelial cell differentiation and proliferation. Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science, 48 (8). pp. 3576-3585. ISSN 0146-0404 doi: 10.1167/iovs.06-1373

This list was generated on Sat May 26 23:39:12 2012 BST.

 

!Self funded PhD studentships now avialable!

1. "Improved isolation, characterisation and delivery of adult stem cells for corneal repair"
2. "Novel biomaterials for corneal tissue engineering"

If you have the correct qualifications and access to your own funding, either from your home country or your own finances, your application to work on these or similar projects will be considered.