Bioinspiration webinar series: BioInspired concepts – the first step towards solutions

Watch the on-demand webinar

The webinar features the following speakers, in conversation with evolutionary biologist and co-chair of the BioInspiration Hallmark Research Initiative, Professor Devi Stuart-Fox.

• Dr Abdallah Ghazlan – A holistic framework for developing futuristic bioinspired cellular structures for blast protection
  The team is ambitiously aspiring to save lives and preserve buildings through development of the world’s first protective bioinspired cellular structure. The project will yield tangible benefits for the building and defence industries by innovating solutions from nature to address recurring real-world problems, which have claimed many lives and caused severe damage to buildings and military equipment.
• Dr Eser Akinoglu – Bioinspired bactericidal ‘nano-knife’ coatings for orthopaedic implants
  Directly inspired by the size, shape, and arrangement of natural chitin nanopillar arrays, the team will optimise coatings for protection against the most common bacterial pathogens in prosthetic joint infections. The team will also establish protocols for adhering the nano-knife coatings to prosthetic joints prior to surgery, providing a chemical-free means of defeating infections at the implant site.
• Shareen Chan – Bamboo-inspired production of 3D-printed hierarchical porous bio-ceramic tissue scaffolds
  Taking inspiration from bamboo as a material with exceptional stiffness-to-density ratio, the team aims to bring us closer to the ideal tissue scaffold for osteo applications. The team’s ultimate aim is to develop a model for surgeons and manufacturers to easily manipulate the performance of bio-ceramic tissue scaffolds.
• Dr Matthew Faria – Squid-inspired lighting: the functional bio-bulb
  Bioluminescence has attracted significant interest as a light source because of its efficiency, low environmental impact, and the softness and unique colouring of its light. In this creative undertaking, the team will use a combination of mathematical models, synthetic biology, and elegant design of a bacterial vessel to create the world’s first “functional bio-bulb”.