Home| Professor in Cell and Tissue Engineering |
Contact details:
| Tel: | +44 20 7882 7163 |
| Fax: | +44 20 7882 7172 |
| Email: | h.navsaria@qmul.ac.uk |
| Address: |
Centre for Cutaneous Research, |
Biography
Harshad A. Navsaria is the Professor in Cell and Tissue Engineering at the Centre for Cutaneous Research, Institute of Cell and Molecular Science, Barts and London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary, University of London . He has been working in the field of keratinocyte biology and tissue engineering for the past 21 years.
He established methods of routine culture of keratinoytes, fibroblasts and melanocytes from skin, developed in vitro skin models to study proliferation and differentiation of skin -organotypical cultures, clinical application of cultured keratinocytes for chronic and acute wounds, animal models to study various tissue engineered skin substitutes, identified novel keratin gene mutations in various skin pathologies, has investigated epithelial / mesenchymal interactions during wound healing and studying the role of extracellular matrix in maintenance of stem cells. His current interest is in investigating the application of stem cell technology for tissue engineered skin and other epithelial cell types for clinical application.
Prof Navsaria is a member of the European Tissue Culture Society, founder member of the European Tissue Engineering Society, the British Burns Association, the British Society of Investigative Dermatology, the European Society of Dermatological Research, the European Tissue Repair Society, and the Tissue Engineering Society (USA). He has served as a consultant to Fidia Advanced Biopolymers ( Italy ), Steifel ( UK ) and Convatec ( UK & USA ). Prof Navsaria also serves as a consultant to St. Andrew's Burns Centre, Broomfield Hospital to direct and supervise research activities including clinical application of tissue engineered skin for burn patients. He has served as a board member on the scientific advisory committee for Purdue University , USA on tissue engineering. Recently the British Ambassador to Paraguay invited him and Dominican Republic to give a series of lectures on advances in science for improved burn treatment and is currently establishing a skin bank in Asuncion . Within the School he is the Academic Dean and chairs the School Board.
He publishes articles in peer reviewed journals detailing his research in the field of keratinocyte biology including reviews and book chapters.
Research Activity
Over the last twenty years my work has focused on the biology and clinical use of cultured keratinocytes. I established the methodology for culturing these cells in our department and improved the conditions for clinical application. This work led to the development of complex three-dimensional skin models (Organotypical cultures), which allow the interactions of various cell types on different extracellular matrix proteins. This was my introduction to the field of Tissue Engineering. Some of my landmark observations which led to significant publications are:
- Application of cultured keratinocytes for treatment of chronic and acute wounds.
- Development of a porcine chamber model to study different skin substitutes.
- Demonstration in both animal and human models that cultured keratinocytes and fibroblasts do not survive transplantation.
- Introduction to the concept of pre-confluent grafting on delivery systems.
- Transplantation of hair follicles in tissue engineered skin.
- 3D skin models to study cancer biology.
Other areas of contribution include the identification of novel keratin gene mutations, which led to landmark publications that result in various skin pathologies. This five-year programme grant gave me the opportunity to learn various molecular biology techniques. The Welcome Trust supported this programme.
My work on the development of a novel dermal substitute in burns patients has led to the development and marketing of two products (Laserskin and Hyalograft). Laserskin is a delivery system for cultured keratinocytes and Hyalograft is a dermal substitute both Licensed by Fidia Advanced Biopolymers, Italy .
My current interest in the field of tissue engineering of skin is on the application of stem cell technology and the identification of stem cells, which can give rise to a keratinocyte phenotype. The Medical School has recently announced an initiative on stem cell research. The aim is to establish a stem cell centre within the college from different tissue disciplines with an interest in stem cell biology. I envisage to play a key role in the successful establishment of this centre having recently obtained two BBSRC funded grants on stem cell research. My research group in collaboration with others is also studying epithelial/mesenchymal interactions in different skin pathologies including cancer and wound healing. The aim of the work is to understand the distinction between regeneration and repair of damaged skin. My research goal is to create the "perfect in vitro skin" containing all the cell types and mesenchymal components that will allow us to further understand skin biology and negate the need for donor skin for clinical transplantation.
Key Publications
• Leigh IM, Purkis PE , Navsaria HA, Philips T. Treatment of chronic venous ulcers with sheets of cultured allogenic keratinocytes. British Journal of Dermatology, 1987; 117: 591-597.
• Lane EB, Rugg EL, Navsaria HA, Leigh IM, Heagerty AHM, Ishida-Yamamoto, Eady RAJ. A mutation in the conserved helix termination peptide of keratin 5 as a cause of hereditary skin blistering. Nature, 1992; 356: 244-253.
• Navsaria HA, Kangesu T, Manek S, Green CJ, Leigh IM. An animal model to study the significance of dermis for grafting cultured keratinocytes on full thickness wounds. Burns, 1994; 20 (1): 57-60.
• Navsaria HA, Swenson O, Ratnavel RC, Shamsher M, Mclean WHI, Lane EB, Griffiths WAD, Eady RAJ, Leigh IM. Ultrastructural changes resulting from keratin 9 gene mutations in two families with epidermolytic palmoplanter keratoderma (EPPK). J Invest Dermatol, 1995; 104 (3): 425-429.
• Harris PA, Di Francesco F, Barisoni D, Leigh IM , Navsaria HA. Use of hyaluronic acid and cultured autologous keratinocytes and fibroblasts in extensive burns. Lancet, 1999; 353; 35-36.
• Ojeh NO, Frame JD, Navsaria HA. In vitro characterisation of an artificial dermal scaffold. 2001. Tissue Engineering, vol 8(4), 457-472.
• Navsaria H , Ojeh N, Moiemen N, Griffiths M, Frame J. Re-epithelialisation of full thickness burn from stem cells of hair follicles micrografted into tissue engineered skin. 2004. Plast Reconstr Surg ;113(3):978-81.
• Golder M, Burleigh DE, Belai A, Ghali L, Ashby D, Lunniss PJ, Navsaria HA , Williams NS. Smooth muscle cholinergic denervation hypersensitivity in diverticular disease. 2003, Lancet . 361,9373:1945-51.
• Akgul B, Garcia-Escudero R, Ghali L, Pfister HJ, Fuchs PG, Navsaria H , Storey A. The E7 protein of cutaneous human papillomavirus type 8 causes invasion of human keratinocytes into the dermis in organotypic cultures of skin. Cancer Res . 2005 Mar 15;65(6):2216-23.
• Griffiths M, Ojeh N, Livingstone R, Price R , Navsaria H. The length of survival and pathological features of an allogeneic living skin substitute, Apligraf Ò , in an acute human wound model. 2004. Tissue Engineering . Jul-Aug;10(7):1180-95.
