Dr Vanessa Hearnden
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Senior Lecturer in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering
Research Governance Lead
+44 114 215 7098
Full contact details
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
North Campus
Broad Lane
Sheffield
S3 7HQ
- Profile
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Vanessa Hearnden joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield in 2015 as Lecturer in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering and became Senior Lecturer in 2020. Dr Hearnden began as a Biologist studying Biomedical Sciences at undergraduate and has since become experienced in a range of fields through her inter-disciplinary research in regenerative medicine and bioengineering.
Dr Hearnden’s research has always been driven by clinical need and guided by a network of clinical collaborators in the fields of Plastic Surgery, Oral Medicine and Surgery and Urology. Dr Hearnden is currently research lead for the Materials for Health group in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering having previously been Course Director for the MEng in Biomaterials Science and Engineering. Dr Hearnden is a committee member for the Tissue and Cell Engineering Society (TCES), Associate Editor for Frontiers in Medical Technology: Regenerative Medicine and collaborates worldwide.
- Research interests
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With expertise in human cell biology and tissue culture Dr Hearnden’s work focuses on developing regenerative medicine strategies to improve soft tissue wound healing.
Harnessing biology to stimulate soft tissue regeneration
Soft tissue wound healing is a complex process driven by a well-orchestrated combination of biochemical signals, cells and forces. When this process is disrupted through disease or other pathologies, this can severely affect an individual’s quality of life. Dr Hearnden’s research group has a particular interest in harnessing autologous patient materials, such as adipose tissue from liposuction, to stimulate wound healing and to treat disease.
The use of adipose-derived therapies in plastic surgery has grown in popularity in recent years and its safety and benefits for a range of applications has been demonstrated. However, our scientific understanding of adipose therapies is currently lacking. Dr Hearnden’s research group are working with human adipose tissue and its components to understand the role fat and the stem cells within it can play in soft tissue wound healing and hypertrophic scar regeneration.
Three dimensional tissue engineered models of human epithelia
Dr Hearnden’s research group has developed a range of three-dimensional tissue engineered models of epithelial tissues to answer specific research questions. For example, they have created and characterised models of the oral mucosa to study Medicines Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (MRONJ), models of skin to understand the role of the hypodermis in wound healing and models of tonsil to investigate Strep pyogenes infection.
Characterising tissue-material interactions to develop advanced biomaterials
Being able to predict and tailor the way cells and tissues interact with biomaterials is critical to the development of novel materials for use in human implants. Going beyond simple cytotoxicity assays is essential to inform the design of novel materials and to reduce our reliance on animal testing. To achieve this Dr Hearnden’s research group has expertise in a range of assays looking at angiogenesis, macrophage interactions and cell infiltration into biomaterials amongst others.
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Inhibition and reversal of a TGF-β1 induced myofibroblast phenotype by adipose tissue-derived paracrine factors.. Stem Cell Res Ther, 15(1), 166.
- Direct comparison of novel vaginal meshes developed for use in the treatment of stress urinary incontinence in an improved pre-clinical rabbit model. European Urology, 85, S1129-S1129.
- Uncovering the relationship between macrophages and polypropylene surgical mesh. Biomaterials Advances, 159. View this article in WRRO
- Estradiol-17β [E2] stimulates wound healing in a 3D in vitro tissue-engineered vaginal wound model. Journal of Tissue Engineering, 14, 204173142211492-204173142211492.
- In vitro effect of geranylgeraniol (GGOH) on bisphosphonate-induced cytotoxicity of oral mucosa cells. Frontiers in Oral Health, 3. View this article in WRRO
- A Ruthenium(II) Polypyridyl Complex Disrupts Actin Cytoskeleton Assembly and Blocks Cytokinesis.. Angew Chem Weinheim Bergstr Ger, 134(27), e202117449.
- A ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complex disrupts actin cytoskeleton assembly and blocks cytokinesis. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. View this article in WRRO
- A physiologically relevant, estradiol‐17β [E2]‐responsive in vitro tissue‐engineered model of the vaginal epithelium for vaginal tissue research. Neurourology and Urodynamics.
- A review Into the effects of pamidronic acid and zoledronic acid on the oral mucosa in medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw. Frontiers in Oral Health, 2. View this article in WRRO
- Bending bad—testing caramel wafer bars (#TestATunnocks). Physics Education, 56(5), 055002-055002.
- Fabrication of hierarchical multilayer poly(glycerol sebacate urethane) scaffolds based on ice-templating. Applied Sciences, 11(11). View this article in WRRO
- Healing and angiogenic properties of collagen/chitosan scaffolds enriched with hyperstable FGF2-STAB® protein: in vitro, ex ovo and in vivo comprehensive evaluation. Biomedicines, 9(6). View this article in WRRO
- Mutual influence of selenium nanoparticles and FGF2-STAB® on biocompatible properties of collagen/chitosan 3D scaffolds : in vitro and ex ovo evaluation. Journal of Nanobiotechnology, 19(1).
- Synthetic hydroxyapatite inhibits bisphosphonate toxicity to the oral mucosa in vitro. Materials, 13(9). View this article in WRRO
- The effect of porous structure on the cell proliferation, tissue ingrowth and angiogenic properties of poly(glycerol sebacate urethane) scaffolds. Materials Science and Engineering: C, 108. View this article in WRRO
- Fucoidan inhibition of osteosarcoma cells is species and molecular weight dependent. Marine Drugs, 18(2). View this article in WRRO
- Synergistic effect of bovine platelet lysate and various polysaccharides on the biological properties of collagen-based scaffolds for tissue engineering : scaffold preparation, chemo-physical characterization, in vitro and ex ovo evaluation. Materials Science and Engineering: C, 100, 236-246. View this article in WRRO
- Hybrid hydrogels based on polysaccharide gum karaya, poly(vinyl alcohol) and silk fibroin. Materials Research Express, 6(3). View this article in WRRO
- Oral human papillomavirus infection in England and associated risk factors: a case-control study.. BMJ Open, 8(8). View this article in WRRO
- Methyl-donor depletion of head and neck cancer cells in vitro establishes a less aggressive tumour cell phenotype. European Journal of Nutrition, 57(4), 1321-1332. View this article in WRRO
- Use of a Rho kinase inhibitor to increase human tonsil keratinocyte longevity for three-dimensional, tissue engineered tonsil epithelium equivalents. Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, 12(3), e1636-e1646. View this article in WRRO
- Imaging of 3D Tissue-Engineered Models of Oral Cancer Using 890 and 1300 nm Optical Coherence Tomography. Sovremennye tehnologii v medicine, 7(1), 60-68. View this article in WRRO
- Use of electrical impedance spectroscopy to detect malignant and potentially malignant oral lesions. International Journal of Nanomedicine, 9, 4521-4532. View this article in WRRO
- Polymersome-mediated delivery of combination anticancer therapy to head and neck cancer cells: 2D and 3D in vitro evaluation.. Mol Pharm, 11(4), 1176-1188.
- Combined mathematical modelling and experimentation to predict polymersome uptake by oral cancer cells. Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine, 10(2), 339-348. View this article in WRRO
- Use of Impedance Spectroscopy to Detect Potentially Malignant Oral Lesions. Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology, 116(3), e201-e201.
- Tissue-engineered oral mucosa.. J Dent Res, 91(7), 642-650.
- New developments and opportunities in oral mucosal drug delivery for local and systemic disease. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 64(1), 16-28.
- Evaluating the use of optical coherence tomography for the detection of epithelial cancers in vitro.. J Biomed Opt, 16(11), 116015. View this article in WRRO
- Local drug delivery for oral mucosal diseases: challenges and opportunities.. Oral Dis, 17 Suppl 1, 73-84.
- Development of tissue-engineered models of oral dysplasia and early invasive oral squamous cell carcinoma. British Journal of Cancer, 105(10), 1582-1592. View this article in WRRO
- Internalization and biodistribution of polymersomes into oral squamous cell carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo.. Nanomedicine (Lond), 5(7), 1025-1036.
- Enhanced fluorescence imaging of live cells by effective cytosolic delivery of probes.. PLoS One, 5(5), e10459. View this article in WRRO
- A micro-incubator for cell and tissue imaging. BioTechniques, 48(2), 135-138.
- Diffusion studies of nanometer polymersomes across tissue engineered human oral mucosa.. Pharm Res, 26(7), 1718-1728.
- The Effects of Fucoidan Derived from Sargassum filipendula and Fucus vesiculosus on the Survival and Mineralisation of Osteogenic Progenitors. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25(4), 2085-2085.
- Development of a tissue-engineered skin model with epidermal, dermal and hypodermal components. In vitro models.
- Surfactant-free gelatin-stabilised biodegradable polymerised high internal phase emulsions with macroporous structures. Frontiers in Chemistry, 11.
- OP9: Collagen/Chitosan Dermal Substitute Enriched by Hyperstable FGF2: 4 Years of Development. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery - Global Open, 10(1S), 6-6.
- A novel characterisation approach to reveal the mechano–chemical effects of oxidation and dynamic distension on polypropylene surgical mesh. RSC Advances, 11(55), 34710-34723.
Chapters
- Tissue-engineered models of oral soft tissue diseases, Biomaterials for Oral and Dental Tissue Engineering (pp. 245-255). Elsevier
- List of contributors, Biomaterials for Oral and Dental Tissue Engineering (pp. xiii-xvii). Elsevier
- Tracking nanoparticles in three-dimensional tissue-engineered models using confocal laser scanning microscopy. (pp. 41-51).
Conference proceedings papers
- In-vitro evaluation of macrophage response to polypropylene mesh before and after application of mechano-oxidative stress. European Urology, Vol. 83 (pp S1190-S1190)
- THE BIOACTIVITY OF PLATELET-RICH FIBRIN CONDITIONED MEDIUM ON ZOLEDRONATE-INDUCED ORAL KERATINOCYTE TOXICITY IN VITRO. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, Vol. 29(11-12) (pp 1276-1277)
- Porous Poly(glycerol sebacate)-methacrylate Scaffolds For Adipose Tissue Engineering. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, Vol. 29(13-14)
- Platelet-rich fibrin prevents the toxicity of Pamidronate on oral fibroblasts. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, Vol. 29(13-14)
- Porous Poly(glycerol sebacate)-methacrylate Scaffolds For Adipose Tissue Engineering. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, Vol. 29(13-14)
- Platelet-rich fibrin prevents the toxicity of Pamidronate on oral fibroblasts. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, Vol. 29(13-14)
- THERE'S MORE TO FAT THAN STEM CELLS, CHARACTERISING FAT GRAFT MATERIALS TO UNDERSTAND THE REGENERATIVE PROPERTIES OF ADIPOSE TISSUES. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, Vol. 28 (pp S544-S544)
- Porosity of poly(glycerol sebacate urethane) scaffolds controls angiogenic response and tissue ingrowth in vivo. eCM Online Periodical, 2018,
- Angiogenic potential of adipose derived stem cells compared to the stromal vascular fraction. European Cells and Materials, Vol. 32(Supp 4) (pp 40-40) View this article in WRRO
- Isolation and immortalisation of tonsillar keratinocytes for three-dimensional tissue engineered tonsil mucosal models. European Cells and Materials, Vol. 31(Suppl 1) (pp 20-20), 28 June 2016 - 1 July 2016. View this article in WRRO
- 1300 nm and 890 nm OCT images of oral cancer tissue engineered models and biopsy samples offer complimentary performance (Conference Presentation). Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics XII, 13 February 2016 - 18 February 2016.
- Tissue engineered models of oral disease for the study of a novel drug delivery system. ORAL DISEASES, Vol. 18 (pp 7-7)
- CXCL12/CXCR4 axis mediates recruitment of monocytes to oral cancer spheroids. ORAL DISEASES, Vol. 18 (pp 8-8)
- Investigation of Raman Spectroscopy and Optical Coherence Tomography to Aid in Diagnosis of Oral Cancer. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CANCER, Vol. 48 (pp S287-S287)
- Polymersomes - a Novel Drug Delivery System for the Delivery of Chemotherapeutic Agents to Oral Cancer Cells. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CANCER, Vol. 48 (pp S254-S254)
- Abstract 4918: Modeling polymersome delivery of anticancer therapeutics. Molecular and Cellular Biology
- Using polymersomes to deliver chemotherapeutic agents to oral cancer cells. ORAL DISEASES, Vol. 16(6) (pp 527-527)
- Using tissue-engineered oral cancer models to evaluate non-invasive diagnostic technologies. ORAL DIS, Vol. 16(6) (pp 518-518)
- Penetration of polymersome drug and gene delivery nanoparticles into in vitro models of head and neck cancer and tissue engineered oral mucosa. ORAL ONCOLOGY (pp 66-66)
- Imaging of polymersome penetration into 3D tissue engineered models of oral mucosa and head and neck cancer. European Cells and Materials, Vol. 16(SUPPL. 3) (pp 58)
- There’s more to fat than stem cells, characterising fat graft materials to understand the regenerative properties of adipose tissues. eCM Meeting Abstracts 2020, Collection 1, Vol. Collection 1(2020 TERMIS EU) (pp 158-158)
- Bisphosphonates prevent the formation and re-epithelialisation of the oral mucosa in vitro in 3D. eCM Online Periodical, 2018, Collection 4, Vol. Collection 4 (pp 8-8)
- Using adipose-derived stromal cells and tissue to induce vascularization and soft tissue wound healing. eCM Online Periodical, 2018, Collection 4 (pp 129-129)
Preprints
- Inhibition and reversal of a TGF-β1 induced myofibroblast phenotype by adipose tissue-derived paracrine factors.. Stem Cell Res Ther, 15(1), 166.
- Teaching activities
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I provide taught content and project supervision for students on the following degree courses:
- BEng and MEng Biomedical Engineering
- BEng and MEng Materials Science and Engineering
- MSc Bioengineering
I am the module lead for modules in the areas of Tissue Engineering and Biology whilst also delivering training in transferable skills such as scientific writing, statistics and ethical decision making. I am a personal tutor for Bioengineering students in all years.
- Professional activities and memberships
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Committee member for the Tissue and Cell Engineering Society
Associate Editor for Frontiers in Medical Technology: Regenerative Medicine
Committee member of the Senate University Research Ethics Committee