Professor Giorgio Terenghi - personal details

General Background

I’m a Professor of Tissue Engineering in the School of Medicine, where the Nerve Regeneration Research Group has relocated in 2003. I am a Fellow of The Royal College of Pathology, and in 2001 I was awarded an Honorary Degree in Medicine from the University of Umeå in Sweden, where I am also a visiting professor collaborating on a project on spinal cord repair after injury.

The main focus of my research is the pathology of the peripheral nervous system and tissue engineering of nerve repair. The research group is based at the Blond McIndoe Laboratories, Division of Regenerative Medicine, the University of Manchester. The different projects integrate the work of surgical research fellows and post-doctoral scientists within the Nerve Regeneration Group, using morphological and molecular biology tools to investigate different aspect of nerve pathology.

Research Projects

The research projects under investigation can be briefly summarised as follows:
• The biological mechanisms of nerve injury in peripheral and central nervous systems.
• Culture of genetically engineered Schwann cells and adult stem cells for transplantationin the peripheral and central nervous system.
• Tissue engineering of nerve conduits to facilitate regeneration over long nerve gaps.
• Improvement of nerve regeneration by use of growth factors delivered either by a matrix or by transfected cultured cells.
• Pharmacological intervention to prevent neuronal cell death during chronic denervation and treatment of delayed nerve reconstruction.
• Testing of functional reinnervation of muscles and skin following experimental nerve repair, also in clinical trial of nerve reconstruction.
• Non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging of neuronal cell survival and nerve regeneration.

The group is developing an alternative clinical approach to nerve reconstruction using resorbable polymer conduits, which support and direct the regrowth of the nerve after traumatic injury. The material can be wrapped around an injured nerve, bridging the gap between the two severed ends. A double-blind clinical trial using this novel method has now successfully completed at the University Hospital of Umeå, Sweden, in collaboration with Professor Mikael Wiberg, providing the opportunity to develop a translational link between research and clinical application. Further research is centred on the refinement of the conduit, by combining it with cultured glial and stem cells, or growth factors to improve regeneration, and pharmacological approaches to prevent the neuronal cell death occurring after nerve injury.

In collaboration with Professor Martin Birchall, Laryngeal Research Group, University of Bristol, UK, the group is investigating the application of the new nerve repair technique for the transplantation of the larynx and for the functional recuperation of its muscle movements. In collaboration with Professor Mikael Wiberg and Dr Lev Novikov, Department of Integrative Medical Biology, University of Umeå, Sweden, we are studying the use of cultured genetically modified Schwann cells and stem cells for the repair of spinal cord injury.

Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, London

1968-1973 Faculty of Biological Sciences at the Universita’ degli Studi in Milan
Doctor in Biology, 1973.

1973-1974 Ospedale degli Infermi in Biella.
Diploma in Immunohaematology, 1974

1978-1980 Department of Anatomy and Human Biology, University of Sheffield.
MSc in Anatomy

1981-1985 Royal Postgraduate Medical School, London University.
PhD in Pathology.

2001 Honorary Degree in Medicine, University of Umeå, Sweden.

• Professor of Tissue Engineering and Head of Nerve Regeneration Research.
• Director of the UK Centre for Tissue Regeneration (www.ukctr.manchester.ac.uk)
• Designated Individual for the HTA Research Licence of the University of Manchester
• Representative for the University of Manchester on the Committee of the N8 Centre for Translational Regenerative Medicine, established through the Northern Way initiative

MRes Tissue Engineering for Regenerative Medicine – Deputy Director, Organising Committee and Teaching

Supervisor of postgraduate students following either MD or PhD research degree studies.