The hope in the long term is that collaborative research to combine Professor Southgate's work with biomaterial studies at the Universities of Durham and Leeds could mean engineered bladder tissue ready for transplantation.

Professor Southgate, who is Director of the Jack Birch Unit for Molecular Carcinogenesis, in the Department of Biology at the University of York said: "Our most exciting work moving forward is to develop natural and synthetic biomaterials that could be combined with regenerating urothelial cells. This has the potential to produce viable bladder tissue for transplant into patients who need replacement bladders."

The York research highlights the importance of basic biology research in underpinning medical advances. Professor Nigel Brown, BBSRC Director of Science and Technology, commented: "Fundamental bioscience research forms the foundation for much of the medical advances we have today and hope for in the future. We need a solid understanding of how our bodies work and maintain themselves before we can understand what goes wrong when they become diseased and how the disease can be treated."

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Contact: Matt Goode
press.office@bbsrc.ac.uk
01-793-413-299
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
31-Jul-2007