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Dr Morgan Denyer
Lecturer in Pharmacology
  • Telephone: +44 (0) 1274 233016
  • Email: m.denyer@bradford.ac.uk

Dr Denyer gained his PhD in neuroscience from the University of North Wales, Bangor in 1994. Since then he worked as a postdoc at the Centre for Cell Engineering (Glasgow University) and an STA Research Fellow at RIKEN, Japan. Dr Denyer is currently a Lecturer in the Bradford School of Pharmacy and is working on 5 research themes.

1) Bioassay development using systems consisting of electrogenic cells cultured over microfabricated recording systems. This work is aimed at the development of a novel high throughput bioassay system for use by the pharmaceutical industry in drug discovery and development. The biological/pharmacological component of this work is being performed almost entirely within the School of Pharmacy in Bradford, whilst the development of a highly specialised extracellular recording system involves a collaboration with engineers and physicist at Juelich, Germany.

2) The development of novel microscope systems for use in nanotechnology, such as the wide field surface plasmon microscope (SPM) and it’s use in drug development and cell engineering. This area of research is extremely exciting and aims at the development of new analytical tools that can be used to examine cell surface interactions at high vertical and lateral resolutions and also the formulation of new pharmacological compounds. This work involves a strong collaboration between Dr Denyer’s group in the IPI and a group in Nottingham headed by Professor Mike. Somekh. The work on the SPM system is currently supported by an EPSRC grant, a Yorkshire Concept grant and a Yorkshire Forward Fellowship.

3) Coupling cells to printable organic semiconductor based microelectronic electrophysiological recording devices. This work involves a collaboration with MERCK and aims at the eventual development of printed flexible implantable extracellular recording devices.

4) Development of novel co-formulated “Stealth Drugs’. This ground breaking work is being performed in collaboration with Dr Nick Blagden and Dr Anna Nicolaou, and focuses on the interface between biology and nanoparticles.

5) Development of novel UV block assaying systems. This work is supported by a collaboration with Professor Beverley Glass at James Cook University, Townsville Australia and concentrates on the development of 3D cell culture systems for use in assaying the UV protective properties of new UV A and UV B sun blocks.

Recent invited lectures:

1) The importance of cell surface coupling. RIKEN Summer School, Frontier Research System, Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, RIKEN, Japan 2001.

2) The importance of cell surface coupling in the development of miniaturised electrophysiological recording devices School of Postgraduate Medicine, University of Keele, November 2001

3)When is Close Close Enough? The importance of Cell Surface Coupling in Cell Engineering. Frontier Research System, Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, RIKEN, Japan July 2002

4) The importance of surface analyses in cell engineering and drug discovery. School of Postgraduate Medicine, University of Keele, August 2002

5)Applications of near field microscopy in cell engineering and the analyses of surface chemistry. Novel Optical Developments for Monitoring in Tissue Engineering, IPEM, York, September 2002

6) Applications of surface analyses in cell engineering and drug discovery. Max Planck Institute for Polymer Chemistry (MPIP), Mainz Germany, January 2003.

7) Aspects of cell engineering in Bradford, Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN) Japan. September 2003

8) The importance of cell surface coupling in the development of miniaturized electrophysiological recording devices. IEE Lecture, University of Bradford, November 2003.

9) Investigating cellular interfaces, Bioimaging and Biomagnetics Laboratory, University of Tokyo, Japan, April 2004.

10) Investigating cellular interfaces, Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN) Japan, April 2004.

Recent peer reviewed papers:-

1) Model network architectures in vitro on extracellular recording systems using microcontact printing. C. Sprössler, M. Scholl, M. Krause M.C. Denyer, A. Offenhaeusser, W. Knoll, A. Maelicke. Synthetic Metals (2001) 117, 281-283.

2) Biological Imaging with a Near-Field Optical Setup. M. Denyer, R. Micheletto, M. Scholl, K. Nakajima, M. Hara, S. Okazaki and W. Knoll. Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 2003, 3, number 6, 496-502

3) Motogenic substrata and chemokinetic growth factors for Human skin cells. J. Sutherland, M. Denyer and S. Britland. Journal Of Anatomy 207, 67-78. 2005

4) Contact guidance in Human dermal fibroblasts is modulated by population pressure. J. Sutherland, M. Denyer and S. Britland. Journal of Anatomy, 206, 581-587, 2005.

5) Application of a novel widefield surface plasmon microscope in binding assays. S. Marlafeka, S. Liu, M. Mahadi Abdul Jamil, P.C. Twigg, S.T. Britland, M.C.T. Denyer, C.W. See and M.G. Somekh. Proceedings of the 3rd International IEEE-EMBS Special Topics Conference on Microtechnologies in Medicine & Biology IEEE EMBS. ISBN 0-7803-8712-0, pp 140-142 (2005).

6) Control of human skin cell adhesion, proliferation and migration by microengineered substrata: transposition from solid phase to clinically relevant materials. J Sutherland, AG Smith, AC Egan, MC Denyer and ST Britland. Proceedings of the 3rd Annual International IEEE/EMBS Special Topic Conference on Microtechnologies in Medicine. pp190-193. ISBN0-7803-8712-0 2005.

7) Imaging biomolecular nanofilms at micrometer lateral resolutions using wide field surface plasmon microscopy S. Marlefeka, s. T. Britland, S. Liu, P. C. Twigg, C. W. See, M. G. Somekh, M. C. T. Denyer, IFMBE Proceedings vol. 12, 3B2-03, 2005.

8) Microengineered surface topography facilitates cell grafting from a prototype hydrogel wound dressing with anti-bacterial capability. Annie G. Smith, Abbas Din, Morgan Denyer, Nicholas J. Crowther, Donald Eagland, Kath Vowden, Peter Vowden, Stephen T. Britland, Biotechnology 22: 1407-1415, 2006

9) High resolution imaging of TGF3 treated human keratinocyte via a newly developed widefield surface plasmon resonance microscope. M. Mahadi Abdul Jamil, M. Youseffi, S.T. Britland, S. Liu, C.W. See, M.G. Somekh and M.C.T. Denyer. IFMBE Proceedings 15: 286 –290, Dec. 2006.

10) Widefield surface plasmon resonance microscope: a novel biosensor study of cell attachment to micropatterned substrates. M. Mahadi Abdul Jamil, M. Youseffi, S.T. Britland, S. Liu, C.W. See, M.G. Somekh and M.C.T. Denyer. IFMBE Proceedings 15: 351 – 354, Dec. 2006.