Professor Alicia El Haj

 

Professor Alicia El Haj currently holds a position in the Healthcare Technology Institute in the Institute of Translational Medicine at Birmingham University as an Interdisciplinary Professor of Cell Engineering. She earned her Masters at the University of Manchester and a Ph.D. at the University of Aberdeen. She had previously served as the founding Director of the Institute of Science & Technology in Medicine at Keele University Medical School. Additionally, Professor El Haj is the Director of MICA Biosystem, Ltd. which takes in vitro pharma screening tools and stem cell control systems and adapts them for clinical use, among many other previous and current leadership roles she holds. With all of these accomplishments, she earned a Royal Society Merit Award in 2014 and the MRC Suffrage Award in 2015 for her role in leading women in STEM. Professor El Haj is fighting gender imbalances in the larger STEM field, working towards a healthier workplace environment, increasing the visibility of women and their achievements through an online database, and creating an equitable platform for professional development. She does this through the Women in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering (WiMPBME) Task Group, under the International Union of Physical and Engineering Scientists in Medicine, which was established in 2014 to coordinate tasks and projects internationally, supporting women in medical physics and biomedical engineering. 

Professor El Haj is interested in aspects of cell and tissue engineering and regenerative medicine and strives to move innovative new cell-based therapies to the clinic, including biomechanics, bioreactors, and imaging systems. Her most current research project is titled “SHIFT: Shaping Innovative Designs for Sustainable Tissue Engineering Products” which aims to use green chemistry principles to minimize the research's environmental impact. The objective of this project is to design several devices consisting of natural-based, scalable constructs that enhance angiogenesis (the development of new blood vessels) to treat widespread chronic pathologies, such as large defects in bone and cartilage, and the treatment of chronic wounds. 

https://www.keele.ac.uk/pharmacy-bioengineering/ourpeople/aliciaelhaj/ 

https://research.birmingham.ac.uk/en/persons/alicia-el-haj 

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12553-022-00658-7 

https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101008041