Insigneo Newsletter - July 2026

Welcome to our monthly Insigneo newsletter!  

Our monthly e-newsletter keeps you up to date with events, funding, success stories and information. We hope you will find it useful! 

Hundreds of Sheffield walkers raise record-breaking sum for children’s lung research

More than 400 walkers conquered a challenging trek through the Peak District to raise a record-breaking sum for life-saving children's lung research at the University of Sheffield.  

The Big Walk 2026 saw 402 staff, alumni and friends of the University lace up their walking boots to support groundbreaking research that is transforming how respiratory conditions are diagnosed and monitored in children.

Assisted and marshalled by an 82-strong team of volunteers, this year's Big Walkers embarked on a choice of two challenging routes, 20 miles, or 30 miles, through some of the finest scenery the Peak District has to offer.

A  total of £165,824 is the highest ever raised by the event, thanks in part to the generous match funding provided by friends of the University Graham and Sue Royle, whose remarkable support doubled the impact of donations for this life-changing research. 

Professor Jim Wild, Co-Director of the University of Sheffield’s Insigneo Institute, said: "We've been very active in developing the technology and using it to understand lung diseases in children and adults in Sheffield. The Big Walk is building on that research to make more clinical impact. The cause is really important to young people in this region, we've got a lot of paediatric lung disease, and the research is nationally important too.

“This year the funds raised will help clinically translate the lung imaging technology we've developed, working in partnership with Sheffield Children's Hospital. Multidisciplinary research is the most stimulating part of what we do, and having a clinical application at the end gives it real purpose."

We'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part in the Big Walk, including the many Insigneo members who stepped up to the challenge!

Pioneering 3D printing lab opens at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 

Insigneo member Dr Pete Metherall and a team of clinical scientists have led the development of a state-of-the-art 3D printing lab producing ultra-realistic medical models for training, surgical simulation and patient-specific anatomical modelling at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. 

Funded through a wider National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) infrastructure grant, the new facility boasts some of the most advanced 3D printing for the creation of lifelike surgical models available in the UK. It is helping surgeons plan more effectively for complex surgical interventions and is supporting the training of the next generation of surgeons.  

Inside the lab are high-precision digital anatomy printers and specialised design software that create 3D models of human anatomy that look and feel like real bone and tissue. 

Sheffield team awarded ARIA Seed Boost funding for engineered fungal neural interfaces

A multidisciplinary team led by Insigneo Research Theme Director for smart devices and sensors, Dr Thomas Paterson, in the School of Clinical Dentistry has received a £3,948,070 Seed Boost from the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) to investigate whether engineered fungal networks can be developed as controllable bioelectronic materials for future neural-interface technologies.

The award builds on the team’s previous ARIA Opportunity Seed project, Adapting Non-Pathogenic Fungal Networks Toward Next-Generation Neural Interfaces. That work tested whether fungal networks could coexist with neural and immune cells in laboratory models and whether their electrical properties could be modified.

Master Cutler's visit showcases nationally leading healthcare innovation

The Master and Mistress Cutler, Professor Keith Jackson and Dr Gina Jackson, and Insigneo member Professor Paul Hatton, Professor of Biomaterials Science at the University of Sheffield and Lead for the South Yorkshire Academic Health Partnership, have visited Sheffield Teaching Hospitals' medical physics and clinical engineering teams.

Our visitors heard how Devices for Dignity: The NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in long term conditions and the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre Network are helping to develop and evaluate innovative technologies that address some of healthcare's biggest challenges.

The visit also showcased our state-of-the-art 3D printing lab, where bespoke medical models and devices are transforming patient care and supporting clinicians, before finishing at the nuclear medicine and molecular therapy unit at Weston Park Cancer Centre, where advanced nuclear medicine techniques are delivering highly specialised, personalised treatments for cancer patients.

Yorkshire MedTech Translational Funding Summer Call

Thinking of applying for this round of the MedTech Place Based Impact Accelerator?

If you missed the webinar for potential applicants to Yorkshire MedTech Round 6 impact funding, across Proof of Market, Proof of Feasibility and Proof of Concept schemes,  you can find the replay over on Yorkshire MedTech's YouTube channel here - essential viewing if you're thinking of applying for translational research funding now or in the future!

The deadline for Round 6 Intention to Submit is 31 July - visit www.yorkshiremedtech.com to register.

Sano Seminar: An Introduction to AI Implementation in the UK National Health Service

Dr Jonathan Taylor and Dr Steven Wood from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust gave a talk on 'An Introduction to AI Implementation in the UK National Health Service' as part of the Sano Centre seminar series on 13 July 2026.

MRC funding for new Pavone nanoindenter

We're delighted to share that we've secured funding from the Medical Research Council (MRC) for a new Pavone nanoindenter.

The instrument will enable high-throughput mechanobiology measurements and will be installed in the Light Microscopy Facility (LMF).

The successful bid was led by the Insigneo Biomaterials and Mechanobiology Theme Directors, Professor Ivana Barbaric and Professor Chris Toseland, in collaboration with Dr Darren Robinson from the School of Biosciences. The bid brought together an impressive 24 PIs spanning three Faculties across the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University.  

We'll keep you posted as installation progresses.

Churchill Fellowship for Dr Jonathan Taylor

Congratulations to Insigneo Member Dr Jonathan Taylor, Clinical Scientist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who has been awarded a Churchill Fellowship and will be visiting the USA and Canada to explore how healthcare organisations can monitor AI after it has been deployed into clinical practice. Read more

Insigneo Early Career Researcher community

Our Early Career Researcher ECR group is open to all Insigneo Members who are PhD students, postdocs, fellows, lecturers and those who self-define as an ECR.

Find out more and join

If you are not already a member of the Insigneo Institute and would like to join you can read more about the benefits and apply here: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/insigneo/membership. 

ECR fellowship/grant writing Workshop

We run regular ECR fellowship/grant writing workshops (every ~2 months).

The aim is to allow ECRs to discuss with their peers any fellowship/ grant applications they might be preparing and to receive feedback in an informal setting. During each session we have one to two members presenting their work, followed by a round table discussion. This group is reserved for Insigneo ECR members who are seriously considering or are in the process of writing their first grant or applying for a fellowship. Please contact Damien Lacroix (d.lacroix@sheffield.ac.uk) or Neil Stewart (neil.stewart@sheffield.ac.uk) to express your interest in participating.

Opportunity for an ECR to join our committee as the lead for social events!

In this role, you will play a key part in fostering community connections by organizing engaging social and networking events.

If you’re passionate about building a vibrant community and have creative ideas for bringing people together, we’d love to have you on board.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us by emailing Sarah Black (sarah.black@sheffield.ac.uk).

If you have any queries, please contact m.matella@sheffield.ac.uk or sarah.black@sheffield.ac.uk 

The Insigneo ECR Committee
(Malwina Matella, Neil Stewart, Juntong Lai, Hazem Toutounji, Sarah Needleman, Silvia Dirstaru, Sarah Black, Sarah Hollely, chaired by: Damien Lacroix)

We would like to introduce some of our new members who have joined the Insigneo Institute recently. 

Find out more about Insigneo membership and our members here: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/insigneo/membership 

After completing a BSc (Hons) in Genetics and Microbiology at the University of
Sheffield, I embarked on a career in education, teaching Biology for 12 years, before
returning to academia. I then completed my MSc in Biomedical Sciences at Sheffield
Hallam University, followed by my PhD investigating a novel antimicrobial sol-gel
coating to prevent prosthetic joint infection. My research included developing an ex vivo bone infection model and sparked my interest in advanced biomaterial development and physiologically relevant ex vivo modelling of bone disease, including infection.

My current research focuses on ex vivo model development for medication related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) and its application in evaluating novel treatments for this debilitating condition.

Do you have news to share with us?

If you would like us to include information and/or events to this newsletter please email: insigneo@sheffield.ac.uk (the newsletter will be issued during the 2nd week of the month, excluding January and August). 

Insigneo members - please let us know when your students are graduating so that we can celebrate their success!

Please ensure that you submit items for inclusion with a minimum of one week's notice.

Guest Lectures, Conferences & Seminars

Please see our useful resource detailing Training and Development Opportunities relevant to Insigneo research themes, including events, conferences and seminars from the University and across a huge range of institutions and organisations. Please note that some are internal to the University of Sheffield.

Insigneo events

9 September
Insigneo Seminar: Deep learning cardiovascular biomechanics

15 September
Joint AI in cancer research workshop 

17 September
Women's HealthTech Innovation Network Seminar and Networking Event

Other events

1 - 4 September
VPH 2026, Milan, Italy

7 September
Sheffield Centre for Cancer Research launch

9 - 11 September
Research Software Engineering conference, Sheffield

15 - 16 October
Inaugural National Paediatric Translational Research Conference, Sheffield

17 September
DRIvE research seminar: Advanced MRI techniques for probing blood-brain barrier alterations and reaching wider populations - save the date
 

2027

25 - 30 April
Quantitative Musculoskeletal Imaging (QMSKI) Workshop and International Symposium on Ultrasonic Characterization of Bone (ISUCB) 2027, Iceland - Abstract submission: 1 September 2026 - 13 November 2026

For a full list of upcoming events visit: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/insigneo/overview/events

Publications

Prediction of compressive strength of vertebral body with metastatic lesions based on quantitative computed tomography-based subject-specific finite element models (Bone) R. Ghosh, E. Shearman, R. Roger, M. Palanca, E. Dall'Ara,
D. Lacroix

Rapid personalisation of cardiovascular models using invasively measured right ventricular pressure (Computers in Biology and Medicine) F. Frost, M. Balmus, L. Bokeria, J.Longbottom, C. Rangel-Smith, H. Saxton, R. H. Clayton, S. Niederer, A. M. K. Rothman, K. Worden, R. D. Wilkinson

Aging reduces strain magnitude and heterogeneity while increasing apparent stiffness of the rat proximal tibia (Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials) L. Müller, S. Kunnoth, H. Souhail, M. Ska, P. Uniyal, L. D'Andrea, P. Vena, G. H. van Lenthe, E. Dall’Ara, D. Ruffoni

Micromechanical characterisation of osteoarthritic subchondral bone by micropillar compression (Acta Biomaterialia)  S. McPhee, M. Peña Fernández, L. Koria, M. Mengoni, R. J. Beck, J. D. Shephard, C. Brockett, U. Wolfram

Combined electrospun fibre-microneedle patches for enhanced transmucosal delivery of benzodiazepines and proteins (Biomaterials Science) C. Berry, J. G. Edmans, K. M. Slowik, R. A. Byers, S. Danby, P. V. Hatton, C. Murdoch, H. E. Colley

A Virtual Trial to Identify Cardiovascular Biomarkers for Differentiating Diabetic and Hypertensive Kidney Disease (Annals of Biomedical Engineering) N. Wang, S. P. Sourbron, I. Benemerito, A. Marzo 

A novel integrative multi-scale framework of inflammation and mechanical loading in knee osteoarthritis (Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology) J. Lai, D. Lacroix

Multi-scale modelling of mouse tibia loading reveals the critical role of muscle insertion surfaces (Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology) T. Valerio, S. M. Farage-O’Reilly, J. P. Charles, E. Dall’Ara 

Characterisation of a human explanted polyethylene terephthalate (PET) surgical mesh following laparoscopic ventral mesh rectopexy (Materials Today Communications) N. T. H. Farr, A. Rahman, P. Peikertová, J. Schäfer, S. Jha

Measuring In-Shoe Plantar Strain Outcomes in the Presence of Callus: A Preliminary Study Using the STAMPS3D Measurement System (Journal of Foot and Ankle Research) F. Sairally, D. A. Russell, H. J. Siddle, D. Trinca, C. Brockett, P. R. Culmer

Airway segmentation on CT – A systematic review of machine learning tools (European Journal of Radiology Open) N. Lsloum, A. Maiter, T. Alnasser, A. Albylwi, 
K. Alghamdi, M. Sharkey, A. Hokmabadi, M. Salehi, K. Dwivedi, C. Johns, A. J. Swift, 
S. Alabed

Digital twins for cardiopulmonary medicine: the case for pulmonary arterial hypertension (American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine) S. A. Niederer, M. Balmus, C. Burr , T. J. A. Chico, R. H. Clayton, W. Bai, C. Rangel-Smith, D. J. Wagg, R. D. Wilkinson, S.-Y. Wang, A. M. K. Rothman, M. R. Wilkins

Emulsion templating of PCL:PGS methacrylate blends for soft tissue engineering (Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology) C. S. Ryan, C. E. F. Barkshire, M. F. Velázquez de la Paz, G. C. Reilly, F. Claeyssens 

Mechanistic interpretations of sustained ventricular fibrillation: The role of mapping methodology, model and time (Heart International) J. B. Tonko, V. Kappadan, A. El-Medany, H. Aggour, H. Zhen, A. Birdi, E. Pyman, J. Barker, J.-B. Guichard, R. Clayton, F. S. Ng

Longitudinal 1H and 129Xe Lung MRI in Patients With Post-COVID Residual Lung Abnormalities (Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging) L. C. Saunders, G. J. Collier, L. J. Smith, H.-F. Chan, P. J. C. Hughes, S. Strickland, L. Gustafsson, T. Newman, M. Plowright, Z. Gabriel, L. M. Pearce, J. T. Grist, K. L. Ng, A. Harrison, C. E. Bolton, J. Bray, H. Marshall, G. Norquay, A. M. Biancardi, J. E. Ball, N. J. Stewart, K. M. Johnson, A. J. Swift, S. Rajaram, J. Blaikley, S. Stanel, P. J. Collini, G. H. Mills, R. Lawson, J. Brooke, A. T. Goodwin, I. D. Stewart, L.-P. Ho, J. Jacob, T. Meersmann, G. E. Pavlovskaya, F. Gleeson, I. P. Hall, G. Jenkins, J. M. Wild, A. A. R. Thompson,  on behalf of the UK-ILD consortium