The focus of the Buckley lab is to develop novel biomaterial, biofabrication and cell based strategies to regenerate or repair damaged tissues and restore function using minimal invasive strategies.

Conor Buckley is a Professor in Biomedical Engineering, Principal investigator (PI) in both the Trinity Centre for Biomedical Engineering and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) national centre for Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research (AMBER) Centre at Trinity College Dublin and Honorary Associate Professor in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He has published over 80 international peer reviewed journal articles and over 180 conference publications. Buckley is a reviewer for 26 leading journals in the fields of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, an Editorial Board Member for the journals, Frontiers- Bioengineering and Biotechnology and Applied Biosciences and Bioengineering and serves on the International Advisory Review Board (ARB) for the Journal of Orthopaedic Research-Spine.

Buckley is also a PI on several commercial projects developing biomaterials for peripheral nerve repair and bioprinting for next generation implantable devices and tissues for orthopaedic applications. He also has experience in the commercialisation of technology including the filing and licensing of patents in relation to porous biomaterials for nerve (PCT/EP2020/083811) and cartilage tissue regeneration (EP18215447.6). In 2022, he co-founded Altach (https://altach.health), a campus spin-out company pioneering off-the-shelf cartilage scaffolds to regenerate damaged knee joints.

Prof Buckley’s laboratory has been recognised through notable honours and distinctions including the Irish Research Council (IRC) New Foundations Award, Engineers Ireland Biomedical Research Medal, European Society of Biomechanics S.M. Perren Award. Buckley has been awarded PI funding of €3.3 million and Co-PI funding of €7.6million in the areas of biomaterials and biofabrication, intervertebral disc regeneration, cartilage/meniscus implants and nerve regeneration. In 2016, he received a Career Development Award (CDA) from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and in 2019 received a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator award to develop personalised medicine approaches to regenerate the intervertebral disc.

Current research activities: Personalised medicine and injectable gene activated biomaterials for intervertebral disc repair; Biofabrication of electroconductive ECM nerve guidance conduits; 3D printing of ECM derived meniscus implants; Predictive in silico metabolite modelling for cell-based therapies.
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