Meet the team

Professor Ivan Wall

Ivan is an inter-disciplinary scientist who has undertaken research at the interface of cell biology, bioprocessing, biomaterials and novel devices. He obtained a PhD in cell and molecular biology, has spent most of his academic career working with industry and clinical collaborators and has completed an MBA and Level 7 Apprenticeship.

Ivan has been awarded funding from UK research councils, charity and industry. He has been part of, as PI or co-I, successful grant applications totalling over £40M in grant funding as principal investigator, published 70 peer-reviewed papers and was a visiting professor at Dankook University in South Korea. His diverse research interests have influenced his interests in innovation for skills and training, including the creation of unique digital training platforms for medicines manufacturers.

Professor Phil Newsome

Phil is a clinician who is the Director of Midlands & Wales Advanced Therapy Treatment Centre and Deputy Director NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre. He has received a range of funding including large project/programme grants (EUFP7, MRC, Innovate UK, NIHR and MRC/Wellcome Clinical Training Fellowships). Phil has established three cutting edge clinical trials which he is the Chief Investigator on: One of these, REALISTIC, is the largest clinical trial of haematopoietic stem cell therapy in patients with liver cirrhosis in Europe/US was published in Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.

He co-ordinates the MERLIN (EU FP7) consortium which includes a clinical trial of mesenchymal stromal cells in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and also the POLARISE basket trial in patients with PSC, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease and lupus nephritis. This research portfolio has led to high impact publications throughout including both original articles (PNAS, Gastroenterology, Journal of Hepatology, Hepatology, Nature, Gut, American Journal of Transplantation, Annals of Internal Medicine, Lancet) and review articles (FASEB, Nature Reviews, Gastroenterology, Journal of Hepatology). 

Dr Patricia Esteban

Dr Patricia P. Esteban is an Assistant Professor in the School of Chemical Engineering and the Healthcare Technologies Institute (HTI) at the University of Birmingham. Her research focus combines material science and bioprocessing with the aim to establish biologically relevant platforms where tailored cell-to-matrix interactions in vitro can mimic physiological mechanisms seen in native tissues, or lead to the manipulation of cell fate on a dish. These technologies aim to advance the development of cellular therapies and tissue engineering approaches to in vitro models of disease.

Dr Esteban has extensive expertise in the field of tissue engineering and microfluidics. She has received national recognition at the very prestigious ‘SET for Britain Competition’, where she was awarded the Gold Medal for Engineering. Currently, her research investigates the application of engineering principles for in vitro modelling and scaling-up of cell-based therapies, funded by the Academy of Medical Sciences and EPSRC.

Dr Stuart Curbishley

Stuart was awarded his PhD by the University of Birmingham in 2005 after which his group developed a programme of immune based therapies for liver disease and liver cancer. Backed by a successful National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), he has undertaken a variety of first-in-man early phase clinical trials. As a senior scientist within the BRC, Stuart led the development of cell therapy based around dendritic cell vaccination for primary liver cancer.  Following this success, the University invested in the building and licensing of an ATMP manufacturing facility which Stuart now directs. 

The Advanced Therapies Facility manages the development of new ATMPs, both within the University of Birmingham and with UK and international partner organisations and is part of the UK government funded Advanced Therapies Treatment Centre programme. 

This initiative is tasked with developing streamlined manufacturing, logistics, and clinical pathways to improve access to ATMPs for patients within the National Health Service. Birmingham, in partnership with other Midlands institutions and NHS Wales is one of three specialist Advanced Therapy Treatment Centres in the UK. 

Stuart continues to grow the portfolio of ATMPs manufactured at the ATF, extending to T cell products, stromal cells, chondrocytes, and dendritic cells and brings his expertise in closing manufacturing processes and developing sustainable, scaleable solutions to the projects his team work on.

Dr Amanda Dalby

Amanda is our Process Development and Training Manager, designing and delivering courses and helping with outreach activities. Amanda gained a masters and PhD from the University of Cambridge, working on a novel stem cell approach to generate platelets and red blood cells for use in transfusion medicine. She moved to Birmingham in 2018 to work as a postdoc in the Birmingham Platelet lab, working on rare genetic disorders affecting patients with bleeding. She also became a microscope officer in the Centre of Membrane Proteins and Receptors (COMPARE), delivering training in multiple super resolution techniques.