Staff Profile

I serve as the Scientific Director for the Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory at Newcastle University. My research interests span a wide range of activities focused on improving care in the fields of Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine. I’m particularly focused on translation of scientific advancements into care. This has led to a particular focus on improved access to critical research tissues, working with regulatory bodies to adapt to emergent scientific developments, as well as understanding the commercial aspects of clinical translation. Beyond research, I’ve contributed to the establishment and commissioning of an auto-islet transplantation service; including design of all relevant documentation to establish this clinical programme. I lecture at the University and contribute to a number of degree programmes including acting as deputy module leader for the Transplantation MRes at Newcastle University. I’ve recently launched a spin out from Newcastle University (www.scubatx.com) focused on developing a medical device for enhanced organ preservation, that meets the real-world constraints of transplant personnel, money, logistics and physical space.

I serve as the Scientific Director for the Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory at Newcastle University. My research interests span a wide range of activities focused on improving care in the fields of Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine. I’m particularly focused on translation of scientific advancements into care. This has led to a particular focus on improved access to critical research tissues, working with regulatory bodies to adapt to emergent scientific developments, as well as understanding the commercial aspects of clinical translation. Beyond research, I’ve contributed to the establishment and commissioning of an auto-islet transplantation service; including design of all relevant documentation to establish this clinical programme. Ongoing work includes:

• Establishment of a Newcastle University spin-out company to commercially leverage oxygen persufflation to improve transplantation outcomes.

2020-           Innovate UK North East Angel R&D Programme Regional Angel Investment Accelerator: round 6 ‘ScubaTx - Saving More Lives, Giving Transplant Organs Air to Breath’ (£299,690)

-Principal Investigator

2020-     European Regional Development Fund Intensive Industrial Innovation Programme ‘Mathematical Techniques for Dependable Medical Device Software Automation’ (£92,978)

-Principal Investigator

2019      SETsquared Partnership, Innovate UK and BEIS: Innovation to Commercialisation of University Research (ICURe) Cohort 15 ‘Commercialization of an automated persufflation device to improve transplantation outcomes.’ (£31,325.25)

-Principle Investigator

2018            MRC Proximity to Discovery ‘Industrial Collaboration Workshop.’ (£800)

-Principal Investigator

2018-2019  MRC Proximity to Discovery ‘Development of a prototype medical device and consumable for organ persufflation.’ (£25,000)

-Principle Investigator

• National Tissue and Cell Processing Coordinator and co-Investigator for the Quality in Organ Donation (QUOD) MRC Tissue Bank – Expansion to Include Pancreas/Islets, Heart and Lungs’ (£1.6M). Including helping to design and implement all collection protocols to provide tissues for this work.

2017-              MRC Capital Investment in Human Tissue Banking and Linked Data in Partnership with Charities June 2017 of Biobanks ‘Quality and Safety in Organ Donation Tissue Bank – Expansion to Include Pancreas/Islets, Heart and Lungs’ (£1.6M)

                        -co-Principal Investigator

• Exploring the potential for the ex vivo modulation of donor organs with a variety of therapeutics including cell and gene therapies. Activities span several funding initiatives including ongoing discussions with NHS-BT and National regulatory bodies for how to responsibly translate such interventions.

2019-        Australian Research Council ‘Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Cell and Tissue Engineering Technologies.’ (£2.74M)

-co-Principal Investigator

2017         Wellcome Trust ISSF Small Grant Scheme ‘Translation of the Method of Production for Human Amniotic Epithelial Cells (AMECs) and Their Derivatives for Ex-Vivo Reconditioning of Donor Organs Prior to Transplantation’ (£5,500)

-Principal Investigator

 2014-       NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Unit (BTRU) - 'Organ Donation and Transplantation'; Collaboration between Newcastle University and Cambridge University (£4.95M)

- Project Manager (Newcastle)

-co-Principal Investigator

Module Leader and Deputy Programme Leader for Transplantation Master of Research Course

I contribute to the design and delivery of the module and assessments.

The module covers subject-specific content in the area of Transplantation. Subject-based modules provide a broad exposure to diverse aspects of transplantation, from clinical concepts to cutting edge scientific development. Teaching insights into the speciality of transplantation sciences in the context of transplantation of haematopoietic stem cells, corneal/limbal stem cells and a variety of solid organs.

The module aims to:

• provide sound understanding of the scientific basis underlying the therapeutic benefits and adverse effects of clinical transplants
• highlight the research areas where applications of immunology and cell biology can improve transplant outcome and patient wellbeing
• provide a view of bench to bedside translational links between scientific research and clinical practice

The course emphasises the clinical practice driven research, which prepares students for a future career in either medical practice or broad biomedical research. 

Main topics covered include:

• transplantation immunology related to cellular and molecular basis of allogeneic immune responses, tolerance, immunosuppression
• the genetic and molecular basis of HLA system, non-HLA immunogenetics, histocompatibility, impact of HLA matching in choice of donor and transplant outcome
• transplantation pathology related to graft-versus-host disease following haematopoietic stem cell transplant, rejection following solid organ transplant, tissue damage and loss of graft function
• manipulation of haematopoietic stem cells for clinical use

development of novel therapeutic strategies to aid improvement of clinical transplant outcome

In addition, I also lecture for a number of other courses in Newcastle including: Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust Employee Trainee Clinical Scientist MSc Module; Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust Congenital Heart Training Programme; and the Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Mres at Newcastle University.

• Kattner N, Carlsson PO, Scott III WE. Challenges and strategies in tissue engineering for improved β-cell replacement therapies through an understanding of normal pancreatic anatomy and physiology. Journal of Immunology and Regenerative Medicine 2022, 13(4), 100046.
• Dyson NJ, Kattner N, Honkanen-Scott M, Hunter B, Doyle JA, White K, Davey TS, Ploeg RJ, Bury YA, Tiniakos DG, Shaw JAM, Scott WE. Development and Application of a Semi quantitative Scoring Method for Ultrastructural Assessment of Acute Stress in Pancreatic Islets. Transplantation Direct 2022, 8(1), e1271.
• Thompson ER, Bates L, Ibrahim IK, Sewpaul A, Stenberg B, McNeill A, Figueiredo R, Girdlestone T, Wilkins GC, Tingle SJ, Scott WE, Lamos H, Mellor AL, Roobrouck VD, Ting AE, Hosgood SA, Nicholson ML, Fisher AJ, Ali S, Sheerin NS, Wilson CH. Novel delivery of cellular therapy to reduce ischaemia reperfusion injury in kidney transplantation. American Journal of Transplantation 2021, 21(4), 1402-1414.
• Dyson N, Kattner N, Carey S, Honkanen-Scott M, Hunter B, Davey T, Shaw JA, Scott WE. P.112: Ultrastructural Assessment of the Associations of Obesity and Established Diabetes in Human Pancreata. In: 18th World Congress of the International Pancreas and Islet Transplantation Association (IPITA 2021). 2021, Virtual: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
• Buhagiar A, Freitas L, Scott III WE. Persufflation - Current State of Play. Transplantology 2021, 2(3), 362-378.
• Ferdinand JR, Morrison MI, Andreasson A, Charlton C, Chhatwal AK, Scott WE, Borthwick LA, Clatworthy MR, Fisher AJ. Transcriptional analysis identifies potential novel biomarkers associated with successful ex-vivo perfusion of human donor lungs. Clinical Transplantation 2022, 36(4), e14570.
• Kattner N, Dyson N, Bury Y, Tiniakos D, White K, Davey T, Eliasson L, Tindale L, Wagner B, Honkanen-Scott MM, Doyle J, Ploeg RJ, Shaw JAM, Scott III WE. Development and validation of a quantitative electron microscopy score to assess acute cellular stress in the human exocrine pancreas. Journal of Pathology: Clinical Research 2020, 7(2), 173-187.
• Freitas L, Scott III WE, Degenaar P. Medicine-by-wire: Practical considerations on formal techniques for dependable medical systems. Science of Computer Programming 2020, 200, 102545.
• Gilmour J, Griffiths C, Pither T, Scott WE, Fisher AJ. Normothermic machine perfusion of donor-lungs ex-vivo: promoting clinical adoption. Current Opinion in Organ Transplantation 2020, 25(3), 285-292.
• Griffiths C, Scott III WE, Ali S, Fisher AJ. Normothermic machine perfusion: a platform to assess and treat donor organs ex-situ with novel therapeutics prior to transplantation. QJM: An International Journal of Medicine 2020. In Press.
• Kelly AC, Smith KE, Purvis WG, Min CG, Weber CS, Cooksey AM, Hasilo C, Paraskevas S, Suszynski TM, Weegman BP, Anderson MJ, Camacho LE, Harland RC, Loudovaris T, Jandova J, Molano DS, Price ND, Georgiev IG, Scott WE, Manas DMD, Shaw JAM, O'Gorman D, Kin T, McCarthy FM, Szot GL, Posselt AM, Stock PG, Karatzas T, Shapiro AMJ, Lynch RM, Limesand SW, Papas KK. Oxygen Perfusion (Persufflation) of Human Pancreata Enhances Insulin Secretion and Attenuates Islet Proinflammatory Signaling. Transplantation 2019, 103(1), 160-167.
• Montalbano G, Toumpaniari S, Popov A, Duan P, Chen J, Dalgarno K, Scott III WE, Ferreira AM. Synthesis of bioinspired collagen/alginate/fibrin based hydrogels for soft tissue engineering. Materials Science & Engineering: C 2018, 91, 236-246.
• Popov AA, Montalbano G, Scott WE, Chen J, Shaw JAM, Dalgarno K, Ferreira-Duarte AM. 3D manufactured islet micro-tissues for the treatment of type-1 diabetes. In: TERMIS-EU 2016 Conference. 2016, Uppsala, Sweden: eCM.
• Weegman BP, Sajja VSK, Suszynski TM, Rizzari MD, Scott III WE, Kitzman JP, Mueller KR, Hanley TR, Kennedy DJ, Todd PW, Balamurugan AN, Hering BJ, Papas KK. Continuous Quadrupole Magnetic Separation of Islets during Digestion Improves Purified Porcine Islet Viability. Journal of Diabetes Research 2016, 2016, 10. In Preparation.
• Logue JA, Scott WE, Honkanen-Scott M, De Haviland J, Abou-Saleh A, Manas DM, Shaw JAM, Dickinson A, Gabre H, Dennison AR, Charnley RM, White SA. Diversifying the Indications for Pancreas Resection and Autologous Islet Cell Transplantation (IAT) in both Adults and Children. In: Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland, 19th Annual Scientific Meeting. 2016, Leeds: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
• Scott W, Honkanen-Scott MM, De Havilland J, Logue J, Abou-Saleh A, Gabra H, Charnley R, Shaw JAM, White SA. Expanding the indications for paediatric and adult autologous islet transplantation. In: IPITA-IXA-CTS 2015 Joint Congress. 2015, Melbourne, Australia: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Scott III WE, Weegman BP, Balamurugan AN, Ferrer-Fabrega J, Anazawa T, Karatzas T, Jie T, Hammer BE, Matsumoto S, Avgoustiniatos ES, Maynard KS, Sutherland DER, Hering BJ, Papas KK. Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Tool to Monitor and Optimize Enzyme Distribution During Porcine Pancreas Distention for Islet Isolation. Xenotransplantation 2014, 21(5), 473-479.
• Weegman BP, Suszynski TM, Scott III WE, Ferrer J, Avgoustiniatos ES, Anazawa T, O'Brien TD, Rizzari MD, Karatzas T, Jie T, Sutherland DER, Hering BJ, Papas KK. Temperature Profiles of Different Cooling Methods in Porcine Pancreas Procurement. Xenotransplantation 2014, 21(6), 574-581.
• Suszynski TM, Rizzari MD, Scott III WE, Eckman PM, Fonger JD, John R, Chronos N, Tempelman LA, Sutherland DER, Papas KK. Persufflation (Gaseous Oxygen Perfusion) as a Method of Heart Preservation. Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery 2013, 8(105).
• Brandhorst H, Iken M, Scott III WE, Papas KK, Theisinger B, Johnson PR, Korsgren O, Brandhorst D. Quality of Isolated Pig Islets is Improved Using Perfluorohexyloctane for Pancreas Storage in a Split Lobe Model. Cell Transplantation 2013, 22(8).
• Minor T, Scott III WE, Rizzari MD, Suszynski TM, Luer B, Efferz P, Papas KK, Paul A. Energetic Recovery in Porcine Grafts by Minimally Invasive Liver Oxygenation. Journal of Surgical Research 2012, 178(2).
• Weegman BP, Taylor MJ, Baicu SC, Scott III WE, Mueller KR, Kitzmann JP, Rizzari MD, Papas KK. Hypothermic Perfusion Preservation of Pancreas for Islet Grafts: Validation using a Split Lobe Porcine Model. Cell Medicine 2012, 2(3).
• Suszynski TM, Rizzari MD, Scott III WE, Papas KK. Persufflation (or Gaseous Oxygen Perfusion) as a Method of Organ Preservation: A Comprehensive Review. Cryobiology 2012, 64(3).
• Avgoustiniatos ES, Scott III WE, Suszynski TS, Schuurman HJ, Nelson RA, Rozak PR, Mueller KR, Balamurugan AN, Ansite JD, Fraga DW, Friberg AS, Wildey GM, Tanaka T, Lyons CA, Sutherland DER, Hering BJ, Papas KK. Supplements in Human Islet Culture: Human Serum Albumin is Inferior to Fetal Bovine Serum. Cell Transplantation 2012, 21(12).
• Weegman BP, Kirchner VA, Scott III WE, Avgoustiniatos ES, Suszynski TM, Ferrer-Fabrega J, Rizzari MD, Kidder LS, Kandaswamy R, Sutherland DER, Papas KK. Continuous, Real-time Viability Assessment of Kidneys Based on Oxygen Consumption. Transplantation Proceedings 2010, 42(6), 2020-3.
• Scott III WE, Weegman BP, Ferrer-Fabrega J, Stein SA, Anazawa T, Kirchner VA, Rizzari MD, Stone J, Matsumoto S, Hammer BE, Balamurugan AN, Kidder LS, Suszynski TM, Avgoustiniatos ES, Stone SG, Tempelman L, Sutherland DER, Hering BJ, Papas KK. Pancreas Oxygen Persufflation Increases ATP Levels as Shown by NMR. Transplantation Proceedings 2010, 42(6), 2011-5.
• Scott III WE, O'Brien TD, Ferrer-Fabrega J, Avgoustiniatos ES, Weegman BP, Anazawa T, Matsumoto S, Kirchner VA, Rizzari MD, Murtaugh MP, Suszynski TM, Aasheim T, Kidder LS, Hammer BE, Stone SG, Tempelman L, Sutherland DER, Hering BJ, Papas KK. Persufflation Improves Pancreas Preservation When Compared With the Two-Layer Method (TLM). Transplantation Proceedings 2010, 42(6), 2016-9.
• Rizzari MD, Suszynski TM, Kidder LS, Stein SA, O'Brien TD, Scott III WE, Kirchner VA, Weegman BP, Avgoustiniatos ES, Todd PW, Kennedy DJ, Hammer BE, Sutherland DER, Hering BJ, Papas KK. Surgical Protocol Involving the Infusion of Paramagnetic Microparticles for Preferential Incorporation within Porcine Islets. Transplantation Proceedings 2010, 42(10).
• Ferrer J, Scott III WE, Weegman BP, Suszynski TM, Sutherland DER, Hering BJ, Papas KK. Pig Pancreas Anatomy: Implications for Pancreas Procurement, Preservation, and Islet Isolation. Transplantation 2008, 86(11), 1503-10.
• Scott III WE, Matsumoto S, Tanaka T, Avgoustiniatos ES, Graham ML, Williams PC, Tempelman LA, Sutherland DER, Hering BJ, Hammer BE, Papas KK. Real-Time Noninvasive Assessment of Pancreatic ATP Levels During Cold Preservation. Transplantation Proceedings 2008, 40(2), 403-6.
• Papas KK, Colton CK, Nelson RA, Rozak PR, Avgoustiniatos ES, Scott III WE, Pisania A, Weir GC, Hering BJ. Human islet oxygen consumption rate and DNA measurements predict diabetes reversal in nude mice. American Journal of Transplantation 2007, 7(3), 707-713.
• Ross EA, Scott III WE, Odukale AA, Alba NA, CD Batich CD. Transient Acid Exposure Increases Sevelamer HCl Phosphate Binding. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 2007, 96(8), 2154-60.