The National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration & Reconstruction (NERC-TRE) was founded in 2009 with the recognition of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China. It is managed by the South China University of Technology (SCUT). Inherited with strong multidisciplinary science and engineering background from SCUT, the center aims at developing key technologies and products for restoration and functional reconstruction of diseased tissues. NERC-TRE offers a unique platform for conducting research through a wide range of scientific disciplines and strengthens the ties among scientific research, clinical applications, industrial development and business.
NERC-TRE has employed 58 staff as well as several adjunct medical professors and senior engineers, most of whom have oversea experiences and interdisciplinary research background. The center is qualified for training postgraduate students and doctorate candidates in the fields of Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Control Science and Engineering, Electronic and Information Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. There are more than a hundred graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the center. The joint-training project is being conducted through the collaboration between the center and clinical hospitals, universities, both domestic and overseas. Furthermore, scholarships are provided to the meritorious students.
The research center covers an area of 5,000 m2, and with 40 million Yuan's worth of apparatus. There are 11 research and testing laboratories covering the research on biomaterials for restoring human tissues, tissue engineering, bio-assembly and biomimetic techniques, surface modification of medical implants, medical information and image processing, three-dimensional reconstruction, pattern recognition, manufacturing technologies of individualized implants, etc.
The research center has acquired various grants from the National Basic Research Program of China (Program 973), the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (Program 863), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the Science and Technology Program of Guangdong Province, and the industry. The center has carried out a variety of studies on the following subjects: new biomedical materials, manufacturing and surface modification technologies of medical implants, cell biology and tissue engineering, drug carriers, biomedical information and image processing, and personalized bone restoration technology.
In recent years, more than 200 scientific papers have been published, as well as two scholarly monographs. The center holds more than 20 patents, and several prestigious awards including the First prize of Natural Science Award from Ministry of Education, the First and the Second Prizes of Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Award.
The center has carried out a lot of collaborations with related enterprises and hospitals and several Co-laboratories have been established. An Industry-University-Research Institute Alliance was set up in Dec. 2009 at the center. The alliance aims at promoting the development and application of new products provided with specialized staff, advanced apparatus, and pilot production lines, and brings the advantages of research institutes, medical institutions and enterprises into full play. The center leads the industrial development by offering technical training courses for the enterprises regarding the materials synthesis, processing and analysis. Seeking the opportunity of mutual benefit and win-win result, it endeavors to ensure the reasonable and efficient utilization of the apparatuses, to improve the public service, and to promote the transferring of research achievements to commercial products.