Overview
Background
Dr Mark C Allenby is a Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Engineering (2021-ongoing) and an ARC DECRA Fellow (2022-2025) within UQ's School of Chemical Engineering. Mark is also an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at QUT and previously an Advance Queensland Fellow (2019-2022). Mark has principally supervised 5 PhDs and 2 MPhil/RAs, co-supervised 7 PhDs, and has been awarded over $2.8M of funding as chief investigator across 20 competitive funding rounds in 4 years. Mark received a PhD and MSc in chemical engineering from Imperial College London, UK and bachelors degrees in mathematics and chemistry from Pepperdine University, USA. Mark's leadership is exhibited by the:
- 2024 ASBTE Emerging Leadership Award
- 2024 Friends of CCRM Australia Industry Advisory Network
- 2024, 2023, and 2022 Executive Board Member of ASBTE
- 2023 TERMIS-AP Young Investigator Award
- 2023 RegMedNet Rising Star Finalist
- 2020 QUT ECR Award
Research Interests: Mark leads the BioMimetic Systems Engineering (BMSE) Lab. In the BMSE Lab, we combine Tissue Engineering, Biomedical Image Analysis, and Computational Biology to study and solve biological and medical problems using advanced cell culture and computer models. Initially, we will focus on Systems of Blood, Blood Vessels, and Vascularised Tissue as these are essential building blocks for human and mammalian function. Our work aligns with bioprocess engineering fundamentals, cell therapy or medical device manufacturing, and clinical collaborators in haematology, vascular surgery, neurosurgery, and radiology. Our systems engineering approaches allow us to examine, computationally model, experimentally engineer, optimise, control, scale, and automate dynamic systems of several entities such as multi-cellular tissues or cell-material and cell-fluid systems.
Academic Interests: Mark is the Convener of UQ's Biomedical Engineering (BME) major, ranked #2 in Australia. BME at UQ spans schools of Chemical Engineering (ChE; #1 in Australia), Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering, and engages with UQ's Faculty of Medicine and associated healthcare services. Mark is part of ChE teaching and scholarship committees, and Mark acts as the academic advisor for ChE-BME undergraduates. Mark is the creator and coordinator of Quantitative Methods in Biomedical Engineering, and is a lecturer of Process Modeling & Dynamics. Mark has previously taught courses in biomaterials, process modelling, and reaction engineering in ChE and BME departments at three universities in the UK and Australia.
Our BMSE Lab is currently looking for excellent computational researchers. These include candidates and collaborators with experience in microscopy and medical image processing, cell population dynamics simulation, and/or biomechanics simulations (Python, MATLAB, R, ANSYS) to analyse high-content experimental data. Postdoc candidates are welcome to contact us to explore fellowship applications. Interested PhD and MPhil candidates should consider applying with us to the UQ Annual HDR Scholarship Round. We are always recruiting masters and undergraduate thesis project students for thesis projects advertised on our lab website.
Availability
- Dr Mark Allenby is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, Imperial College
Research interests
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Diagnostic Cell Culture Models to Screen Graft Versus Host Disease
Bone marrow and organ transplants have been a lifesaving option for 200,000 patients per year. Patients and infants in need of blood, stem cells or solid organs often rely on donations from unrelated donors, despite their substantial risk of graft versus host disease (GVHD) which may lead to transplant rejection. By using rare stem cells from donated blood units, this project aims to engineer cell culture models which can accurately predict whether a patient would negatively react to a specific donor's cell or organ transplant, providing insights which could save thousands of Australian lives. Researchers: Rose Ann Franco (Lead), Sara Chiaretti. Partners: Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, Queensland Cord Blood Bank at the Mater Hospital. Funding: Australian Research Council, Ramaciotti Philanthropy, UQ Internal Funding.
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Bone Marrow Mimicry Bioreactors for Blood Cell Therapy Manufacturing
Cell therapies are widely considered to be the next step-change in clinical medicine, curing previously uncurable disease. However, many cell therapies cost $100,000 to $3,000,000 per dose, an expense which patients and healthcare systems cannot afford. If we could manufacture lab-grown cell therapies as efficiently as our body does, we could reduce the cost of cell therapies 10x-100x and deliver more curative treatments to more patients in need. Specifically, we are using our body's bone marrow as an inspiration for growing blood cell therapies such as blood stem cells (HSPCs) and red blood cells (RBCs). Researchers: Astrid Nausa Galeano (Lead), Rose Ann Franco, Susana Costa Maia. Partners: Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, Queensland University of Technology, University of Maastricht. Funding: Australian Research Council, Ramaciotti Philanthropy, UQ Internal Funding.
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High-Content Microphysiological Systems for Cell Culture Screening
3D culture systems can grow greater numbers of higher-quality cells at lower costs than traditional liquid suspension or 2D cultures, however the adoption of 3D culture systems in biopharmacuetical industries remains limited due to current dependenance on culture high content screening (HCS). Our lab is engineering the first experimental platforms and compuational models to preform HCS on 3D cell cultures for process optimisation and drug screening. Specifically, we are engineering live-imaged high-throughput hydrogel microchip platforms to optimise stem cell expansion and angiogenesis. Researchers: Ryan McKinnon (Lead), Ashley Murphy, Rose Ann Franco. Partners: Queensland Cord Blood Bank at the Mater, Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital Dept of Haematology, Queensland University of Technology. Funding: Australian Research Council, Ramaciotti Philanthropy, UQ Internal Funding.
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Additive Manufacturing to Predict Patient-Specific Cardiovascular Disease
The ability to diagnose and medically or surgically treat cardiovascular disease is particularly dependent on the anatomy and biology of our body's vessels. Additive manufacturing leverages medical imaging, computational simulations, and 3D printing to fabricate patient-specific models of cardiovascular disease useful for identifying disease, predicting disease progression, or simulating treatments. Specifically, we are computationally simulating and 3D printing perfusable cell culture models to simulate intracranial aneurysm rupture risk and predict peripheral artery graft success. Researchers: Chloe de Nys (Lead), Sabrina Schoenborn, Ryan McKinnon. Partners: Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital Dept of Neurosurgery, Herston Biofabrication Institute, Princess Alexandra Hospital Dept of Vascular Surgery, Queensland University of Technology. Funding: Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowship, Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital Foundation, Bionics Gamechangers Australia, UQ Internal Funding.
Works
Search Professor Mark Allenby’s works on UQ eSpace
2018
Journal Article
Stem cell biomanufacturing under uncertainty: a case study in optimizing red blood cell production
Misener, Ruth, Allenby, Mark C., Fuentes-Garí, María, Gupta, Karan, Wiggins, Thomas, Panoskaltsis, Nicki, Pistikopoulos, Efstratios N. and Mantalaris, Athanasios (2018). Stem cell biomanufacturing under uncertainty: a case study in optimizing red blood cell production. AI Ch E Journal, 64 (8), 3011-3022. doi: 10.1002/aic.16042
2018
Journal Article
Ceramic hollow fibre constructs for continuous perfusion and cell harvest from 3D hematopoietic organoids
Allenby, Mark C., Tahlawi, Asma, Morais, José C. F., Li, Kang, Panoskaltsis, Nicki and Mantalaris, Athanasios (2018). Ceramic hollow fibre constructs for continuous perfusion and cell harvest from 3D hematopoietic organoids. Stem Cells International, 2018 6230214, 1-14. doi: 10.1155/2018/6230214
2018
Journal Article
A 3D bioinspired highly porous polymeric scaffolding system for: in vitro simulation of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
Totti, Stella, Allenby, Mark C., Dos Santos, Susana Brito, Mantalaris, Athanasios and Velliou, Eirini G. (2018). A 3D bioinspired highly porous polymeric scaffolding system for: in vitro simulation of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. RSC Advances, 8 (37), 20928-20940. doi: 10.1039/c8ra02633e
2017
Conference Publication
Primary Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Cells Can be Maintained Long-Term in Serum-Free, Cytokine-Free 3D Culture
Dos Santos, Joana, Enfield, Louise, Dos Santos, Susana Brito, Allenby, Mark C., Zemenides, Sophie, Mantalaris, Athanasios and Panoskaltsis, Nicki (2017). Primary Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Cells Can be Maintained Long-Term in Serum-Free, Cytokine-Free 3D Culture. 59th Annual Meeting of the American-Society-of-Hematology (ASH), Atlanta Ga, Dec 09-12, 2017. WASHINGTON: AMER SOC HEMATOLOGY.
2017
Journal Article
A quantitative three-dimensional image analysis tool for maximal acquisition of spatial heterogeneity data
Allenby, Mark C., Misener, Ruth, Panoskaltsis, Nicki and Mantalaris, Athanasios (2017). A quantitative three-dimensional image analysis tool for maximal acquisition of spatial heterogeneity data. Tissue Engineering - Part C: Methods, 23 (2), 108-117. doi: 10.1089/ten.tec.2016.0413
2017
Journal Article
Antibacterial activity of fractions from three Chumash medicinal plant extracts and in vitro inhibition of the enzyme enoyl reductase by the flavonoid jaceosidin
Allison, Brittany J., Allenby, Mark C., Bryant, Shane S., Min, Jae Eun, Hieromnimon, Mark and Joyner, P. Matthew (2017). Antibacterial activity of fractions from three Chumash medicinal plant extracts and in vitro inhibition of the enzyme enoyl reductase by the flavonoid jaceosidin. Natural Product Research, 31 (6), 707-712. doi: 10.1080/14786419.2016.1217201
2016
Conference Publication
Early Erythroid Development Is Enhanced with Hypoxia and Terminal Maturation with Normoxia in a 3D Ex Vivo Physiologic Eythropoiesis Model
dos Santos, Susana Brito, Allenby, Mark C., Mantalaris, Athanasios and Panoskaltsis, Nicki (2016). Early Erythroid Development Is Enhanced with Hypoxia and Terminal Maturation with Normoxia in a 3D Ex Vivo Physiologic Eythropoiesis Model. 58th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American-Society-of-Hematology (ASH), San Diego Ca, Dec 03-06, 2016. WASHINGTON: AMER SOC HEMATOLOGY.
2016
Conference Publication
Spatiotemporal Mapping of Erythroid, Stromal, and Osteogenic Niche Formation to Support Physiologic Red Cell Production in a Three-Dimensional Hollow Fibre Perfusion Bioreactor
Allenby, Mark C., Tahlawi, Asma, Misener, Ruth, dos Santos, Susana Brito, Mantalaris, Athanasios and Panoskaltsis, Nicki (2016). Spatiotemporal Mapping of Erythroid, Stromal, and Osteogenic Niche Formation to Support Physiologic Red Cell Production in a Three-Dimensional Hollow Fibre Perfusion Bioreactor. 58th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American-Society-of-Hematology (ASH), San Diego, CA, United States, 3-6 December 2016. Washington, DC, United States: American Society of Hematology. doi: 10.1182/blood.V128.22.3885.3885
2015
Conference Publication
DEVELOPMENT OF AN EX VIVO BONE MARROW MIMICRY MICROENVIRONMENT IN A NOVEL 3D HOLLOW FIBRE BIOREACTOR
Allenby, Mark C., Tahlawi, Asma, dos Santos, Susana Brito, Misener, Ruth, Hwang, Yu-Shik, Panoskaltsis, Nicki and Mantalaris, Athanasios (2015). DEVELOPMENT OF AN EX VIVO BONE MARROW MIMICRY MICROENVIRONMENT IN A NOVEL 3D HOLLOW FIBRE BIOREACTOR. 44th Annual Scientific Meeting of the International-Society-for-Experimental-Hematology (ISEH), Kyoto Japan, Sep 17-19, 2015. NEW YORK: ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. doi: 10.1016/j.exphem.2015.06.075
2015
Conference Publication
Investigation of in vitro bioactivity of extracts and secondary metabolites of Chumash native American medicinal plants
Allison, B., Hester, V., Fleming, M., Allenby, M., Bryant, S. and Joyner, P.M. (2015). Investigation of in vitro bioactivity of extracts and secondary metabolites of Chumash native American medicinal plants. American Society of Pharmacognosy Annual Meeting, Copper Mountain, CO United States, 25–29 July 2015. Stuttgart, Germany: Georg Thieme Verlag. doi: 10.1055/s-0035-1556315
2012
Journal Article
Crystallization of proteins at ultralow supersaturations using novel three-dimensional nanotemplates
Shah, Umang V., Allenby, Mark C., Williams, Daryl R. and Heng, Jerry Y. Y. (2012). Crystallization of proteins at ultralow supersaturations using novel three-dimensional nanotemplates. Crystal Growth and Design, 12 (4), 1772-1777. doi: 10.1021/cg201190c
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Mark Allenby is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Engineering vascular conduits in grafts to control mass transport for tissue regeneration
Principal Advisor
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Doctor Philosophy
Engineering cerebrovascular models for surgical decision-making
Principal Advisor
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Doctor Philosophy
Engineering tissue organisation using intelligent additive biomanufacturing
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Justin Cooper-White
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Doctor Philosophy
Fluid-Structure Interactions in Peripheral Arteries: Biomechanical Coupling of In-Silico, In-Vitro, and Cellular Models with Application to Patient-Specific Femoral-Popliteal Bypass Graft Anastomoses
Principal Advisor
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Mark Allenby directly for media enquiries about:
- BioImage Analysis
- Bioprocess Modelling
- Bioreactor Engineering
- Cell Therapy Biomanufacturing
- Tissue Engineering
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