Date of the exchange:
March 2024
Partners:
Sending Institution: University of Bradford, United Kingdom
Hosting Institution: King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand
Dr Farshid Sefat
Associate Professor and Programme Leader in Biomedical and Electronic Engineering Department
Scope of project:
- International collaboration
- Facilitating links with industry
United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals:
#3 Good Health and Well-being
Summary of the visit:
Farshid Sefat is an Associate Professor and a Programme Leader in Biomedical and Electronic Engineering where he primarily focuses on tissue engineering. Dr Farshid’s visit was preceded by a visit to laboratories and facilities at University of Bradford from Dr Parichart Naruphontjirakiul which was funded by the WTUN Exchange Programme in 2021/22. In the previous visit, research commonalities were explored and the foundation for this second visit was established.
After establishing a common link between the United Kingdom and Thailand through the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) as a leading cause of death, Dr Sefat connected with researchers at KMUTT to establish a connection in Biomedical Engineering research. The goal of Dr Sefat’s visit was to establish a collaborative research project between UOB and KMUTT to generate alternative treatments to CVDs such as synthetic blood vessels, as opposed to the standard treatment of autografts which have numerous limitations.
The project also enabled Dr Sefat and his colleagues at KMUTT, including Dr Parichart Naruphontjirakiul to establish parameters of their research and agree on samples which would be tested at each other’s respective laboratories. During his visit, Dr Sefat was able to establish a collaborative research project on Bacterial Vaginosis (BV), in addition to his work on Vascular Tissue Engineering, which hopes to address global challenges in BV.
Highlight of the Visit:
The visit allowed Dr Sefat to advance his collaborations with Dr Parichart Naruphontjirakiul, leading to the joint publication of a book chapter.
Significant Outcomes:
- This visit has led to ongoing collaborative research projects between colleagues at UOB and KMUTT within the fields of vascular tissue engineering and bacterial vaginosis.
- Dr Farshid Sefat and Dr Parichart Naruphontjirakiul have published a chapter together titled ‘The progress in tissue engineering of cervix’ in Dr Sefat’s book, ‘Regenerative Medicine in the Genitourinary System’ (Farshid Sefat & Morvarid Saeinasab, Elsevier, 2024).
- The opportunity to develop links between world technology universities by connecting to institutions outside of the WTUN through UOB & KMUTT’s connections to institutions in India, Australia, Thailand and Malaysia.