Early Career Innovators: Blood Biomarker Assessment of Nerve Trauma and Early Reinnervation, Devices and Diagnostics TIN

In this interview as part of the Early Career Innovators series, recognising the amazing translational work being done by postdocs and non-tenured researchers at University College London (UCL), Dr Matthew Wilcox highlights his Devices and Diagnostics Therapeutic Innovation Network (TIN) Pilot Data Fund awarded project, BANTER (Blood biomarker Assessment of Nerve Trauma and Early Reinnervation). 

What is the title of your project and what does it involve?

BANTER (Blood biomarker Assessment of Nerve Trauma and Early Reinnervation), involves the development of a blood test which hopes to improve nerve injury identification. This study will use the SIMOA^TM Neurofilament Light (NfL) chain assay which has been tried and tested in capturing changes associated with a number of diseases of the brain and/or spinal cord such as Alzheimer’s disease and Traumatic Brain Injury. For the first time, this project will repurpose this technology to determine whether it is possible to detect the presence and severity of nerve injury using a well-established animal model. This will involve a collaboration between the UCL Centre for Nerve Engineering and UK Dementia Research Institute Fluid Biomarker Laboratory.

What is the motivation behind your project/therapeutic?

Nerve injuries often lead to permanent loss of movement and pain leading to significant quality of life impairments for patients. It currently takes too long for nerve injuries to be identified and referred for assessment by clinicians with special expertise in this area who may be able to offer surgery to improve outcome. In many cases, this means many patients suffer worse outcomes than had earlier referral been made. A major reason for this is because swift identification of nerve injuries depends on patients being able to access facilities with expensive imaging and tests which measure the electrical properties of nerves (such as MRI scans and Electromyography). Even if patients are able to access this technology, clinicians often find them difficult to interpret.

This project addresses this issue by developing a cheaper, readily available and objective test which may be able to predict the presence and severity of a nerve injury from a small blood sample.

Why did you want to apply to the Devices & Diagnostics TIN Pilot Data Fund?

A challenging step in transitioning from an early career researcher to an independent investigator is turning research ideas into compelling grant proposals. The TIN Pilot Data Fund provided an invaluable opportunity to develop a research idea right the way from planning and costing the experiment through to pitching to academics and industry representatives. This funding will provide the data necessary to design larger studies and help establish my research identity.

Subscribe to the TINs newsletter to keep updated about similar translational funding opportunities

How did you find the process for the TIN Pilot Data Fund?

Throughout the application process, support was provided through the ACCELERATE training workshops which focused on developing communication and presentation skills. This experience has helped me to understand how to develop convincing pitches to different members of the academic and industry community; a skill that will be essential in my next career steps towards a surgeon-scientist.

Learn more about the translational training offered through ACCELERATE 

What do you hope to achieve in the 6 months duration of your project?

We will reach the first milestone of our project in 6 months. The success criteria of this will be to show the validity of the SIMOA^TM Neurofilament Light (NfL) chain assay in identifying the presence and severity of nerve injury in a controlled animal model. Alongside this laboratory-based research, I will be working closely with clinical colleagues at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital to design a corresponding study in nerve injured patients.

What are your next steps from now?

I hope to move into full time clinical training as a Foundation Doctor from August 2022 with the long term view of becoming a reconstructive surgeon-scientist. I am excited by the challenges I will encounter within the clinical arena along the way and look forward to addressing some of these by continuing to work closely with the diverse research community that UCL offers.

Join the Devices & Diagnostics TIN on Teams (UCL-Only) to be part of UCL’s multidisciplinary D&D community with direct access to expertise 

About Dr Matthew Wilcox

Dr. Matthew Wilcox is a Research Fellow at the UCL School of Pharmacy and a final year UCL medical student. In 2020, Matt was awarded a PhD in Translational Neuroscience which benefited from a collaboration between the Peripheral Nerve Injury Unit, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (a national referral centre for nerve injury) and the UCL Centre for Nerve Engineering.

Matt works within an interdisciplinary team focused on providing novel insights into the cellular and molecular basis of human nerve regeneration, developing improved imaging-based outcome measures of nerve regeneration and diagnostic tools for nerve injury. Together, this is informing the development of clinical trials which hope to test the efficacy of regenerative therapies for nerve injury and disease.