Dr
Thomas
Paterson
School of Clinical Dentistry
Lecturer
+44 114 215 9376
Full contact details
School of Clinical Dentistry
19 Claremont Crescent
- Profile
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Dr Thomas Paterson leads the Paterson Lab at the University of Sheffield, developing biomaterials and bioelectronic technologies for healthcare. His research combines materials science, engineering and biology to create wearable sensors, implantable devices and new ways of connecting electronics with living tissue. He has a particular interest in taking promising research through to practical healthcare products, working with clinical and industrial partners to support their development and commercialisation.
He leads a multi-million research programme funded by the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA), investigating engineered fungal networks as potential neural interfaces. His wider work includes wearable devices for monitoring bruxism and hand function, soft conductive materials, and technologies for controlling neural activity.
Dr Paterson joined the School of Clinical Dentistry as a Lecturer in 2023. He is a Research Theme Director for Smart Devices and Sensors within the Insigneo Institute for Healthcare Technology and is affiliated with the Neuroscience Institute.
His previous research at Sheffield has spanned the Schools of Dentistry, Materials Engineering, and Automatic Control and Systems Engineering. He has also undertaken short-term visiting research roles in China and India.
- Research interests
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Research in the Paterson Lab explores how materials can be designed to measure biological signals, deliver stimulation and interact reliably with living tissues. The group combines additive manufacturing, electrospinning, conductive polymers and hydrogels with electrical testing, device development and biological evaluation. Its work spans wearable monitoring, neural interfaces and biomaterials for tissue repair, alongside experimental tools for investigating biological function.
Key projects
Fungal bioelectronic interfaces: Leading an ARIA-funded programme investigating whether non-pathogenic fungal networks can be engineered into controllable interfaces with neural tissue. The research examines their electrical properties, compatibility with neural and immune cells, and the control of fungal growth and behaviour.
Wearable assessment of hand function: Developing sensorised gloves to measure hand movement and changes in function, with applications in neurological conditions including motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis. This work combines sensor development, device manufacture and evaluation for use by clinical and research teams.
Bruxism monitoring: Developing a wearable headband that combines measurements of muscle activity, movement and vibration to investigate tooth clenching and grinding. The project includes integrating multiple sensors and developing signal-analysis and machine-learning approaches to support objective monitoring.
Printed conductive materials: Developing 3D-printable conductive composites for flexible sensors, wearable devices and implantable technologies. The work examines how material composition and manufacturing methods affect electrical performance, mechanical properties and reliability.
Soft neural interfaces: Developing conductive hydrogels and porous materials for neural stimulation and recording. This research considers how electrical function, material structure and mechanical properties influence interactions with neural tissue.
Thermal control of neural activity: Building on the IntegraBrain collaboration to investigate controlled cooling as a means of suppressing abnormal neural activity. This includes experimental cooling platforms and implantable technologies, with an interest in closed-loop approaches for focal epilepsy.
Bioelectronic connectors: Investigating materials whose mechanical properties change gradually between soft and rigid components. The aim is to improve the reliability of connections between soft sensors or electrodes and conventional wires and electronic circuits.
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Highly porous polycaprolactone microspheres for skeletal repair promote a mature bone cell phenotype in vitro.. Journal of Materials Chemistry B: Materials for biology and medicine, 12(45), 11746-11758. View this article in WRRO
- Electrochemically driven assembly of chitosan hydrogels on PEDOT surfaces. Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, 309(2). View this article in WRRO
- Enhanced antibacterial ability of electrospun PCL scaffolds incorporating ZnO nanowires. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(19). View this article in WRRO
- Electrically Controlled Click‐Chemistry for Assembly of Bioactive Hydrogels on Diverse Micro‐ and Flexible Electrodes. Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 43(23).
- Electrically controlled click‐chemistry for assembly of bioactive hydrogels on diverse micro‐ and flexible electrodes. Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 43(23). View this article in WRRO
- Monitoring of hand function enabled by low complexity sensors printed on textile. Flexible and Printed Electronics, 7(3).
- Demonstrating the potential of using bio-based sustainable polyester blends for bone tissue engineering applications. Bioengineering, 9(4). View this article in WRRO
- Thiolene- and polycaprolactone methacrylate-based polymerized high internal phase emulsion (PolyHIPE) scaffolds for tissue engineering. Biomacromolecules, 23(3), 720-730. View this article in WRRO
- Tuning electrospun substrate stiffness for the fabrication of a biomimetic amniotic membrane substitute for corneal healing. ACS Applied Bio Materials, 4(7), 5638-5649. View this article in WRRO
- Bioactive and topographically-modified electrospun membranes for the creation of new bone regeneration models. Processes, 8(11). View this article in WRRO
- Electrospun scaffolds containing silver-doped hydroxyapatite with antimicrobial properties for applications in orthopedic and dental bone surgery. Journal of Functional Biomaterials, 11(3). View this article in WRRO
- Multifunctional copper-containing mesoporous glass nanoparticles as antibacterial and proangiogenic agents for chronic wounds. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 8. View this article in WRRO
- Use of silver-based additives for the development of antibacterial functionality in Laser Sintered polyamide 12 parts. Scientific Reports, 10. View this article in WRRO
- Ag modified mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles for enhanced antibacterial activity in 3D infected skin model. Materials Science and Engineering: C, 103, ---.
- Porous microspheres support mesenchymal progenitor cell ingrowth and stimulate angiogenesis. APL Bioengineering, 2(2). View this article in WRRO
- Selective laser melting–enabled electrospinning: Introducing complexity within electrospun membranes. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine, 231(6), 565-574. View this article in WRRO
- Photocurable high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) containing hydroxyapatite for additive manufacture of tissue engineering scaffolds with multi-scale porosity. Materials Science and Engineering: C, 67, 51-58. View this article in WRRO
- Osteosarcoma growth on trabecular bone mimicking structures manufactured via laser direct write. International Journal of Bioprinting, 2(2). View this article in WRRO
- Emulsion Templated Scaffolds with Tunable Mechanical Properties for Bone Tissue Engineering. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials. View this article in WRRO
- Combination of Microstereolithography and Electrospinning to Produce Membranes Equipped with Niches for Corneal Regeneration. Journal of Visualised Experiments, 91. View this article in WRRO
- PolyHIPE-based porous microparticles for tissue engineering. JOURNAL OF TISSUE ENGINEERING AND REGENERATIVE MEDICINE, 8, 422-423.
- Wet‑stable PLGA–PCL electrospun membranes as synthetic scaffolds for corneal applications. Biomedical Materials.
- Electro-assisted assembly of conductive polymer and soft hydrogel into core-shell hybrids. Soft Science, 3(1), 3-3.
- Combination of Microstereolithography and Electrospinning to Produce Membranes Equipped with Niches for Corneal Regeneration. Journal of Visualized Experiments(91).
Conference proceedings
- Highly Porous Particles for Cell Recruitment and Delivery in Bone Tissue Engineering. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, Vol. 21 (pp S287-S288)
- Manufacturing of PolyHIPE-based Porous Microparticles for Bone Tissue Engineering
. The University of Sheffield Engineering Symposium Conference Proceedings Vol. 1, Vol. 1. The Octagon Centre, University of Sheffield View this article in WRRO
Datasets
- Highly porous polycaprolactone microspheres for skeletal repair promote a mature bone cell phenotype in vitro.. Journal of Materials Chemistry B: Materials for biology and medicine, 12(45), 11746-11758. View this article in WRRO
- Research group
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The Paterson Lab brings together postdoctoral researchers, research technicians and students working across biomaterials, bioelectronics and medical devices. The group develops wearable sensors, soft and biohybrid neural interfaces, and new materials and manufacturing approaches for healthcare technologies.
Projects involve collaboration across dentistry, engineering, materials science, computer science and neuroscience, with clinical and industrial partners contributing to device development and evaluation.
Postdoctoral researchers
Jon Hinchliffe - Adapting non-pathogenic fungal networks toward next-generation neural interfaces (ARIA funded)
Agnieszka Zajac - Feasibility of a 3D-printed sensorised glove for objective evaluation of hand function (PBIAA Yorkshire Medtech funded)
James Hyatt - Adapting non-pathogenic fungal networks toward next-generation neural interfaces (ARIA funded) - Starting December 2026
Technical staff
Ben Wall - Adapting non-pathogenic fungal networks toward next-generation neural interfaces (ARIA funded)
Postgraduate researchers
Alex Elliot - HAAND: Hand assessment in ALS using a novel wearable device (MND Association funded)
Patricia Medesan - The MS hand: Measuring hand function with a smart glove (MS Society funded)
Amilah Ahmed - Development and validation of a multimodal wearable headband for objective bruxism monitoring using machine learning (EPSRC Landscape funded)
Mingda Lu - Electrospinning chemically and mechanically graded scaffolds for mimicking the tendon-to-bone interface
Nick Hagis - Development of stretchable devices for diagnosis and monitoring of neuromuscular diseases
MennaAllah Mahmoud - Biohybrid robots
- Teaching interests
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Dr Paterson teaches dental materials to undergraduate and masters students, including resin composites, glass ionomer cements and the evidence underpinning material selection in clinical practice. His teaching also covers tissue engineering, introductory biomaterials and polymers for biomedical applications.
He previously served as programme lead for the BSc in Bio-Dental Science and Technology and module lead for the BSc Research Placement.