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Professor Daniel J Kelly

Professor (Mechanical, Manuf & Biomedical Eng)
BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES INSTITUTE
      
Profile Photo

Professor Daniel J Kelly

Professor (Mechanical, Manuf & Biomedical Eng)
BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES INSTITUTE

 kellyd9@tcd.ie

 3531896 3947


Professor Daniel Kelly holds the Chair of Tissue Engineering at Trinity College Dublin. The goal of his laboratory is to develop novel tissue engineering and 3D bioprinting strategies to regenerate damaged and diseased musculoskeletal tissues. To date he has published over 220 articles in peer-reviewed journals, and has successfully supervised over 25 PhD students to completion. He is the recipient of five European Research Council awards (Starter grant 2010; Consolidator grant 2015; Proof of Concept grant 2017, 2023; Advanced grant 2021), which have led to the development of new single stage strategies for bone and cartilage repair and innovations in 3D (bio)printing for the regeneration of musculoskeletal tissues. He is also a co-founder of Altach Biomedical, which is pioneering the development of extracellular matrix derived scaffolds to regenerate damaged knee joints. Other notable recognitions of Prof Kelly"s academic work include being awarded the Science Foundation Ireland Industry Partnership Award (2019), the Silver Medal from the Section of Bioengineering of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland (2022) and the mid-term career award from the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International (TERMIS) EU society (2023).
  Arthritis   Bioengineering   Biomaterials   Biomechanics   Biomechanics, Biomedical Engineering   Biomolecules, Bioplastics, Biopolymers   Bioreactors   Cardiovascular System   Computational Biology   Computer-Aided Engineering   Mathematical modelling   Mechanical Engineering   Mechanics   Medical Devices Engineering   Solid Mechanics   Stem Cell   STEM-CELLS   STENTS   Tissue Engineering
Project Title
 Articular cartilage regeneration through the recruitment of bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells into extracelluar matrix derived scaffolds anchored by 3D printed polymeric supports
From
Jan 2018
To
June 2019
Summary
Osteoarthritis (OA), the most common form of arthritis, is a serious disease of the joints affecting nearly 10% of the population worldwide. The onset of OA has been associated with defects to articular cartilage that lines the bones of synovial joints. Current strategies to treat articular cartilage defects are ineffective and/or prohibitively expensive. The aim of ANCHOR is to develop and commercialise a new medicinal product for articular cartilage regeneration that recruits endogenous bone marrow derived stem cells into an extracellular matrix derived scaffold anchored to the subchondral bone by 3D printed polymeric supports. By recruiting endogenous cells into a supporting scaffold, ANCHOR will obviate the need for pre-seeding scaffolds with cells prior to implantation into cartilage defects, thereby dramatically reducing the cost and complexity of the repair procedure. It will also overcome the need for suturing of a scaffold into a cartilage defect, which is a very time consuming and technically challenging surgical procedure. Finally, the inherent chondro-inductivity of the cartilage ECM derived scaffolds developed by the applicant will maximise the potential for hyaline cartilage regeneration. The project will leverage the applicants extensive experience in ECM derived biomaterials and 3D printing to develop a new product with significant commercial potential. The impact of ANCHOR will be multi-faceted: it will transform how damaged joints are treated by orthopaedic surgeons, it will create economic value through the commercialization of IP, and most importantly it will improve patient experience and their long-term health and well-being.
Funding Agency
European Research Council
Programme
Proof of Concept
Project Title
 Printing spatially and temporally defined boundaries to direct the self-organization of cells and cellular aggregates to engineer functional tissues
From
2021
To
2026
Summary
Regeneration of musculoskeletal tissues requires engineered grafts that mimic the heterogeneous and anisotropic structure and mechanics of the native tissue. Despite decades of research, existing regenerative strategies have failed to produce tissues mimicking this exquisite structural complexity, dramatically limiting their clinical utility. Clues to addressing this grand challenge can be found in normal tissue development, which relies upon both the self-organizing potential of stem cells as well as key physical instructions from the microenvironment to establish final tissue architectures. Recognising this, the goal of 4D-BOUNDARIES is to leverage emerging 3D bioprinting technologies to provide precise physical boundary conditions and spatially localised morphogens to self-organizing cells and cellular aggregates to engineer structurally anisotropic and mechanically functional musculoskeletal tissues. To realise this goal, 4D-BOUNDARIES will build upon applicant"s extensive expertise in bioprinting and bioink development to produce two new biofabrication platforms that provide temporary guiding structures to self-organizing tissues. To demonstrate the utility of these bioprinting platforms they will be used to engineer, for the first time, patient-specific cartilage and meniscal grafts that mimic the internal and external anatomy and anisotropic mechanical properties of the native tissues. The ability to bioprint such functional tissues will transform the field of orthopaedic medicine, providing grafts to biologically resurface large areas of damaged articular cartilage and meniscus and thereby prevent the development of osteoarthritis " a debilitating disease affecting millions of people worldwide. The impact of 4D-BUNDARAIRES will not be limited to the orthopaedic space, as it is envisioned that these new bioprinting
Funding Agency
European Research Council
Programme
Advanced Grant
Project Title
 PreclinicAl Infrastructure Resource
From
Jan 2017
To
Dec 2018
Summary
A significant investment has been made in Ireland in the research underpinning the development of new medical devices and implants to treat a range of diseases - from heart failure to arthritis. In order to commercialise this basic research and to ensure its translation into the clinic, there is a clear need for improved pre-clinical facilities to assess the safety and efficacy of these new approaches. This project will enable the development of a state of the art surgical facility for the pre-clinical evaluation of Advanced Therapeutic Medicinal Products (ATMPs) and next generation medical devices.
Funding Agency
Science Foundation Ireland
Programme
Research Infrastructure Award
Project Title
 Melt Electrowriting of Multi-layered Scaffolds for osteochondral defect repair
From
2023
To
2025
Summary
An osteochondral (OC) defect is a focal area of joint damage that involves both the articular cartilage and the underlying subchondral bone. Such joint damage is strongly associated with the development of premature osteoarthritis, motivating the development of novel strategies to regenerate OC defects. 3D printing is enabling the manufacturing of geometrically complex biomaterial implants with user defined compositions and architectures, which can potentially be used as single stage, off-the-shelf scaffolds for treating complex injuries. Despite significant progress in this field, 3D printed scaffolds capable of regenerating OC defects remain elusive. This can potentially be linked to the spatial resolution possible using traditional additive manufacturing techniques. The melt electrowriting (MEW) technique has recently emerged as a novel additive manufacturing platform capable of producing polymeric scaffolds with fiber diameters in the submicron range in a highly controllable manner. We have recently developed MEW scaffolds that support superior bone regeneration compared to scaffolds produced using traditional additive manufacturing techniques. Furthermore, we have generated preliminary data demonstrating that multi-layered scaffolds generated by MEW are capable of enhancing the repair of critically sized OC defects in a pre-clinical large animal model. The MEMS project aims to further enhance the regenerative capacity of these MEW OC scaffolds by (i) optimising their architecture, and (ii) functionalizing their surface with extracellular matrix (ECM) components supportive of tissue-specific regeneration. The output of MEMS will be an off-the-shelf implant capable of directing endogenous OC defect regeneration without the need for delivering exogenous cells to the defect site.
Funding Agency
European Research Council
Programme
Proof of Concept
Project Title
 CarBon - Controlling Cartilage to Bone Transitions for Improved Treatment of Bone Defects and Osteoarthritis
From
Jan 2017
To
Dec 2020
Summary
Many people suffer from diseases of the locomotor system, such as bone defects or osteoarthritis, for which current treatments are insufficient. Understanding and controlling the dual character of cartilage is pivotal: insufficient transition impairs bone healing, and undesired transition to bone leads to osteoarthritis. In CarBon, state of the art in vitro, in silico and in vivo models will be uniquely combined to elucidate how this transition is orchestrated and how it can be modulated. In a multifactorial approach, a network of 14 young scientists will aim to identify the biological and physical factors that determine the fate of cartilage. Knowledge from the fields of tissue engineering, cartilage and bone developmental biology and pathobiology will be combined with skills from the disciplines of cell biology, computational modelling, biotechnology (bioreactors, biomaterials) and drug discovery.
Funding Agency
H2020
Programme
Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network

Page 1 of 5
Details Date
Honorary Associate Professor, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. 2014 -
Affiliate Associate Professor, Colorado State University, USA. 2014 -
Kotlarz, M., O'Keeffe, C., S. Kronemberger, G., Burdis, R., Rana, S., Rodriguez, N., Bonizzi, M., Brama, P., Kelly, D.J., Biofabrication and in vivo evaluation of a hybrid osteochondral implant consisting of structurally organised engineered cartilage on a 3D-printed metal scaffold, Biomaterials, 327, 2026, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Rodriguez, Nadia and Gonçalves, Inês Fonseca and Hodgkinson, Tom and O'Brien, Fergal J. and Kelly, Daniel J., Combining cartilaginous microtissues primed under altered oxygen environments with melt electrowritten meshes to engineer scaled-up grafts, Biomaterials Advances, 182, 2026, Notes: [Cited by: 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Karam, Aliaa S. and Kronemberger, Gabriela Soares and Chattahy, Kaoutar and Kelly, Daniel J., Cell-only bioprinting of articular cartilage progenitor cells within a physically constraining support bath to engineer structurally organized grafts, Bioactive Materials, 59, 2026, p251 - 265 , Notes: [Cited by: 0; All Open Access; Gold Open Access; Green Accepted Open Access; Green Open Access], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Rodriguez, Nadia and null, null and Freeman, Fiona E. and O†Brien, Fergal J. and Kelly, Daniel J., Inhibition of miR-221 in Human MSCs Supports the Engineering of Hyaline Cartilage Microtissues, Tissue Engineering - Part A, 2026, Notes: [Cited by: 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Spagnuolo, Francesca D. and Kronemberger, Gabriela S. and Storey, Kyle J. and Kelly, Daniel J., The maturation state and density of human cartilage microtissues influence their fusion and development into scaled-up grafts, Acta Biomaterialia, 2025, Notes: [Cited by: 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Dazzi, Chiara and Eichholz, Kian F. and Freeman, Fiona E. and Kelly, Daniel J. and Checa, Sara, An in silico study reveals how architectural and mechanical cues jointly regulate angiogenesis and bone regeneration in 3D printed scaffolds, Computers in Biology and Medicine, 195, 2025, Notes: [Cited by: 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Genoud, Katelyn J. and Sadowska, Joanna M. and Power, Rachael N. and Costard, Lara S. and Ryan, Emily J. and Matherson, Austyn R. and Gonzalez-Vazquez, Arlyng G. and Lemoine, Mark and Echholz, Kian and Pitacco, Pierluca and Chen, Gang and Cavanagh, Brenton and Garcia, Orquidea and Murphy, Ciara M. and Curtin, Caroline M. and Kelly, Daniel J. and O†Brien, Fergal J., Collagen silver-doped hydroxyapatite scaffolds reinforced with 3D printed frameworks for infection prevention and enhanced repair of load-bearing bone defects, Biofabrication, 17, (2), 2025, Notes: [Cited by: 1], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Petrousek, S.R. and Kronemberger, G.S. and O'Brien, G. and Hughes, C. and O'Rourke, S.A. and Lally, C. and Dunne, A. and Kelly, D.J. and Hoey, D.A., Mechano-immunomodulation of macrophages influences the regenerative environment of fracture healing through the regulation of angiogenesis and osteogenesis, Acta Biomaterialia, 200, 2025, p187 â€" 201 , Notes: [Cited by: 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Browe, D.C. and Mahon, O.R. and Díaz-Payno, P.J. and Burdis, R. and Freeman, F.E. and Nulty, J.M. and Pitacco, P. and Gonnella, G. and Dunne, A. and Moran, C.J. and Brama, P.A.J. and Buckley, C.T. and Kelly, D.J., A PRECLINICAL ASSESSMENT OF RAPIDLY ISOLATED CHONDRO-PROGENITOR CELLS FROM THE INFRAPATELLAR FAT PAD FOR SINGLE-STAGE ARTICULAR CARTILAGE REGENERATION, European Cells and Materials, 50, 2025, p68 â€" 83 , Notes: [Cited by: 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Chariyev-Prinz, F., Burdis, R., Kelly, D.J., Chondrogenic Maturation Governs hMSC Mechanoresponsiveness to Dynamic Compression, Bioengineering, 12, (10), 2025, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
  

Page 1 of 41
Meyer, Eric, Low oxygen tension is a more potent regulator of chondrogenic differentiation than dynamic compression. , Bioengineering in Ireland., Malahide, Ireland, Jan. 22, 2010, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
Kelly DJ., "The role of environmental factors in regulating chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells". , Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Apr 22, 2010, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Kelly DJ., The role of environmental factors in regulating chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells, Department of Orthopedics, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Apr 21, 2010, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Kelly DJ., The role of environmental factors in regulating chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells". , , 2010., Graduate Seminar Series, Engineering Mechanics Department, Michigan Technological University, Mar 25, 2010, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Vinardell T, Buckley C, Thorpe S, Kelly D, Functional properties of cartilaginous tissues generated from mesenchymal stem cells isolated from different tissue sources., 16th Annual Conference of the Section of Bioengineering, Dublin, Ireland, 2010, Notes: [ ], Oral Presentation, PRESENTED
Sheehy E.J., Buckley C.T. and Kelly D.J., Rotational culture differentially regulates chondrogenesis of bone marrow derived MSCs and chondrocytes., Proceedings of the 16th Annual Conference of the Section of Bioengineering of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland. , 2010, Oral Presentation, PRESENTED
Kelly DJ., In Vitro and In Silico Models of Mechano-regulated Skeletal Tissue Differentiation, New York City Bone Seminar Series, CUNY Graduate Center, New York, Dec 8, 2009, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Kelly DJ, The role of environmental factors in regulating chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells , Dept of Biomedical Engineering Graduate Seminar Series, Columbia University, New York, Nov 6,, 2009, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Kelly DJ., Cartilage and Bone Mechanobiology and Tissue Engineering, Short course delivered to the Interpolytechnic School of Doctorate, Politecnico di Bari, Italy, June 8-10, 2009, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Kelly DJ., Mechanobiology of mesenchymal stem cells for articular cartilage repair , Seminars in Orthopaedic Science, REMEDI, NUI Galway, Ireland, May 1, 2009, Invited Talk, PRESENTED

  


Page 1 of 3
Award Date
Membership of the Royal Irish Academy. 2024
Mid-term career award from the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International (TERMIS) EU society 2023
Silver Medal, Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland (Bioengineering Division) 2022
European Research Council Advanced Award 2021
Industry Engagement Award at the Trinity College Dublin Innovation Awards 2021
Science Foundation Ireland Industry Partnership Award 2019
One-2-Watch Award at the Trinity College Dublin Innovation Awards 2018
Norman Gamble Award in Otology 2002
Hewlett Packard Prize 1999
Science Foundation Ireland President of Ireland Young Researcher Award (PIYRA) 2008
Fulbright Award 2009
Fellow of Trinity College Dublin 2010
European Research Council Starter Award, 2010
Senior author of paper awarded the 2012 Perren Award of the European Society of Biomechanics for best scientific paper (presented at 18th Congress of the ESB). 2012
European Research Council Consolidator Award 2015
European Research Council Proof of Concept Grant 2017
Bone and cartilage tissue engineering My lab has demonstrated that it is possible to engineer zonal tissues such as articular cartilage by recapitulating the gradients in regulatory signals that during development and skeletal maturation are believed to drive spatial changes in stem cell differentiation and tissue organization (10.1371/journal.pone.0060764). We have demonstrated how complex tissues, such as the bone-cartilage interface, can be regenerated by designing tissue engineering strategies that recapitulate aspects of the normal long bone developmental process (10.1016/j.actbio.2012.11.008). We have also shown that it is possible to scale-up such developmentally inspired processes to regenerate large bone defects (10.1016/j.biomaterials.2018.01.057), or tissue engineer entire new bones (10.1089/biores.2015.0014) or biological implants for whole joint resurfacing (10.1016/j.biomaterials.2022.121750). To extend the utility of this strategy, we have used 3D bioprinting to engineer scaled-up hypertrophic cartilage templates for bone organ engineering (10.1002/adhm.201600182) and large bone defect repair (10.1016/j.actbio.2022.07.037). We have also used phenotypically distinct microtissues within microphysiological models of bone (10.1088/1758-5090/acd6be) and as biological building blocks for the biofabrication of osteochondral grafts for synovial joint regeneration (10.1016/j.biomaterials.2022.121750). Single stage strategies for bone and cartilage repair In 2010 I was awarded a European Research Council (ERC) starter grant to develop novel stem cell based therapies to regenerate damaged articular cartilage. To realise the goals of this project, we first developed a range of decellularized extracellular matrix (ECM) derived scaffolds for articular cartilage (10.1016/j.actbio.2014.05.030 & 10.1016/j.mtbio.2022.100343), bone (10.22203/eCM.v033a10) and osteochondral defect repair (10.1016/j.biomaterials.2018.09.044 & 10.1016/j.actbio.2022.03.009), and have tested these scaffolds in relevant pre-clinical animal models. We have also demonstrated that the source tissue of ECM scaffolds plays a key role in regulating the phenotype of both macrophages and skeletal stem cells (10.1016/j.regen.2021.100041). We recently completed an ERC proof-of-concept to address challenges with the clinical translation of this project (10.1016/j.mtbio.2022.100343), and have recently established a TCD spin-out company (in partnership with NLC Health) to move this technology into the clinic. 3D (bio)printing for the regeneration of musculoskeletal tissues In recent years we have utilised emerging biofabrication and bioprinting strategies to engineer prevascularised implants for bone repair (10.1016/j.actbio.2021.03.003) and structurally organised articular cartilage (10.1016/j.biomaterials.2018.12.028 & 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2022.121405) and meniscus tissue (10.1016/j.actbio.2022.12.047). As part of my ERC consolidator grant, we modified such inks for gene (10.1016/j.jconrel.2019.03.006 & 10.1089/ten.tea.2016.0498) and growth factor (10.1016/j.actbio.2021.04.016 & 10.1038/s41598-017-17286-1) delivery. Furthermore, we bioprinted implants containing spatiotemporally defined patterns of growth factors and demonstrated that printed constructs containing a gradient of VEGF, coupled with spatially defined BMP-2 localization and release kinetics, accelerated large bone defect healing 10.1126/sciadv.abb5093). We have also used 3D printing techniques to produce fibre-reinforced cartilaginous templates, and assessed the efficacy of such constructs in a caprine model of osteochondral defect repair (10.1016/j.actbio.2020.05.040). We have also demonstrated how emerging additive manufacturing techniques such as melt electrowriting (10.1016/j.addma.2022.102998) can be used to produce scaffolds capable of directing angiogenesis and the regeneration of large bone defects (10.1088/1758-5090/ac88a1 & 10.1002/adhm.202302057).