Dr Matthew Walker

  • Research Associate (Molecular Biosciences)

Biography

In 2014 I received my Bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Hull with upper second class honours (68.5%)

After my Bachelor's degree, I joined the research group of Dr. Daniel Ungar at the University of York to undertake an MRes involving the characterisation of glycosylation mutants in Drosophila melanogaster. Following the completion of my MRes in 2015, I was accepted onto an EPSRC-funded studentship at the University of York to undertake a 3-year PhD supervised by Dr. Daniel Ungar, Prof. Paul Genever, Dr. Victor Chechik and Dr. Andrew Pratt. This was a highly interdisciplinary project across the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Electronics focusing on the development of magnetically-responsive nanoparticles for the delivery of bioactive therapeutics in joint disease.

The introduction of biomaterials and tissue engineering during my PhD research sparked my interest in their possibilities for cross-disciplinary translational research and motivated me to continue researching in these fields.

In 2019, I joined the Biomedical Engineering Research Division at the University of Glasgow to work as a postdoctoral researcher; since thenm I have worked with Dr. Marco Cantini, Prof. Delphine Gourdon and Prof. Massimo Vassalli.

My work is carried out within the Centre for the Cellular Microenvironment (CeMi), a multidisciplinary university initiative combining the expertise of cell biologists and bioengineers across the James Watt School of Engineering and College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences (MVLS). The CeMi is co-directed by Prof. Matt Dalby and Prof. Manuel Salmeron-Sanchez and is part of the Acellular/Smart Materials Hub of the United Kingdom Regenerative Medicine Platform (UKRMP).

Research interests

My research focuses on engineering microenvironments to study cell interactions with the extracellular matrix. I am interested in mechanosensitive regulation of cell behaviour for tissue engineering applications in regenerative medicine and modelling disease pathologies.

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2025 | 2024 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2018 | 2017
Number of items: 15.

2025

Walker, M. , Gourdon, D. and Cantini, M. (2025) Beyond static models: Mechanically dynamic matrices reveal new insights into cancer and fibrosis progression. Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering, 33, 100570. (doi: 10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100570)

Binner, P. , Starshynov, I. , Tejeda, G. , McFall, A. , Molloy, C. , Ciccone, G., Walker, M. , Vassalli, M. , Tobin, A. B. and Faccio, D. (2025) Optical, contact-free assessment of brain tissue stiffness and neurodegeneration. Biomedical Optics Express, 16(2), pp. 447-459. (doi: 10.1364/BOE.545580)

2024

Walker, M. and Morton, J. P. (2024) Hydrogel models of pancreatic adenocarcinoma to study cell mechanosensing. Biophysical Reviews, (doi: 10.1007/s12551-024-01265-8) (Early Online Publication)

Tan, M. et al. (2024) Polyetherureas as aqueous binders for Li ion batteries. ChemRxiv, (doi: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-mk39b)

Kulyabin, P., Magdysyuk, O. V., Naden, A. B., McLean Dawson, D., Pancholi, K., Walker, M. , Vassalli, M. and Kumar, A. (2024) Manganese-catalyzed synthesis of polyketones using hydrogen-borrowing approach. ACS Catalysis, 14, pp. 10624-10634. (doi: 10.1021/acscatal.4c03019) (Early Online Publication)

Torabizadeh, F., Talaei-Khozani, T., Yaghobi, A., Walker, M. and Mirzaei, E. (2024) Enhancing chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells through synergistic effects of cellulose nanocrystals and plastic compression in collagen-based hydrogel for cartilage formation. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 272(1), 132848. (doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.132848) (PMID:38830491)

Walker, M. , Pringle, E. W., Ciccone, G., Oliver Cervello, L., Tassieri, M. , Gourdon, D. and Cantini, M. (2024) Mind the viscous modulus: the mechanotransductive response to the viscous nature of isoelastic matrices regulates stem cell chondrogenesis. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 13(9), 2302571. (doi: 10.1002/adhm.202302571) (PMID:38014647)

2022

Luo, J., Walker, M. , Xiao, Y., Donnelly, H. , Dalby, M. J. and Salmeron-Sanchez, M. (2022) The influence of nanotopography on cell behaviour through interactions with the extracellular matrix – a review. Bioactive Materials, 15, pp. 145-159. (doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2021.11.024)

Asadishekari, M., Mpoyi, E. N., Li, Y., Eslami, J., Walker, M. , Cantini, M. and Gourdon, D. (2022) Three-dimensional tunable fibronectin-collagen platforms for control of cell adhesion and matrix deposition. Frontiers in Physics, 10, 806554. (doi: 10.3389/fphy.2022.806554)

2021

McDowall, D., Walker, M. , Vassalli, M. , Cantini, M. , Khunti, N., Edwards-Gayle, C. J. C., Cowieson, N. and Adams, D. J. (2021) Controlling the formation and alignment of low molecular weight gel ‘noodles’. Chemical Communications, 57(70), pp. 8782-8785. (doi: 10.1039/D1CC03378F) (PMID:34378594)

Witte, K., Luo, J., Walker, M. , Cantini, M. , Seib, F.P. and Salmeron-Sanchez, M. (2021) Bioinspired and bioinstructive surfaces to control mesenchymal stem cells. In: Azevedo, Helena S., Mano, João F. and Borges, João (eds.) Soft Matter for Biomedical Applications. Series: Soft matter series (13). Royal Society of Chemistry: Cambridge, pp. 301-325. ISBN 9781788017572 (doi: 10.1039/9781839161124-00301)

Walker, M. , Luo, J., Pringle, E. W. and Cantini, M. (2021) ChondroGELesis: hydrogels to harness the chondrogenic potential of stem cells. Materials Science and Engineering C: Materials for Biological Applications, 121, 111822. (doi: 10.1016/j.msec.2020.111822) (PMID:33579465)

2020

Walker, M. , Will, I., Pratt, A., Chechik, V., Genever, P. and Ungar, D. (2020) Magnetically triggered release of entrapped bioactive proteins from thermally responsive polymer-coated iron oxide nanoparticles for stem-cell proliferation. ACS Applied Nano Materials, 3(6), pp. 5008-5013. (doi: 10.1021/acsanm.0c01167) (PMID:32626842) (PMCID:PMC7325428)

2018

Wilson, K. M., Jagger, A. M., Walker, M. , Seinkmane, E., Fox, J. M., Kröger, R., Genever, P. and Ungar, D. (2018) Glycans modify mesenchymal stem cell differentiation to impact on the function of resulting osteoblasts. Journal of Cell Science, 131(4), jcs209452. (doi: 10.1242/jcs.209452) (PMID:29361539) (PMCID:PMC5868951)

2017

Skeene, K., Walker, M. , Clarke, G., Bergström, E., Genever, P., Ungar, D. and Thomas-Oates, J. (2017) One filter, one sample, and the N- and O-glyco(proteo)me: toward a system to study disorders of protein glycosylation. Analytical Chemistry, 89(11), pp. 5840-5849. (doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.7b00143) (PMID:28453257)

This list was generated on Wed Apr 2 19:59:10 2025 BST.
Jump to: Articles | Book Sections
Number of items: 15.

Articles

Walker, M. , Gourdon, D. and Cantini, M. (2025) Beyond static models: Mechanically dynamic matrices reveal new insights into cancer and fibrosis progression. Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering, 33, 100570. (doi: 10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100570)

Binner, P. , Starshynov, I. , Tejeda, G. , McFall, A. , Molloy, C. , Ciccone, G., Walker, M. , Vassalli, M. , Tobin, A. B. and Faccio, D. (2025) Optical, contact-free assessment of brain tissue stiffness and neurodegeneration. Biomedical Optics Express, 16(2), pp. 447-459. (doi: 10.1364/BOE.545580)

Walker, M. and Morton, J. P. (2024) Hydrogel models of pancreatic adenocarcinoma to study cell mechanosensing. Biophysical Reviews, (doi: 10.1007/s12551-024-01265-8) (Early Online Publication)

Tan, M. et al. (2024) Polyetherureas as aqueous binders for Li ion batteries. ChemRxiv, (doi: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-mk39b)

Kulyabin, P., Magdysyuk, O. V., Naden, A. B., McLean Dawson, D., Pancholi, K., Walker, M. , Vassalli, M. and Kumar, A. (2024) Manganese-catalyzed synthesis of polyketones using hydrogen-borrowing approach. ACS Catalysis, 14, pp. 10624-10634. (doi: 10.1021/acscatal.4c03019) (Early Online Publication)

Torabizadeh, F., Talaei-Khozani, T., Yaghobi, A., Walker, M. and Mirzaei, E. (2024) Enhancing chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells through synergistic effects of cellulose nanocrystals and plastic compression in collagen-based hydrogel for cartilage formation. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 272(1), 132848. (doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.132848) (PMID:38830491)

Walker, M. , Pringle, E. W., Ciccone, G., Oliver Cervello, L., Tassieri, M. , Gourdon, D. and Cantini, M. (2024) Mind the viscous modulus: the mechanotransductive response to the viscous nature of isoelastic matrices regulates stem cell chondrogenesis. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 13(9), 2302571. (doi: 10.1002/adhm.202302571) (PMID:38014647)

Luo, J., Walker, M. , Xiao, Y., Donnelly, H. , Dalby, M. J. and Salmeron-Sanchez, M. (2022) The influence of nanotopography on cell behaviour through interactions with the extracellular matrix – a review. Bioactive Materials, 15, pp. 145-159. (doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2021.11.024)

Asadishekari, M., Mpoyi, E. N., Li, Y., Eslami, J., Walker, M. , Cantini, M. and Gourdon, D. (2022) Three-dimensional tunable fibronectin-collagen platforms for control of cell adhesion and matrix deposition. Frontiers in Physics, 10, 806554. (doi: 10.3389/fphy.2022.806554)

McDowall, D., Walker, M. , Vassalli, M. , Cantini, M. , Khunti, N., Edwards-Gayle, C. J. C., Cowieson, N. and Adams, D. J. (2021) Controlling the formation and alignment of low molecular weight gel ‘noodles’. Chemical Communications, 57(70), pp. 8782-8785. (doi: 10.1039/D1CC03378F) (PMID:34378594)

Walker, M. , Luo, J., Pringle, E. W. and Cantini, M. (2021) ChondroGELesis: hydrogels to harness the chondrogenic potential of stem cells. Materials Science and Engineering C: Materials for Biological Applications, 121, 111822. (doi: 10.1016/j.msec.2020.111822) (PMID:33579465)

Walker, M. , Will, I., Pratt, A., Chechik, V., Genever, P. and Ungar, D. (2020) Magnetically triggered release of entrapped bioactive proteins from thermally responsive polymer-coated iron oxide nanoparticles for stem-cell proliferation. ACS Applied Nano Materials, 3(6), pp. 5008-5013. (doi: 10.1021/acsanm.0c01167) (PMID:32626842) (PMCID:PMC7325428)

Wilson, K. M., Jagger, A. M., Walker, M. , Seinkmane, E., Fox, J. M., Kröger, R., Genever, P. and Ungar, D. (2018) Glycans modify mesenchymal stem cell differentiation to impact on the function of resulting osteoblasts. Journal of Cell Science, 131(4), jcs209452. (doi: 10.1242/jcs.209452) (PMID:29361539) (PMCID:PMC5868951)

Skeene, K., Walker, M. , Clarke, G., Bergström, E., Genever, P., Ungar, D. and Thomas-Oates, J. (2017) One filter, one sample, and the N- and O-glyco(proteo)me: toward a system to study disorders of protein glycosylation. Analytical Chemistry, 89(11), pp. 5840-5849. (doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.7b00143) (PMID:28453257)

Book Sections

Witte, K., Luo, J., Walker, M. , Cantini, M. , Seib, F.P. and Salmeron-Sanchez, M. (2021) Bioinspired and bioinstructive surfaces to control mesenchymal stem cells. In: Azevedo, Helena S., Mano, João F. and Borges, João (eds.) Soft Matter for Biomedical Applications. Series: Soft matter series (13). Royal Society of Chemistry: Cambridge, pp. 301-325. ISBN 9781788017572 (doi: 10.1039/9781839161124-00301)

This list was generated on Wed Apr 2 19:59:10 2025 BST.

Research datasets

Jump to: 2025
Number of items: 1.

2025

Binner, P., Starshynov, I. , Tejeda, G. , McFall, A. , CICCONE, G., Walker, M. , Vassalli, M. , Tobin, A. and Faccio, D. (2025) Optical, contact-free assessment of brain tissue stiffness and neurodegeneration. [Data Collection]

This list was generated on Wed Apr 2 19:59:12 2025 BST.

Dr Matthew Walker on Twitter