Pierre-Alexis Mouthuy

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Materials. Prior to this, I was an Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow at the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), also at the University of Oxford, where I spent 12 years. I completed my undergraduate studies in Belgium at the Catholic University of Louvain and obtained a DPhil in Engineering Science at the University of Oxford.

I am driven by the need to improve patients’ health through the delivery of tangible solutions to unmet and unsolved clinical needs, particularly in the musculoskeletal area. This involves developing innovative approaches and addressing the challenge of translating them into real-world impact. Working at the interface of multiple disciplines not only increases the likelihood of delivering meaningful and clinically relevant solutions, but also makes research highly enjoyable!

As a Tutorial Fellow in Materials Science, I tutor Materials undergraduate students at Trinity College. I teach Biomaterials in the Department of Materials and also contribute to several postgraduate courses across other departments. My research group comprises DPhil students and postdoctoral researchers and regularly hosts undergraduate interns.

My research interests focus mainly on the development of biomaterials and tissue engineering strategies for musculoskeletal repair. This includes the design of bioactive and biodegradable implants - such as microfibrous patches and sutures - for applications including rotator cuff tendon repair and anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. These materials are engineered to replicate the hierarchical structure and mechanical behaviour of native tissues while promoting improved biological integration and clinical performance.

A central emphasis of my work is translation towards the clinic, from early-stage materials design through preclinical evaluation and clinically relevant testing. In addition to fibrous implants, my team develops innovative biomaterial platforms, including advanced tissue culture systems and strain-sensing technologies.

In parallel with materials development, my group is pioneering humanoid bioreactor platforms for tissue engineering and clinically relevant biomaterials characterisation. By integrating tissue biology with physiologically relevant mechanical stimulation (using humanoid robots), this work aims to produce higher-quality engineered grafts and accelerate the translation of advanced biomaterials from the laboratory to clinical application.

J. Lin, K. Chen, M. Liang, T. Choreno Machain, D. Crouch, S. Mengoli, G. Exley, A. Zaplluzha, M. Baldwin, W. Jackson, T. Cosker, S. Snelling, A. Carr, G. Blunn, A. Price, P.-A. Mouthuy, Translational potential of an electrospun polycaprolactone scaffold for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, Advanced Fiber Materials (2025). 

A. Chandler, R. Schofield, P.A. Mouthuy, H. Assender, Stretch-induced microstructural evolution of electrospun polycaprolactone microfibers for biomedical applications, ACS Applied Polymer Materials (2025).

T.Z. Ferreira, Z. Pan, P.A. Mouthuy, L. Brassart, Characterisation and modelling of continuous electrospun poly(ε-caprolactone) filaments for biological tissue repair, Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 161 (2025) 106810.

P.A. Mouthuy, S. Snelling, R. Hostettler, A. Kharchenko, S. Salmon, A. Wainman, J. Mimpen, C. Paul, A. Carr, Humanoid robots to mechanically stress human cells grown in soft bioreactors, Communications Engineering, 1(1) (2022) 2.

R. Alkaissy, M. Richard, H. Morris, S. Snelling, H. Pinchbeck, A. Carr, P.A. Mouthuy, Manufacture of soft–hard implants from electrospun filaments embedded in 3D-printed structures, Macromolecular Bioscience(2022). https://doi.org/10.1002/mabi.202200156

P.A. Mouthuy, N. Zargar, O. Hakimi, E. Lostis, A. Carr, Fabrication of continuous electrospun filaments with potential for use as medical fibres, Biofabrication, 7(2) (2015) 025006.