![James Bell](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/2816?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Dr James Bell
Research Associate
Overview
I am a researcher working within the Structural Biophysics Group and carry out a small amount of teaching on the undergraduate and postgraduate optometry courses.
Publication
2022
- Bell, J. S. et al. 2022. Tropocollagen springs allow collagen fibrils to stretch elastically. Acta Biomaterialia 142, pp. 185-193. (10.1016/j.actbio.2022.01.041)
- Bell, J. S. et al. 2022. Microstructural characterisation of resistance artery remodelling in diabetes mellitus. Journal of Vascular Research 59, pp. 50-60. (10.1159/000517856)
2021
- Winlove, P., Bell, J., Green, E., Chen, J. and Mnsfield, J. 2021. Synergies between microstructure imaging modalities. Presented at: 2021 OARSI World Congress on Osteoarthritis, Virtual, 29 April - 01 May 2021, Vol. 29. Vol. Supple. Elsevier pp. S7., (10.1016/j.joca.2021.02.017)
2020
- Hayes, S. et al. 2020. The effect of bacteriochlorophyll derivative WST-D and near infrared light on the molecular and fibrillar architecture of the corneal stroma. Scientific Reports 10, article number: 9836. (10.1038/s41598-020-66869-y)
- Meek, K. M., Quantock, A. J., Hayes, S. and Bell, J. 2020. X-ray diffraction imaging of corneal ultrastructure. In: Ahearne, M. ed. Corneal Regeneration: Methods and Protocols., Vol. 2145. Methods in Molecular Biology New York, NY, USA: Humana, pp. 231-247., (10.1007/978-1-0716-0599-8_16)
2019
- Al-Rawachy, A., Husseini, T., Benedikt, J., Tasker, P. and Bell, J. 2019. Cardiff behavioural model analysis using a two-tone stimulus. Presented at: 2019 IEEE Topical Conference on RF/Microwave Power Amplifiers for Radio and Wireless Applications (PAWR), Orlando, FL, USA, 20-23 January 20192019 IEEE Topical Conference on RF/Microwave Power Amplifiers for Radio and Wireless Applications (PAWR). IEEE pp. 5-8., (10.1109/PAWR.2019.8708726)
2018
- Neal, C. et al. 2018. Novel haemodynamic structures in the human glomerulus. American Journal of Physiology - Renal Physiology 315(5), pp. F1370-F1384. (10.1152/ajprenal.00566.2017)
- Bates, D. O., Arkill, K. P., Bell, J. S., Winlove, C. P., Harper, S. J. and Neal, C. R. 2018. Bowman's capsule corrected: undiscovered vascular chambers in the renal glomerulus. FASEB Journal 32(S1), article number: 721.22. (10.1096/fasebj.2018.32.1_supplement.721.22)
- Bell, J. S. et al. 2018. The hierarchical response of human corneal collagen to load. Acta Biomaterialia 65, pp. 216-225. (10.1016/j.actbio.2017.11.015)
2017
- Al-Atawi, S., Albon, J., Meek, K., Hayes, S., Bell, J. and Regini, J. 2017. Changes in the X-ray diffraction pattern of porcine lens before and after simulated accommodation. Acta Ophthalmologica 95, article number: S259. (10.1111/j.1755-3768.2017.0S074)
- Abass, A., Bell, J. S., Spang, M. T., Hayes, S., Meek, K. M. A. and Boote, C. 2017. SAXS4COLL: an integrated software tool for analysing fibrous collagen-based tissues. Journal of Applied Crystallography 50, pp. 1235-1240. (10.1107/S1600576717007877)
- Hayes, S. et al. 2017. The structural response of the cornea to changes in stromal hydration. Interface 14(131) (10.1098/rsif.2017.0062)
- White, T. et al. 2017. The structural role of elastic fibres in the cornea investigated using a mouse model for Marfan syndrome. Investigative Ophthalmology and Vision Science 58(4), pp. 2106-2116. (10.1167/iovs.16-21358)
2016
- Bell, J. S. et al. 2016. Microstructure and mechanics of human resistance arteries. American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology 311(6), pp. H1560-H1568. (10.1152/ajpheart.00002.2016)
- Lewis, P., White, T., Young, R. D., Bell, J. S., Winlove, C. P. and Meek, K. M. A. 2016. Three-dimensional arrangement of elastic fibers in the human corneal stroma. Experimental Eye Research 146, pp. 43-53. (10.1016/j.exer.2015.12.006)
- Smith, C. W., Winlove, C. P., Eichhorn, S. J. and Bell, J. S. 2016. Elastic behaviour of biological materials. In: Hashmi, S. ed. Reference Module in Materials Science and Materials Engineering. Elsevier, pp. 1-6., (10.1016/B978-0-12-803581-8.02934-9)
2015
- Mansfield, J. C., Bell, J. S. and Winlove, C. P. 2015. The micromechanics of the superficial zone of articular cartilage. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 23(10), pp. 1806-1816. (10.1016/j.joca.2015.05.030)
2014
- Mansfield, J. C., Bell, J. S., Moger, J. and Winlove, C. P. 2014. Nonlinear optical microscopy in biomechanics. In: Neu, C. and Genin, G. eds. Handbook of Imaging in Biological Mechanics. CRC Press, pp. 251-260.
- Christmas, J., Everson, R. M., Bell, J. S. and Winlove, C. P. 2014. Inexact Bayesian point pattern matching for linear transformations. Pattern Recognition 47(10), pp. 3265-3275. (10.1016/j.patcog.2014.04.022)
- Bell, J. S., Christmas, J., Mansfield, J. C., Everson, R. M. and Winlove, C. P. 2014. Micromechanical response of articular cartilage to tensile load measured using nonlinear microscopy. Acta Biomaterialia 10(6), pp. 2574-2581. (10.1016/j.actbio.2014.02.008)
- Green, E. M., Mansfield, J. C., Bell, J. S. and Winlove, C. P. 2014. The structure and micromechanics of elastic tissue. Interface Focus 4(2), article number: 20130058. (10.1098/rsfs.2013.0058)
2013
- Alkhouli, N. et al. 2013. The mechanical properties of human adipose tissues and their relationships to the structure and composition of the extracellular matrix. American Journal of Physiology. Endocrinology and Metabolism 305(12), pp. E1427-E1435. (10.1152/ajpendo.00111.2013)
2012
- Bell, J. S., Summers, I. R., Murray, A. R. J., Hendry, E., Sambles, J. R. and Hibbins, A. P. 2012. Low acoustic transmittance through a holey structure. Physical Review B: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics 85(21), article number: 214305. (10.1103/PhysRevB.85.214305)
2009
- Bell, J. S., Winlove, C. P., Smith, C. W. and Dehghani, H. 2009. Modeling the steady-state deformation of the solid phase of articular cartilage. Biomaterials 30(31), pp. 6394-6401. (10.1016/j.biomaterials.2009.08.026)
Articles
- Bell, J. S. et al. 2022. Tropocollagen springs allow collagen fibrils to stretch elastically. Acta Biomaterialia 142, pp. 185-193. (10.1016/j.actbio.2022.01.041)
- Bell, J. S. et al. 2022. Microstructural characterisation of resistance artery remodelling in diabetes mellitus. Journal of Vascular Research 59, pp. 50-60. (10.1159/000517856)
- Hayes, S. et al. 2020. The effect of bacteriochlorophyll derivative WST-D and near infrared light on the molecular and fibrillar architecture of the corneal stroma. Scientific Reports 10, article number: 9836. (10.1038/s41598-020-66869-y)
- Neal, C. et al. 2018. Novel haemodynamic structures in the human glomerulus. American Journal of Physiology - Renal Physiology 315(5), pp. F1370-F1384. (10.1152/ajprenal.00566.2017)
- Bates, D. O., Arkill, K. P., Bell, J. S., Winlove, C. P., Harper, S. J. and Neal, C. R. 2018. Bowman's capsule corrected: undiscovered vascular chambers in the renal glomerulus. FASEB Journal 32(S1), article number: 721.22. (10.1096/fasebj.2018.32.1_supplement.721.22)
- Bell, J. S. et al. 2018. The hierarchical response of human corneal collagen to load. Acta Biomaterialia 65, pp. 216-225. (10.1016/j.actbio.2017.11.015)
- Al-Atawi, S., Albon, J., Meek, K., Hayes, S., Bell, J. and Regini, J. 2017. Changes in the X-ray diffraction pattern of porcine lens before and after simulated accommodation. Acta Ophthalmologica 95, article number: S259. (10.1111/j.1755-3768.2017.0S074)
- Abass, A., Bell, J. S., Spang, M. T., Hayes, S., Meek, K. M. A. and Boote, C. 2017. SAXS4COLL: an integrated software tool for analysing fibrous collagen-based tissues. Journal of Applied Crystallography 50, pp. 1235-1240. (10.1107/S1600576717007877)
- Hayes, S. et al. 2017. The structural response of the cornea to changes in stromal hydration. Interface 14(131) (10.1098/rsif.2017.0062)
- White, T. et al. 2017. The structural role of elastic fibres in the cornea investigated using a mouse model for Marfan syndrome. Investigative Ophthalmology and Vision Science 58(4), pp. 2106-2116. (10.1167/iovs.16-21358)
- Bell, J. S. et al. 2016. Microstructure and mechanics of human resistance arteries. American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology 311(6), pp. H1560-H1568. (10.1152/ajpheart.00002.2016)
- Lewis, P., White, T., Young, R. D., Bell, J. S., Winlove, C. P. and Meek, K. M. A. 2016. Three-dimensional arrangement of elastic fibers in the human corneal stroma. Experimental Eye Research 146, pp. 43-53. (10.1016/j.exer.2015.12.006)
- Mansfield, J. C., Bell, J. S. and Winlove, C. P. 2015. The micromechanics of the superficial zone of articular cartilage. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 23(10), pp. 1806-1816. (10.1016/j.joca.2015.05.030)
- Christmas, J., Everson, R. M., Bell, J. S. and Winlove, C. P. 2014. Inexact Bayesian point pattern matching for linear transformations. Pattern Recognition 47(10), pp. 3265-3275. (10.1016/j.patcog.2014.04.022)
- Bell, J. S., Christmas, J., Mansfield, J. C., Everson, R. M. and Winlove, C. P. 2014. Micromechanical response of articular cartilage to tensile load measured using nonlinear microscopy. Acta Biomaterialia 10(6), pp. 2574-2581. (10.1016/j.actbio.2014.02.008)
- Green, E. M., Mansfield, J. C., Bell, J. S. and Winlove, C. P. 2014. The structure and micromechanics of elastic tissue. Interface Focus 4(2), article number: 20130058. (10.1098/rsfs.2013.0058)
- Alkhouli, N. et al. 2013. The mechanical properties of human adipose tissues and their relationships to the structure and composition of the extracellular matrix. American Journal of Physiology. Endocrinology and Metabolism 305(12), pp. E1427-E1435. (10.1152/ajpendo.00111.2013)
- Bell, J. S., Summers, I. R., Murray, A. R. J., Hendry, E., Sambles, J. R. and Hibbins, A. P. 2012. Low acoustic transmittance through a holey structure. Physical Review B: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics 85(21), article number: 214305. (10.1103/PhysRevB.85.214305)
- Bell, J. S., Winlove, C. P., Smith, C. W. and Dehghani, H. 2009. Modeling the steady-state deformation of the solid phase of articular cartilage. Biomaterials 30(31), pp. 6394-6401. (10.1016/j.biomaterials.2009.08.026)
Book sections
- Meek, K. M., Quantock, A. J., Hayes, S. and Bell, J. 2020. X-ray diffraction imaging of corneal ultrastructure. In: Ahearne, M. ed. Corneal Regeneration: Methods and Protocols., Vol. 2145. Methods in Molecular Biology New York, NY, USA: Humana, pp. 231-247., (10.1007/978-1-0716-0599-8_16)
- Smith, C. W., Winlove, C. P., Eichhorn, S. J. and Bell, J. S. 2016. Elastic behaviour of biological materials. In: Hashmi, S. ed. Reference Module in Materials Science and Materials Engineering. Elsevier, pp. 1-6., (10.1016/B978-0-12-803581-8.02934-9)
- Mansfield, J. C., Bell, J. S., Moger, J. and Winlove, C. P. 2014. Nonlinear optical microscopy in biomechanics. In: Neu, C. and Genin, G. eds. Handbook of Imaging in Biological Mechanics. CRC Press, pp. 251-260.
Conferences
- Winlove, P., Bell, J., Green, E., Chen, J. and Mnsfield, J. 2021. Synergies between microstructure imaging modalities. Presented at: 2021 OARSI World Congress on Osteoarthritis, Virtual, 29 April - 01 May 2021, Vol. 29. Vol. Supple. Elsevier pp. S7., (10.1016/j.joca.2021.02.017)
- Al-Rawachy, A., Husseini, T., Benedikt, J., Tasker, P. and Bell, J. 2019. Cardiff behavioural model analysis using a two-tone stimulus. Presented at: 2019 IEEE Topical Conference on RF/Microwave Power Amplifiers for Radio and Wireless Applications (PAWR), Orlando, FL, USA, 20-23 January 20192019 IEEE Topical Conference on RF/Microwave Power Amplifiers for Radio and Wireless Applications (PAWR). IEEE pp. 5-8., (10.1109/PAWR.2019.8708726)
Research
Overview
My research involves quantifying the mechanical properties of tissue, and relating my findings to the micro- and nano-structure. Most tissues derive their mechanical properties from collagen, which forms an extracellular matrix tailored to the tissue function through interactions with proteoglycan, elastic fibres and interstitial fluid. An excellent paper on the role of collagen in the cornea can be found here. I use techniques such as multiphoton microscopy (part of the excellent bioimaging suite within VSBL) and X-ray scattering (predominantly at Diamond Light Source, the UK synchrotron) to obtain structural information about tissue that ranges in scale from molecular all the way up to whole eyes. I combine these techniques with mechanical tests using bespoke apparatus to visualise how the structures I see respond to stress.
Tropocollagen springs
My work in the field of ocular biomechanics led to a breakthrough in the understanding of collagen mechanics in general. In this paper I showed that some collagen fibrils are able to stretch significantly under relatively small stresses, due to a spring-like straightening of their supramolecular structure. This could have profound implications for our biomechanical understanding of not just the eye, but also blood vessels, skin, and many other tissues that exhibit this spring-like architecture (see an excellent paper by Ottani et al. for an overview).
Microvascular remodelling in diabetes
I worked on a British Heart Foundation sponsored project that investigated changes in our small arteries caused by diabetes. Our small arteries (approx 100 - 400 μm in diameter) are extremely important, because they are the primary means by which our bodies control organ perfusion. I carried out a multiphoton study in healthy arteries that illustrated the different stress transfer mechanisms present that control the response to pressure changes, as well as the highly heterogeneous distribution of stress through the vessel wall. I followed this up with an article investigating the changes associated with diabetes, which found arteries less able to distend and morphologically distorted due to the presence of pathologically thick taut bundles of collagen constraining the outer edge of the vessel.
Collaboration
I am actively seeking new collaborations with biologists who have an interest in tissue structure and/or biomechanics. If you think there may be overlap between our fields please drop me a line.
Biography
Qualifications
2006: BSc Mathematics and Physics, Class I, University of Exeter
2010: PhD Physics, 'The relationship between the structure and mechanical properties of articular cartilage'.
Career overview
2019 - present: Research Associate, Cardiff University.
2018 - 2019: Teacher, Cardiff University.
2015 - 2018: Research Associate, Cardiff University.
2010 - 2015: Associate Research Fellow / Research Fellow, University of Exeter
Honorary appointments
2019 - present: Visiting Scientist, Diamond Light Source
2018: Visiting Lecturer, Universite Grenoble-Alpes, France.
2015 - present: Visiting Scientist, Exeter University
Honours and awards
2021: Accepted on to Cardiff Futures training scheme.
2020: Accepted on to Welsh Crucible future leaders training scheme.
2019: STEM certificate for 50 or more volunteering hours.
2016: Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. work featured on journal cover.
2012: 62nd British Microcirculation Society Meeting - 2nd Joint Meeting with the American Microcirculation Society. 'Structural changes in loaded blood vessels'. Best Technology Abstract.
Committees and reviewing
School committees
- Chair the Green Impact team
- Environment representative on the Health and Safety committee
- Member and "local champion" on IT committee
Reviewing
- Regular reviewer for Acta Biomaterialia
- Grant reviewer for
