Professor Ihtesham ur Rehman is Executive Director and Founder of the IRC in Biomedical Materials, CIIT, Lahore. He has BSc and MSc degrees in Chemistry and a Doctorate in Biomaterials from the Department of Materials, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). After a long career at the internationally renowned research center, Interdisciplinary Research Centre (IRC) in Biomedical Materials at QMUL, he joined the Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering in January 2011 and is part of the Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Group based within the Kroto Research Institute.

Research interests

Ihtesham's research interests are multidisciplinary and the focal point of his research has been the identification and understanding of the fundamental mechanisms by which chemical responses are mediated by nano- to micro-scale variations in biomaterials, with the main emphasis on the development of synthetic inorganic bone analogue materials and characterisation of natural tissues, including hard and soft tissues. Ihtesham's current research covers the following themes:

1. Analysing Cancer with Spectroscopy: FTIR and Raman spectroscopy of cancer tissues and cells, both the techniques have been of great interest for the identification of tissue types, cell genotyping for in situ monitoring with the aim of developing diagnostic techniques for cancer cells identification, identifying both the cancer types and their grades.
2. Polymers and Bioactive Composites:
   1. Synthesis of polyurethanes for biomaterials and tissue engineering applications
   2. Design and Development of an auxetic biodegradable drug-eluted stent-graft in the palliation of oesophageal cancer
   3. Bioactive composite materials: Development of improved ceramic/polymer composites for osteological and dental application
3. Dental Materials: Glass -ionomers, nano-ceramics and nano-composites for dental restoration.
   

Professional activities and recognition

• Reviewer, Czech Science Foundation (2011)

• Member, International assessment committee for British Council INSPIRE programme (2011)

• Member, Materials, Mechanical and Medical Engineering Panel meeting (July 2009)

• Member, International assessment committee for British Council INSPIRE programme (2009)

• President and founder; Pakistan Society for Dental and Biomaterials (Member, the assessment committee of the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET) international postgraduate scheme (2007)

• Member of Editorial board of Applied Spectroscopy Reviews (2008 - present)

• Member, Academic Council, COMSATS, Pakistan (2003 to present)

• Member of EPSRC Health Care Panel (2004)

• Member of EPSRC Peer Review College since (1999)

• Representative for the European Society of Biomaterials on CEN committee (ISO) (2001 -05)