Jack James Dawson
Investigating the effect of surface physical properties on bacterial attachment and biofilm development.
Email: j.dawson@ncl.ac.uk
Project supervisors
- School of Engineering
- School of Dental Sciences
- Dr Nicholas Jakubovics
- Faculty of Medical Sciences
- Prof Waldemar Vollmer
Project description
A major issue for users of biomedical devices is the risk of bacteria-induced infections. These occur due to favourable conditions for bacterial attachment and biofilm formation. Bacteria that grow in biofilms can be much more resistant to antibiotics than their planktonic counterpart. Biofilm eradication is a great challenge for healthcare.
There are several areas of study about the design of antimicrobial surfaces. My project is most concerned with surface physics, or how bacteria interact with surface features. The physics of bacteria-material surface interaction is poorly understood. This hinders the innovative design of next-generation anti-biofilm surfaces.
In this project, I will adopt a multidisciplinary approach. I will explore how the surface physical properties of materials control bacteria-material adhesion and biofilm development.
Interests
Nanostructures, Biomimicry, Nano-fabrication, Biophysics, Bacterial Attachment, Biofilm Formation, Rheology, Micro-Rheology
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) in Mechanical Engineering