Dr David Alexander Gregory
PhD, MSc, BSc, BSc, FHEA
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Lecturer (Assistant Professor)
+44 114 222 7504
Full contact details
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
F56
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
- Profile
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David joined the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE) in 2023 as a Lecturer. His research is focused on the development of sensing devices for a wide variety of applications including process, medical, and environmental monitoring challenges. An important component of this work is the development of new technologies that enable the fabrication of these devices. Recently, together with collaborators Jonathan Foster (Chemistry) and Patrick Smith (Mechanical Engineering), David has begun developing Reactive Inkjet Printing (RIJ) for multivariate metal organic framework (MOF) gradients, which is hoped can be utilised for advanced sensors.
David has had a fundamental role in the development of RIJ. In the course of this work he designed, built and developed different Reactive Inkjet Printers including both hardware and software, while he has also developed several modifications to existing printing systems to help promote his research. He remains keen to further expand the development of novel printing technologies.
Further to this David is CTO (Chief Technology Officer) in PHAsT, which promises to become a spin off next year, and is focused on the sustainable production of biocompatible, biodegradable polymers produced via bacterial fermentation. The PHAsT team has recently successfully conducted 100L fermentations with exceptionally high polymer yields at the University of Cambridge facilities, as showcased on their website.
David has also gained work experience in the pharmaceutical industry at Solvay Pharmaceuticals and Abbott Products in Germany, working in the Departments of Medicinal Chemistry, Enzyme Research, and Drug Formulation Development.
Prior to his present position, he was senior postdoctoral research associate (PDRA) to Prof Roy in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) at Sheffield University. This post involved the production of natural polymers via bacterial fermentation for biomedical applications as well as the optimisation and development of novel additive manufacturing processes for material processing and tissue scaffold development. In one of the projects multi-material cardiac patches were successfully developed that are currently being tested in vivo.
Having completed undergraduate degrees in Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology at Lancaster University and Biochemistry and Music at Keele University David went on to study a Masters in Bionanotechnology run jointly between the University of Sheffield and Leeds University. He then joined the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering for his PhD on catalytic micromotors, under the supervision of Dr Ebbens, which he completed in 2016.
During this time, David was key for the development of RIJ and enzyme powered silk microrockets, which gained considerable media interest and resulted in several high-quality publications and has consequently resulted in him being invited to speak at several national and international conferences.
Thereafter, he worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in CBE further developing his work on RIJ of silk materials, which also resulted in the award of two research grants to his PIs, before he moved as senior PDRA to the MSE Department.
- Research interests
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David is interested in developing novel multidisciplinary projects targeted toward biosensor, bioelectronic, biomedical, regenerative medicine and industrial applications (e.g. process monitoring).
Keywords:
- Sensors / Biosensors
- Raman spectroscopy as a sensing tool
- Additive Manufacturing / 3D Printing
- Reactive Inkjet Printing (RIJ)
- Design and development of complex printing systems
- Biomaterials
- Tissue engineering / 3D scaffolds
- Drug delivery
- Bioelectronics
- Active colloids / micromotors
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Aligned polyhydroxyalkanoate blend electrospun fibers as intraluminal guidance scaffolds for peripheral nerve repair. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, 9(3), 1472-1485. View this article in WRRO
- Designed peptide amphiphiles as scaffolds for tissue engineering. Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, 314, 102866-102866.
- Additive manufacturing of polyhydroxyalkanoate-based blends using fused deposition modelling for the development of biomedical devices. Journal of Functional Biomaterials, 14(1).
- Polyhydroxyalkanoates and their advances for biomedical applications. Trends in Molecular Medicine, 28(4), 331-342. View this article in WRRO
- 3D printable self-propelling sensors for the assessment of water quality via surface tension. JCIS Open, 5. View this article in WRRO
- Cell guidance on peptide micropatterned silk fibroin scaffolds. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 603, 380-390. View this article in WRRO
- Rotating ellipsoidal catalytic micro-swimmers via glancing angle evaporation. Materials Advances, 2(21), 7045-7053. View this article in WRRO
- Bacterial cellulose : a smart biomaterial with diverse applications. Materials Science and Engineering: R: Reports, 145. View this article in WRRO
- Mussel inspired chemistry and bacteria derived polymers for oral mucosal adhesion and drug delivery. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 9.
- Silk fibroin as a functional biomaterial for tissue engineering. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(3). View this article in WRRO
- Patterning the neuronal cells via inkjet printing of self-assembled peptides on silk scaffolds. Progress in Natural Science: Materials International, 30(5), 686-696. View this article in WRRO
- Natural biomaterials for cardiac tissue engineering: a highly biocompatible solution. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, 7.
- Reactive inkjet printing and propulsion analysis of silk-based self-propelled micro-stirrers. Journal of Visualized Experiments(146). View this article in WRRO
- Reactive inkjet printing of functional silk stirrers for enhanced mixing and sensing. Small, 15(1). View this article in WRRO
- Magnetic-silk/polyethyleneimine core-shell nanoparticles for targeted gene delivery into human breast cancer cells. International Journal of Pharmaceutics , 555, 322-336. View this article in WRRO
- Magnetic alginate/chitosan nanoparticles for targeted delivery of curcumin into human breast cancer cells.. Nanomaterials, 8(11). View this article in WRRO
- Catalytic Janus Colloids: Controlling Trajectories of Chemical Microswimmers. Accounts of Chemical Research, 51(9), 1931-1939.
- Symmetrical Catalytically Active Colloids Collectively Induce Convective Flow. Langmuir, 34(14), 4307-4313. View this article in WRRO
- Reactive Inkjet Printing of Biocompatible Enzyme Powered Silk Micro-Rockets.. Small, 12(30), 4048-4055. View this article in WRRO
- The Effect of Catalyst Distribution on Spherical Bubble Swimmer Trajectories. Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 119(27), 15339-15348. View this article in WRRO
- Electrokinetic effects in catalytic platinum-insulator Janus swimmers. EPL (Europhysics Letters), 106(5). View this article in WRRO
- Aminosilane functionalised aligned fibre PCL scaffolds for peripheral nerve repair. Macromolecular Bioscience. View this article in WRRO
- Controlling the composition and position of metal–organic frameworks via reactive inkjet printing. Advanced Materials Interfaces. View this article in WRRO
- Reactive Inkjet Printing and Propulsion Analysis of Silk-based Self-propelled Micro-stirrers. Journal of Visualized Experiments(146).
- Altering the Bubble Release of Reactive Inkjet Printed Silk Micro-rockets. NIP & Digital Fabrication Conference, 32(1), 452-456.
Chapters
- Polyhydroxyalkanoates, Their Processing and Biomedical Applications, The Handbook of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (pp. 255-284). CRC Press
- Soft, Hard, and Hybrid Janus Structures: Synthesis, Self-Assembly, and Applications — Catalytic Janus Swimmers, Soft, Hard, and Hybrid Janus Structures (pp. 315-403). WORLD SCIENTIFIC (EUROPE)
- CHAPTER 8. Reactive Inkjet Printing of Regenerated Silk Fibroin as a 3D Scaffold for Autonomous Swimming Devices (Micro-rockets), Reactive Inkjet Printing (pp. 169-201). Royal Society of Chemistry
Conference proceedings papers
- BIOINSPIRED NERVE GUIDANCE CONDUITS FOR OPTIMAL NERVE REGENERATION USING POLYHYDROXYALKANOATES. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, Vol. 29(11-12) (pp 1404-1404)
- Tissue repair with multimaterial biomedical devices fabricated from sustainable biopolymers. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, Vol. 29(13-14)
- Drop-on-demand micropatterning of novel amphiphilic peptide I3K on regenerated silk fibroin substrates to guide and promote adhesion and proliferation of neuronal cells. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, Vol. 29(13-14)
- Tissue repair with multimaterial biomedical devices fabricated from sustainable biopolymers. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, Vol. 29(13-14)
- Drop-on-demand micropatterning of novel amphiphilic peptide I3K on regenerated silk fibroin substrates to guide and promote adhesion and proliferation of neuronal cells. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, Vol. 29(13-14)
- TISSUE ENGINEERED CARDIAC PATCHES FOR THE TREATMENT OF POST-MI HEART FAILURE USING NATURAL POLYMERS AND HUMAN IPSC-DERIVED CELLS. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, Vol. 28 (pp S260-S261)
- A NEXT GENERATION BIO-INSPIRED DEVICE FOR EFFECTIVE PERIPHERAL NERVE REGENERATION. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, Vol. 28 (pp S293-S294)
- 3D PRINTING OF POLYHYDROXYALKANOATES FOR CELL CULTURE AND TISSUE REPAIR APPLICATIONS. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, Vol. 28 (pp S94-S94)
- AMINE MODIFIED POLYCAPROLACTONE SCAFFOLDS FOR PERIPHERAL NERVE REPAIR. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, Vol. 28 (pp S337-S337)
- POLYHYDROXYALKANOATES, NATURAL MATERIALS OF BACTERIAL ORIGIN, IDEAL FOR CARDIAC TISSUE ENGINEERING. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, Vol. 28 (pp S36-S37)
- Altering the bubble release of reactive inkjet printed silk micro-rockets. NIP & Digital Fabrication Conference, Vol. 2016 (pp 452-456). Manchester, 12 September 2016 - 12 September 2016. View this article in WRRO
- Regenerated silk fibroin as an inkjet printable biomaterial. International Conference on Digital Printing Technologies, Vol. 2016 (pp 406-409). Manchester, 12 September 2016 - 12 September 2016. View this article in WRRO
Other
- Reactive Inkjet Printing: Reactive Inkjet Printing of Biocompatible Enzyme Powered Silk Micro-Rockets (Small 30/2016). Small, 12(30), 4022-4022.
Preprints
- Aligned polyhydroxyalkanoate blend electrospun fibers as intraluminal guidance scaffolds for peripheral nerve repair. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, 9(3), 1472-1485. View this article in WRRO
- Research group
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PhD:
David is actively seeking PhD candidates. If you are interested, please do not hesitate to contact him.
Alumni:
Summer Project students:
- Khushi Issuar [SURF 2023] - (First Prize)
- Deepum Patel [SURF 2023] - (First Prize)
- Adeyinka Adeniran [Royce Summer Project 2023] - (Highly Commended Poster)
- Ajay Chandel [SURE 2019]
- Ella Cliff [SURF 2019)
- Mobarakshah Assadi [SURF 2019)
- Grants
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DATE SPONSOR PI/CI/
Named PDRA
TITLE FUNDING March 2023 IAA (UKRI) CoI Production of Polyhydroxyalkanoates for Biomedical applications: Biocompatible, resorbable and sustainable Biomaterials (PoC: Downstream Optimisation and Upstream Scale-up)£48k March 2023 EPSRC R-CoI Mussel Inspired Chemistry and Bacteria-synthesized Polymers for a Smart Adhesive Drug Eluting Oral Mucosal Patch (EP/X026108/1)£550k March 2023 2x SURF (Sheffield Undergraduate Research Fellowship)PI Reactive Inkjet Printed Silk Stirrers for Rapid Medical Diagnosis 2x £1,850 Feb 2023 Royce (Summer project grant) PI Feasibility of using Fluorescence assays and Raman Spectroscopy for the design of an online monitoring device to measure the concentration of Polyhydroxyalkanoates during bacterial fermentation. £3,200 Jan 2023 Diamond Light Source (Oxford) CoI X-ray tomography for 3D bioprinting (MG33034)Coherence (6 shifts) Diamond Light Source Sep 2022 Diamond Light Source (Oxford) CoI Ptycho-tomography for composite 3D printing for Tissue Engineering (MG31646) Coherence (12 shifts) Diamond Light Source July 2022 BBSRC CoI BBSRC Lean Launch Programme (£2500 plus £1200 for profession consultancy) £3,700 April 2019 SURE (Sheffield Undergraduate Research Experience) PI Investigating the collective motion of catalytically active micromotors in 3D printed flow cell designs. £2,750 Nov 2019 3DBioNET Named PDRA A natural and sustainable biomaterial based 3D model of healthy cardiac tissue. £45,740 May 2019 SURF (Sheffield Undergraduate Research Fellowship) PI Silk/PEG biogels for reactive inkjet printing and 3D tissue engineering – for the production of flexible self-motile rockets £1,850 May 2019 SURF (Sheffield Undergraduate Research Fellowship) PI Silk/PEG biogels for reactive inkjet printing and 3D tissue engineering – for the production of 3D cell culture scaffolds. £1,850 3D BIONET grant: working on the development of Polyhydroxyalkanoates-based 3D Printed tissue repair patches for cardiac tissue applications.
- Teaching activities
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- Module Leader - CPE260 – Experimental Design
- BIE103 - Introduction to Bioengineering
Previous teaching:
- Particle Design and Processing, CPE441
- Structural and Physical Properties of Dental and Bio-materials, MAT6304
- Professional activities and memberships
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Conference Organisation:
- Organiser and Initiator of BioSheffield 2022 Conference
Industrial sponsors:
- Applikon (Gentinge)
- Keyence
- Geneflow
- Cellink (Bico)
- SLS
- Merk
- Co-Organiser of BioMAT Sheffield 2023 Microsymposium
Industrial sponsors:
- Applikon (Gentinge)
- Merk
Journal Guest Editor:
“Biomaterials from Nature”, Journal of Functional Biomaterials, IF 4.8.
“3D Printing Polymer: Processing and Fabrication”, Polymers, IF 5.0.