Biography
Dr Bax studied for his PhD in biochemistry as part of a CASE studentship with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. He then joined the UK Centre for Tissue Engineering at the University of Manchester. There he researched the coating of polymers with biologically derived molecules (fibrillin-1) as a route to enhance their biocompatibility. He continued researching the interactions between materials and biologically derived molecules within a collaborative research position at the University of Sydney. In this position Dr Bax examined the orientation and molecular display of molecules such as tropoelastin adhering to plasma treated materials. From Sydney he returned to the UK to undertake a postdoctoral research position within the Cambridge Centre for Medical Materials (CCMM) examining the crosslinking of collagen based scaffolds. Dr Bax has recently obtained an EU funded Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship to research collagen-elastin composites at the CCMM.
Research
Dr Bax’s current research project concentrates on the development of three-dimensional environments to promote the regeneration of cardiac tissue. Heart disease is currently the leading cause of death and disability in the world, a burden that is predicted to rise due to an ageing population. Therefore improved treatment options offer the potential for more rapid patient recovery, reduced hospitalisation time and reduced cost to the NHS.
This current project focuses upon on the well-established collagen scaffold fabrication technologies at the Cambridge Centre for Medical Materials. This employs ice templating to generate highly porous, homogeneous, three-dimensional scaffolds. Within this group Dr Bax is examining the development of these three-dimensional collagen-based structure to produce scaffolds that offer a combination of excellent mechanical properties but which simultaneously retaining native-like cell-collagen interactions.
Publications
- D.V. BAX, A. KONDYURIN, A. WATERHOUSE, D.R. MCKENZIE, A.S. WEISS and M.M. BILEK
“Surface plasma modification and tropoelastin coating of a polyurethane co-polymer for enhanced cell attachment and reduced thrombogenicity”, Diomaterials, 35(25): 6797-809, (2014) - P. LEE, D.V. BAX, M.M. BILEK and A.S. WEISS
“A novel cell adhesion region in tropoelastin mediates attachment to integrin αVβ5”, J Biol Chem, 289(3): 1467-77, (2014) - D.V. BAX, R.S. TIPA, A. KONDYURIN, M.J. HIGGINS, K. TSOUTAS, A. GELMI, G.G. WALLACE, D.R. MCKENZIE, A.S. WEISS and M.M. BILEK
“Cell patterning via linker-free protein functionalization of an organic conducting polymer (polypyrrole) electrode”, Acta Biomater., 8(7): 2538-48, (2012) - D.V. BAX, D.R. MCKENZIE, M.M. BILEK and A.S. WEISS
“Directed cell attachment by tropoelastin on masked plasma immersion ion implantation treated PTFE”, Biomaterials, 32(28): 6710-8, (2011) - D.V. BAX, Y. WANG, Z. LI, P.K. MAITZ, D.R. MCKENZIE, M.M. BILEK and A.S. WEISS
“Binding of the cell adhesive protein tropoelastin to PTFE through plasma immersion ion implantation treatment”, Biomaterials, 32(22): 5100-11, (2011) - J. HOLST, S. WATSON, M.S. LORD, S.S. EAMEGDOOL, D.V. BAX, L.B. NIVISON-SMITH, A. KONDYURIN, L. MA, A.F. OBERHAUSER, A.S. WEISS and J.E. RASKO
“Substrate elasticity provides mechanical signals for the expansion of hemopoietic stem and progenitor cells”, Nature Biotech., 28(10): 1123-8, (2010) - D.V. BAX, D.R. MCKENZIE, A.S. WEISS and M.M. BILEK
“The linker-free covalent attachment of collagen to plasma immersion ion implantation treated polytetrafluoroethylene and subsequent cell-binding activity”, Biomaterials, 31(9): 2526–34, (2010) - D.V. BAX, U.R. RODGERS, M.M. BILEK and A.S. WEISS
“Cell adhesion to tropoelastin is mediated via the C-terminal GRKRK motif and integrin alphaVbeta3”, J Biol Chem., 284(42): 28616-23, (2009) - D.V. BAX, D.R. MCKENZIE, A.S. WEISS and M.M. BILEK
“Linker-free covalent attachment of the extracellular matrix protein tropoelastin to a polymer surface for directed cell spreading”, Acta Biomater., 5(9): 3371-81, (2009)
