Dynamic Biomaterials Group

The Dynamic Biomaterials group uses biophysics, bioengineering and materials science to develop responsive, nature-inspired materials that have the potential to revolutionise biomedical materials, 3D cell culture and regenerative medicine. We are particularly interested in how we can take knowledge gained at the molecular level on responsive proteins, and transplant this behaviour across length scales to create responsive materials with similar properties to their constituent proteins that can be used to influence and tune cellular behaviours. We are particularly interested in the development of dynamic animal-free culture matrices that can be used to create more predictive organoid models.

On the materials side, this requires a thorough understanding of single-molecule behaviour, how these units cooperate at the microscale and how they behave in a network of similar units (macroscale behaviour), for which we employ a range of advanced biophysical, microscopic, and analytical tools (AFM-single molecule force spectroscopy, spinning disk microscopy, AFM nanoindentation, SEM, SAXS and rheology). Beyond the materials, we study cell-matrix interactions to determine how mechanical cues at the material level influence cell differentiation and growth using advanced microscopy and proteomics.

The Dynamic Biomaterials Group is currently funded by the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at UCD and Enterprise Ireland. We have also previously been funded by an MSCA Career Restart Fellowship (2020-2024, CatchGel), a Swiss National Science Foundation Spark Grant (2024, Catch Bond Mediated Peristaltic Hydrogels) and a Swiss Additive Manufacturing Community EXCHANGE Grant (2024, Impact Resistant Wood Fibres). We actively contribute to teaching in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering (MEEN40630 Biomaterials). Our research is highly interdisciplinary and collaborative; we work closely with the Schools of Biomolecular and Biomedical Sciences (SBBS), Agriculture and Food Sciences (SAFS), and Medicine at UCD, the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at Dublin City University, the Departments of Chemistry, (DCHEM) Biomedicine (DBM), and Biomedical Engineering (DBE) of the University of Basel, the University Children's Hospital Basel (UKBB), the Institute of Molecular Medicine (IMM) at the University of Zurich, and the Institute for Building Materials (IfB) at the ETH Zurich.