Dr David Bassett

Supervisor Details

Contact Details

School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham

Scientific Background

Research Interests

David’s scientific interests and expertise lie at the interface of human biology and materials science. His main research theme is to understand the biological mechanisms that intricately control both the formation and prevention of inorganic minerals within organisms and apply this knowledge in three key areas: to develop improved biomaterials for regenerative medicine; to inspire the synthesis of novel nanostructured inorganics, and to inform the design of improved 3D cell based hard tissue models.

Research Groups

Healthcare Technologies Institute (HTI)

Supervision Style

In three words or phrases: supportive, outcome-oriented, technique-enthusiast.

Provision of Training

I prefer to take responsibility for your technical training at first, leading to more independence later. As your PhD progresses I expect to co-develop methodologies and will be very interested in your technical development, offering support and guidance as and when you may need it.

Progression Monitoring and Management

I hold one formal individual meeting and one group meeting per month through which progress and goals will be recorded through the University's Graduate Records System. I like to be kept up to date frequently, and will expect to see evidence of method development and experimental results on a weekly basis so that we can discuss progress, modify experimental directions and iteratively improve statistical confidence in results to optimise impacts.

Communication

The team has a WhatsApp group chat with which we regularly communicate during the week. Whilst I expect you to keep up with team communications I will expect you to manage your own work/life balance. I will not expect you to regularly work outside of normal hours, but may occasionally call on you to work extra hours when needed, this is often the nature of biologically-based research. I am happy to discuss any issues that are impacting your ability to fulfil your potential, but appreciate if you would rather seek advice elsewhere.

PhD Students can expect scheduled meetings with me:

In a group meeting

At least once per month

In year 1 of PhD study

At least once per month

In year 2 of PhD study

At least once per month

In year 3 of PhD study

At least once per month

Meetings will be face to face, and I am usually contactable for an instant response on every working day.

Working Pattern

The timing of work in my lab is completely flexible, and (other than attending pre-arranged meetings), I expect students to manage their own time.

Notice Period for Feedback

I need at least 1 week’s notice to provide feedback on written work of up to 5000 words.

MIBTP Project Details

Current Projects (2025-26)

Primary supervisor for:

Using microencapsulation to study biofilm formation

See the PhD Opportunities section to see if this project is currently open for applications via MIBTP.

Please Note: The main page lists projects via BBSRC Research Theme(s) quoted and then relevant Topic(s).

Using microencapsulation to study biofilm formation

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Tim Overton

University of Registration: University of Birmingham

BBSRC Research Themes: Understanding the Rules of Life (Microbiology)

Project Outline

Most bacteria in nature live in biofilms, communities that are usually attached to solid surfaces and protected by a self-produced matrix of polymer molecules. Biofilms are frequently more resistant to a range of antibiotics and toxic compounds and are very difficult to remove from surfaces. For these reasons, biofilms represent a massive problem for humanity, for example causing ~80% of infections, fouling pipes, and increasing fuel usage on ships. The economic impact of biofilms has recently been estimated to be ~ US$4000 billion per year, as well as health and societal impacts (Cámara et al., 2022).

The traditional model of biofilm formation on a solid surface comprises five stages: initial (reversible) attachment; irreversible attachment; proliferation and microcolony formation; maturation; and dispersion (Sauer et al., 2002). This developmental pathway is tightly regulated and depends upon external cues and stimuli, transcriptional factors, and second messengers such as cyclc di-GMP. In most organisms, these processes are not fully understood; even in the best-studied biofilm-forming organisms (eg Pseudomonas aeruginosa), there are still gaps in understanding.

Questions

Key questions include:

How is primary adhesion of bacteria to solid surfaces mediated?
How do bacteria sense surface attachment and switch from a planktonic to a sessile (attached) physiology?
How do sessile bacteria coordinate synthesis of polysaccharides and other matrix components?

Furthermore, there is growing evidence that the traditional five-step model of biofilm formation only represents part of the biofilm story (Sauer et al., 2022). Some bacteria form a type of biofilm called a pellicle that “floats” on the air-liquid interface; other bacteria form clusters that are suspended in growth media. The differences and similarities between biofilms, pellicles, and clusters are still poorly understood, and new methods are needed to better map the full scope of biofilm physiology.

In this project, we will use microfluidics and core-shell microbeads (Håti et al., 2016) as a platform to study biofilm formation. We will generate microbeads, around 50 μm in diameter, containing bacteria and surrounded by a polymer shell. This will allow us to follow bacterial cluster formation over time and measure aspects of physiology such as biofilm morphology, expression of biofilm-relevant genes, and concentrations of c-di-GMP and other second messengers. Altering the chemistry of the shell of the bead will allow us to determine the impact of physicochemical characteristics on biofilm formation and also probe the mechanical properties of the biofilm. Changing the liquid medium inside each bead will also permit investigation of the effect of stimuli on stages of biofilm development.

This project is a multidisciplinary collaboration between Overton, an expert on microbiology of biofilms and single cell analysis, and Bassett, an expert on soft materials in tissue engineering and biomaterials.

References

Cámara M, Green W, MacPhee CE, Rakowska PD, Raval R, Richardson MC, Slater-Jefferies J, Steventon K, Webb JS. Economic significance of biofilms: a multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral challenge. NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes. 2022 May 26;8(1):42. doi: 10.1038/s41522-022-00306-y.

Sauer K, Camper AK, Ehrlich GD, Costerton JW, Davies DG. Pseudomonas aeruginosa displays multiple phenotypes during development as a biofilm. J Bacteriol. 2002 Feb;184(4):1140-54. doi: 10.1128/jb.184.4.1140-1154.2002.

Sauer K, Stoodley P, Goeres DM, Hall-Stoodley L, Burmølle M, Stewart PS, Bjarnsholt T. The biofilm life cycle: expanding the conceptual model of biofilm formation. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2022 Oct;20(10):608-620. doi: 10.1038/s41579-022-00767-0.

Håti AG, Bassett DC, Ribe JM, Sikorski P, Weitz DA, Stokke BT. Versatile, cell and chip friendly method to gel alginate in microfluidic devices. Lab Chip. 2016; 16 (19): 3718. doi: 10.1039/C6LC00769D.