Paul De Bank

Paul De Bank is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Life Sciences at the University of Bath, affiliated with multiple research centres including the Centre for Therapeutic Innovation, Bath Institute for the Augmented Human, Centre for Bioengineering & Biomedical Technologies, and Centre for Integrated Materials, Processes & Structures. His research focuses on biomaterial applications in tissue engineering and controlled drug delivery.

His educational background includes a PhD in Organic Chemistry, Molecular Pharmacology, and Biochemistry from the University of Nottingham (2000) and a BSc in Biochemistry & Biological Chemistry from the same institution (1995).

De Bank's research interests center on developing 3D biomaterial scaffolds (hydrogels, nanofibers, microcarriers) for tissue regeneration—particularly musculoskeletal repair—and designing controlled drug delivery systems. His work includes antibiotic-releasing matrices for biofilm treatment and cell carrier systems. Current projects investigate nasal drug delivery models, protein-based hydrogels, and spectroscopic bacterial discrimination techniques.

He has secured research funding from EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC, Royal Society, EU, FAPESP, and the University of Bath for projects such as:

• Light Sheet Fluorescence Microscopy development
• Photopatterned Dendrons for Tissue Engineering
• Self-assembled cell aggregates

De Bank actively supervises doctoral candidates and teaches courses in drug delivery systems, tissue engineering, and biochemical analysis techniques.