David Needham
Co-Director IGERT program
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Contact Information
Office Location: 3391 CIEMAS
(PH) 919-660-5355
(FX) 919-660-8961
d.needham@duke.edu

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Education

	PhD	Catalysis by Evaporated Films of Rare Earth Metals, Physical Chemistry, University of Nottingham, 1981
	BS	Applied Chemistry, Trent Polytechnic, 1975

 

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Research and Professional Experience

	1999-present	Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University
	1991-1998	Associate Professor (with tenure, June 1993), Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University
	1987 - 1991	Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University
	1998 - present	Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering (secondary appointment), Duke University
	1992 - present	Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering (secondary appointment), Duke University
	2001 – present	Co-Director, Center for Biologically Inspired Materials and Material Systems (with Prof Rob Clark)
	1993 - present	Member, Center for Cellular and Biosurface Engineering, Duke University
	1993 - 1994	Co-Director, Center for Cellular and Biosurface Engineering, Duke University (with Prof George Truskey)
	1992 - present	Member, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duke University
	1987 - 1993	Member, Center for Biochemical Engineering, Duke University
	1985 - 1987	Research Associate, Department of Academic Pathology, University of British Columbia
	1983 - 1985	NATO/SERC Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Academic Pathology, of British Columbia. (Synthetic membrane physical chemistry and biophysics of membrane - membrane interactions, with Prof. E. Evans)
	1982 - 1983	Oppenheimer Research Fellow, Physiological Laboratory, Cambridge University
	1980 - 1982	Postdoctoral Fellow, Physiological Laboratory, Cambridge University. (Molecular mechanisms of anaesthesia, with Prof. D. A. Haydon F.R.S.)
	1977 - 1980	Graduate Student Demonstratorship, Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, England. (Ph. D research with Prof. D. D. Eley, F.R.S.)
	1976 - 1977	Research and Development Technologist, Manox (Pigments) Ltd., Manchester, England

 

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Selected Publications

1. D. Needham and D. A. Haydon (1983). Tensions and free energies of formation of “solventless” lipid bilayers: measurement of high contact angles. Biophys. J. 41, 251-257.
2. E. A. Evans and D. Needham (1987). Physical properties of surfactant bilayer membranes: thermal transitions, elasticity, rigidity, cohesion, and colloidal interactions. J. Phys. Chem. 91, 4219-4228.
3. D. Needham and R. S. Nunn (1990). Elastic deformation and failure of lipid bilayer membranes containing cholesterol. Biophys. J., 58, 997-1009.
4. N. Z. Wu, D. Da, T. L. Rudoll, D. Needham, A. R. Whorton and M. W. Dewhirst. (1993). Increased microvascular permeability contributes to preferential accumulation of Stealth® liposomes in tumor tissue. J. Cancer Research, 33, 3765-3770.
5. D. Needham, N. Stoicheva and D. V. Zhelev. (1997). Exchange of monooleoylphosphatidylcholine as monomer and micelle with membranes containing poly(ethylene glycol)-lipid. Biophysical Journal, 73. 2615-2629.
6. P. F. Kiser, G. Wilson, and D. Needham. (1998). A Synthetic Mimetic of the Secretory Granule, Nature, 394, 459-462.
7. D. Needham, G. Anyarambhatla, G. Kong, and M. W. Dewhirst. (2000) A New Temperature-Sensitive Liposome for Use with Mild Hyperthermia: Characterization and Testing in a Human Tumor Xenograft Model. Cancer Research: Advances in Brief, 60 (5), 1197-1201.
8. D. Needham and M. W. Dewhirst. (2001). The Development and Testing of a New Temperature-Sensitive Drug Delivery System for the Treatment of Solid Tumors. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 53, 285-305.
9. D.Needham, T. J. McIntosh, and D. V. Zhelev. (1998). Surface Chemistry of the Sterically Stabilized PEG-Liposome: General Principles. In “Liposomes: Rational Design”, Ed., A. Janoff, Marcel Dekker, Inc, NY, p13-62.
10. D. Needham and D. V. Zhelev, (1999). Use of Micropipet Manipulation Techniques to Measure the Properties of Giant Vesicles”, P. Walde and L. Luisi, Eds, J. Wiley, Ch 9, 103-147.

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Patents

1. “Liposomes Containing Active Agents Aggregated with Lipid Surfactants”. Duke University, NC, Patent # 5,827,533, Oct 27, 1998.
2. Methods of Producing Gas Microbubbles Having Lipid-Containing Shells Formed Thereon, 09/451/627, filed Nov 30, 1999, allowed Nov 27th 2000.
3. “Liposomes Containing Active Agents Aggregated with Lipid Surfactants”. Duke University, NC, US Patent # 6,200,598, 13-Mar-2001.
4. “Liposomes Containing Active Agents Aggregated with Lipid Surfactants”. AU Patent # 749806, 3-June-2003
   

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Short Research Interest Descriptor

Dr. Needham’s research program combines the fields of Materials Science and Colloid and Surface Chemistry with Biology focusing on “Biological and other Soft Wet Materials” and their inspiration for new materials and material systems. Applications include anti-cancer drug delivery for treatment of solid tumors, and understanding Biomineralization and making new Bio-inspired nano and micro composite materials.

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Research Interest

My reasearch program deals more specifically with the material properties of 2-phase micro and nanosystems, and stems from the recognition that Biology is a series of products and processes that already work. By development and use of micromanipulation devices we can manipulate and control individual particles (like cells, microbubbles, microdroplets, and micro crystals), in well-defined chemical and physical environments and in order to investigate processes for their creation as well as their the properties once formed. Such materials property measurements and particle manipulations require specialized experimental equipment and the principal experimental approach is that of micropipet manipulation, to manipulate individual and pairs of micro particles in controlled solution environments.

Research topics currently under investigation include: lipid and surfactant monolayers at gas bubble, and liquid emulsion surfaces; and diffusion-solubility, crystallization and solidification of polymers, lipids, proteins, inorganic crystals and drugs from 2 phase microsystems. Particular applications of these materials and materials processing concepts are being applied to improved image contrast agents, drug delivery systems, and blood substitutes, that use lipids and polymers to create micro- and nano-capsules and monolayer coatings. In particular our patenetd drug delivery system releases drug specifically in solid tumors triggered by a slight temperature elevation by hyperthermic devices already in use in the clinic. This chemotherapeutic/heating system is now being tested clinically (in human clinical trials for prostate cancer, and about to go to trial in liver and breast cancers).

New research is focusing on Biomineralization and Bioinspiration from Marine Organisms, bones and teeth, and the use of the micropipet technique to establish conditions for nucleation of crystallization and crystal growth at the microscale for calcium carbonates, phosphates and other inorganic-organic nano and micro composites.

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