Professor Needham also holds appointments as Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering; Associate Professor, Center for Cellular and Biosurface Engineering; and Associate Professor, Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Dr. Needham's research program is in the field Materials Science and in particular, that of "Biological and other Soft Wet Materials." The program focuses on coating and encapsulation of solid, liquid and gaseous particles in the colloidal size range (10 nanometers to 10 micrometers). It essentially comprises two related areas. One deals with the material properties of lipid monolayers, bilayer membranes, hydrogels, wax particles, emulsions, gas bubbles, and cells. And the other is concerned with adhesion and repulsion involving molecular structures at interfaces including water-soluble polymers and receptor-mediated cell adhesion. Current research focuses on experiments and theory concerning: 1) molecular exchange and defect formation in lipid vesicle membranes, (specifically involving the partitioning of amphipathic molecules like surfactants, pH sensitive polymers, and fusogenic peptides); 2) physical properties of microhydrogels and their interactions with ionic species, especially drugs; 3) lipid and surfactant monolayers at gas bubble, liquid emulsion , and solid wax surfaces; and 4) in the measurement of the local compliance of cellular interfaces and bond strengths for receptor-ligand bonds in response to cell activation. Information gained in this work is directed towards improved image contrast agents and drug delivery systems that use lipids and polymers to create micro- and nano-capsules and monolayer coatings. These micro and nano carriers are being designed to load anti-cancer drugs and local anesthetics, and to coat or encapsulate image contrast agents for Ultrasound imaging. The current focus is on increased drug carrying capacity (solubility in lipid and surfactant structures), antibody and peptide targeted delivery to diseased sites, and triggered release of drug at the diseased site from a carrier by using temperature and pH-sensitive materials. These systems are being tested pre-clinically with collaborators in the Duke Medical Center, specifically with Dr. Mark Dewhirst in Radiation Oncology.
| Office Location: | 3391 CIEMAS |
| Office Phone: | +1 919 660 5355, +1 919 660 5316 |
| Email Address: |  
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| Web Page: |
Teaching (Fall 2008):
- recent publications