Damien Batchelor

Profile

I completed my undergraduate degree and masters in Theoretical Physics at the University of Leeds in 2017. During my masters research project, I joined the Molecular and Nanoscale Physics group under the supervision for Prof. Stephen Evans, developing MATLAB based image analysis tools, and continued in the group to pursue my PhD. My thesis is titled “Nanobubbles for Therapeutic Delivery”.

Research interests

My PhD work involves investigation how we may use ‘Nanobubbles’, sub-micron sized shell-stabilised bubbles, for both diagnosis and therapy of diseases such as cancer. Slightly larger bubbles (microbubbles) are already using in the clinic as Ultrasound Contrast Agents (UCAs) to improve the quality of ultrasound imaging. There is currently a vast amount of pre-clinical research into how we may be able to use these bubbles to locally deliver cancer drugs through the use of an ultrasound trigger. Drugs can be attached to the bubbles themselves, with the aim to reduce toxicity (and side effects) whilst increasing the efficacy of the treatment plan.

However due to their size, microbubbles are confined to the vasculature, limiting tumour penetration and potentially reducing treatment effectiveness. By developing and researching Nanobubbles, we believe that their reduced size will allow for extravasation and increased accumulation within the tumour itself, and as such promoting delivery to typically hard to treat areas. As research into Nanobubbles is relatively new, there is a lot to learn about their behaviour – which is made especially difficult as they are too small to see using a microscope! So far my PhD has focused on developing a novel Nanobubble-liposome complex for triggered drug delivery, whilst also investigating the interactions between nanobubbles, ultrasound and cells.

My PhD project is due to finish during 2021 and I am hoping to further my research career by pursuing a post-doctoral position in the near future.

Qualifications

• Theoretical Physics MPhys, Bsc