Jan 1999-Present: Department of Chemistry, University of York
Promoted to Senior Lecturer, October 2004.
Promoted to Professor, July 2006.
Jan 1997-Dec 1998: Royal Society European Post Doctoral Research Fellowship
With Professor Francois Diederich - ETH Zurich
Oct 1993-Dec 1996: PhD, University of Oxford
Supervisor: Professor Paul Beer
Oct 1989-Jun 1992: BA (Hons) First Class, University of Oxford
Awarded Proximae Accessit for outstanding finals performance
Postmaster scholar
Research Track Record in Figures (as of November 2011)
>100 peer-reviewed papers in career
>90 independent peer-reviewed papers since 1999
Many papers in the highest-quality journals
2 Patents
Encyclopedia Volume Editor
1 book and 1 book chapter
2 Encyclopedia chapters
>4000 citations - average >35 citations per paper
H Index = 37 (according to Thomson ISI)
Major funders EPSRC, ERC, The Wellcome Trust, The Leverhulme Trust and Polymer/Formulation Industry
Research Awards
Corday Morgan Award in 2012 from The Royal Soceity of Chemistry for contributions to nanoscience.
Awarded the Bob Hay Lectureship in 2011 for contributions to supramolecular science.
Current Research Summary
My research focuses on supramolecular/nanoscale chemistry, forming the
basis of a distinctive, thriving research team. We are interested in
research at interfaces between chemistry, biology and physics.
Supramolecular dendrimers – we have developed new switchable and
controllable soft materials – research which has formed the basis of
numerous lectures at international conferences as well as publications
in leading chemical journals (e.g. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125,
9010, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 9113). These soft matter systems have potential applications in the development of modified nanoscale materials (Chem. Commun. 2008, 4601, Langmuir 2009, 25, 8786). In recent work, we have been developing an understanding of how complex mixtures can spontaneously self-assemble (Chem. Commun. 2009, 316, Chem. Eur. J. 2009, 15, 372), as well as developing soft materials with potential applications in tissue engineering (Angew. Chem. 2008, 47, 8002)
Biological targets – we have used our expertise in binding biological
targets to develop materials with potential applications in gene
therapy. This has led to high impact publications and forms the basis
of much of my outreach lecturing (e.g. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2005, 44,
2556, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2009, 48, 4047, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 20288). We work extensively with modellers to provide unique insight into the behaviour of these nanoscale systems (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 9686, Chem. Sci. 2010, 1, 393). We are also developing dendritic polymers which bind to other key biological targets such as heparin - which has applications in post-surgical intervention (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 4675).
Medicinal polymers – we are generating polymers with the ability to
intervene in various diseases – including hyperphosphatemia. We are
also developing materials designed to reduce cholesterol levels. We
have recently applied for patent protection in this area (UK Patent
P110446GB).
Key Invited Lectures
I have given invited lectures at a number of international conferences
– including ACS (New York, 2002), International Dendrimer Symposium
(Berlin 2002, Michigan 2004). I have also been an invited lecturer in
Strasbourg (2005), have made a lecture tour of the USA (2005) and was
an visiting professor in Hong Kong/China (2006). I have also
participated in a joint UK/India meeting in Delhi (2007) as well as
delivered a lecture at the International Dendrimer Symposium in
Toulouse and been an invited keynote speaker at meetings in
Zagreb (Croatia), Athens (Greece), Copenhagen (Denmark) and Lodz
(Poland). In 2010, I was invited lecturer at the ACS meeting in Boston,
and gave three plenary lectures across China, supported by the RSC
and Unilever. In 2011, I gave plenary lectures at international conferences in Brighton (ISMSC) and Liverpool (Nanoscale Chirality) and further invited lectures at the ACS meeting in Denver. I regularly particpate in interdisciplinary science
meetings (e.g. Japan, Royal Society, 2008)
Education Awards
Royal Society of Chemistry Higher Education Award 2004. National award
(two awarded annually). Citation: ‘Distinguished as a lecturer with
great commitment and enthusiasm whose teaching skills and innovation in
the lecture and laboratory have had a notable impact on the success of
undergraduates and the motivation of schoolteachers and their students’.
Vice Chancellor’s teaching prize (2006) and Department of Chemistry
Teaching Prize (2002) for innovative approach to undergraduate teaching
and excellent undergraduate feedback. I am currently Chair of Teaching in the Chemistry Department at York
Schools Lecturing/Popularisation of Science
I have developed a 40-50 minute demonstration lecture 'Medicine Beyond
the Molecule', delivered to over twenty five thousand 16-18 year olds.
This
lecture aims to popularise chemistry, emphasising the connections
between chemistry and medicine and the important role played by
chemists in drug discovery. I have recently also developed a new
demonstration lecture: 'Marvellous Molecular Nanomaterials' which
emphasises the key role played by chemists.
I have developed a YouTube channel
(http://www.youtube.com/professordaveatyork) to popularise organic
chemistry, which has so far received well over 200,000 video views, as well as generating hundreds of comments and having hundreds of subscribers.
Editing/Esteem
I was responsible for all editorial aspects of two ‘special issue’ of
Tetrahedron - Recent Developments in Dendrimer Chemistry (Tetrahedron,
2003, 59, 3787-4024) and Low Molecular Weight Organic Gelators
(Tetrahedron, 2007, 63, 7271-7494). My role included commissioning
papers from researchers worldwide, organising the
refereeing process, making senior editorial decisions about the
acceptability of submitted papers and editing.
I am an editorial board member of Education in Chemistry, Tetrahedron
and Chemistry (A Central Journal). I edited the 'Soft Matter' volume
of the Encyclopedia: Supramolecular Chemistry: From Molecules to Nanomaterials, published by Wiley.
I was a symposium organiser at the pan-European general chemistry
conference, EUCheMS 2, attended by >2000 people in Turin, Italy
(2008), and was on the organising committee of the International
Supramolecular and Macrocyclic Conference in Brighton
(July 2011).
I am Vice Chair of the European COST Network TD0802 on Biomedical Applications of Dendrimers (Mar 2009 - Mar 2013)
