Dr Nicholas Dunne (Queen’s University Belfast)
Location: Stephenson Building, room F16 (first floor)
Time/Date: 29th April 2010, 16:00
PMMA is the principal component of orthopaedic bone cement, which serves an important interfacial role between metallic prosthesis and bone. However, it is susceptible to fatigue-related cracking or impact-induced failure. The incorporation of MWCNTs offers the potential to improve mechanical and thermal performance of PMMA-based bone cements. Recently there have been increased efforts to determine the effects of nanosized materials in vivo, with a particular emphasis on the potential of tracking their movement under functional loads. This paper will discuss the augmentation of PMMA bone cement via the incorporation of MWCNTs.
Dr Nicholas Dunne is currently a senior lecturer in biomaterials in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Queen’s University Belfast. His research interests focus on two main areas: (1) development and understanding of cement based materials for hard tissue replacement and (2) development of hierarchical constructs for tissue engineering.
Dr Dunne was a recent recipient of a Royal Academy of Engineering/Leverhulme Trust Senior Fellowship Award in March 2010. Previously, he was awarded one of the prestigious British Orthopaedic Research Society/Orthopaedic Research Society (BORS/ORS) Travelling Fellowship which allowed him the opportunity to disseminate his research with leading orthopaedic researchers and surgeons from the US in early 2009. Moreover, Dr Dunne was elected Secretary of Northern Ireland Bioengineering Society in 2007 and is presently acting President of the Society, which has a membership of over 100. Dr Dunne was elected to the Young Scientist Forum (YSF) Executive of the European Society for Biomaterials in 2009. His primary role within the YSF is to develop and define new strategies/initiatives that promote an interactive multidisciplinary research environment among young and emerging researchers working in the field of biomaterials.
He maintains a strong publication profile in international, high impact journals with over 50 peer-reviewed technical papers and is an active participant at national and international biomaterials related conferences. Dr Dunne is currently guest editor for special issues of the International Journal of Nano and Biomaterials and Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine and has recently contributed book chapters on the subject of Joint Replacement Technology, Orthopaedic Bone Cements and Carbon Nanotubes in Biomedical Applications (Woodhead Publishing Ltd., 2008-2010).
Published: 16th April 2010