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Research in The Sullan Group lies at the interface of mechano—microbiology and materials—biosystems interactions. By using a multifaceted and integrative approach, the primary goal is to quantify and elucidate the molecular mechanism behind the mechanical forces that stabilize the initial stages of bacterial biofilm formation on different materials. Research in the group have two key implications: (1) towards the development of materials that could inhibit bacterial colonization with applications in both medical and industrial settings. (2) potentially identify new bacterial targets relevant to the design and development of novel therapeutic strategies geared towards “anti-adhesion therapy”. See our research page for detailed descriptions of the group’s research interests.

Research in our group lies at the interface of mechano—microbiology and materials—biosystems interactions. We use a multifaceted and integrative approach to quantify, and elucidate the molecular mechanism behind the mechanical forces that stabilize the initial stages of bacterial biofilm formation on different materials. As initial attachment is the crucial pre-requisite for a mature biofilm, initial efforts will focus primarily on the early stages of biofilm development―that is initial adhesion and microcolony formation. Below are the key research themes that we are working on (see our Research page for more details):

Molecular Forces in Bacterial Biofilms―at the single-molecule and single-cell levels
Bacterial Rigidity Sensing
Structure and Nanomechanics of Bacterial Biofilms
Targeted Delivery of Anti-biofilm Agents