Dan obtained his first class degree in Microbiology from the University of Surrey in 2010. After three years in industry working as a research scientist for Leatherhead Food Research, Dan decided to pursue his interests in biomaterials, stem cells and regenerative medicine. Dan is currently in his second year of his PhD at the University of Southampton under the supervision of Dr Nick Evans. His PhD focuses on a regenerative strategy for improving chronic wound healing in people with diabetes by using the clay biomaterial, Laponite. Laponite is a synthetic smectite clay with a unique nanostructure that is highly sorptive and self-organises to create a reversible hydrogel. Unlike other hydrogels, Laponite can effectively retain and deliver active biological molecules, such as growth factors. Dan is aiming to use the proangiogenic vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) to promote angiogenesis. He is also investigating the delivery of agonists of the Wnt signalling cascade that could promote stem cell differentiation within skin tissue. Dan has also achieved several awards and honours, including The Health and Pharma University Sector Team Conference 1st poster prize, 1st oral presentation prize at Postgraduate Faculty of Engineering and the Environment Conference and also selected to present at the 2015 SET for Britain exhibition.