Dan undertook a degree in Chemistry and Materials Science, and went on to study for an MSc in Analytical Chemistry. After completing his initial studies, he went on to work in industry where he gained experience in Polymer and Pharmaceutical analysis. He later returned to education and recently undertaken a PhD at Cranfield University, UK, where he undertook research into polymer actuators in collaboration with Linkoping University, Sweden. Dan will continue his research on polymer actuators at IMSaT, focusing on surgical and medical devices, whilst providing advice and support on polymer chemistry issues in all of the projects at IMSaT.

His research interests are focused on the development of new polymer materials for use in medicine such as: conducting polymers for use in actuators and drug delivery; hydrogels for use in wound healing and tissue engineering; the synthesis of molecularly imprinted nanoparticles (MIPs) and magnetic resonance contrast agents for molecular imaging.

D. Melling, S. Wilson, E. W. H. Jager, The effect of film thickness on polypyrrole actuation assessed using novel non-contact strain measurements, Smart Materials and Structures, Volume 22, Issue 10, 2013, Article number 104021. Altering the structure of polypyrrole and the influence on electrodynamic performance, Daniel Melling, Stephen Wilson, Magnus Berggren, Edwin W. H. Jager, EAPAD, 2011, Proceedings of SPIE, Vol. 7976. In addition several publications have been submitted to peer reviewed journals.