Desmond van den Berg is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto, under the supervision of Professor Benjamin Hatton. He holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toronto, where he continued as a Convergence Postdoctoral Research Fellow, supported by the Emerging & Pandemic Infections Consortium, co-supervised by Dr. Kevin Katz.
Desmond’s research investigates how surface properties, including innate surface roughness and the engineering of novel surface structures, influence microbial attachment and transmission in healthcare environments. His work spans fundamental laboratory-based microbiology and surface science to applied clinical collaborations, including a patented technology and hospital pilot-tested surface modification strategy for modifying medical gloves to reduce the incidence of pathogen transmission through touch contact.
Beyond evaluating antimicrobial strategies, his personal research interests center on the development of safe reuse protocols that support healthcare’s transition away from single-use disposables toward reusable and non-toxic alternatives without compromising infection control measures.