Costerton Biofilm Center

The Costerton Biofilm Center is a unique interdisciplinary research center established to explore the field of chronic infections caused by bacteria. Costerton pioneered the development of the biofilm theory of which bacteria grow enclosed in a protective, biopolymeric matrix forming a film that is adherent to solid surfaces (a sessile organism). Together with University of Copenhagen’s Niels Høiby, he strongly promoted the view that bacteria in biofilms (environmental as well as medical relevant) differ significantly from their planktonic (free-floating) counterparts (Costerton et al., Sci Am 1978).