Professor Bonfield was Director of the University of London Interdisciplinary Research Centre (IRC) in Biomedical Materials, based at Queen Mary and Westfield College from 1991 until 1999. During this time he was also Professor of Materials at Queen Mary and Westfield College, a post he had occupied since 1974.

Professor Bonfield has been internationally recognised for his pioneering contributions to biomaterials, with awards including the Kelvin Medal, The Royal Society Armourers and Brasiers' Company Medal, The Institute of Materials Griffith Medal, The European Society for Biomaterials George Winter Award and the Acta Metallurgica J. Herbert Holloman Award. He edits three major journals: Journal of Materials Science, Journal of Materials Science Letters and Materials in Medicine and has published over 270 papers in the field of Biomaterials. test