103271Sheffield Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance and Biofilms (SCARAB)ClosedCentresInnovate UKHarmful bacteria form complex communities, called biofilms, as a normal part of the infection process. If these form in human tissues, it can lead to long-term (chronic) infection, with increasing levels of resistance to normal antibiotics. In skin ulcers, for example, biofilm formation is very hard to treat and can lead to permanent open sores in the elderly and diabetic patients. Chronic, unhealed, wounds are unpleasant for the patient and are very expensive to treat. There is currently nowhere in the UK that has the expertise and equipment to study long-term biofilm formation in models of different human tissues. We would like to create a centre (SCARAB) that brings doctors, scientists and engineers together to find new ways of fighting biofilm formation. Pharmaceutical companies and NHS researchers will be invited to contribute new ways of testing their therapies in infected tissues, leading to the faster development of the urgently needed therapies for chronic infections in the growing numbers of elderly and diabetic patients now living in the UK.