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National Biofilms Innovation Centre NBIC 2021 Flexible Talent Mobility Account

Lead Research Organisation: University of Southampton
Department Name: Sch of Biological Sciences

Abstract

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
 
Description The FTMA award is very attractive for inter academic and industry collaborations. NBIC was able to award 34 quality projects for placements and fellowships. Half of them have completed despite of the hardships of the Pandemic. Successful results included further funding, publication, and job creation. Scientific accomplishment include biological solutions for green and clean production and energy saving methodology, by collaboration between biocoating researcher from University of Surrey and a biological solutions company working together to make waste water treatment less energy intensive by introducing specific biocoating for wastewater treatments facilities. The collaboration is exploring further development of the project into actual products and industrial applications.
Exploitation Route The award was very well received across NBIC's wide network of researchers and companies, and led to efficient pairing of unmet industry needs with research expertise.
Sectors Agriculture

Food and Drink

Chemicals

Education

Energy

Environment

Healthcare

Manufacturing

including Industrial Biotechology

Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology

URL http://www.biofilms.ac.uk
 
Description The impacts from this FTMA award are all reported in the return for BBSRC NBIC (BB/R012415/1)
Sector Agriculture, Food and Drink,Energy,Environment,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology
Impact Types Societal

Economic

 
Description Appointment of NTU Consortium Director to Drug Discovery Compnay Scientific Advisory Group (Dr Samantha McLean)
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
URL http://www.metallobio.com/
 
Description Assessment of Nanocin in UTI co-Biofilms (Isabelle Papandronicou)
Amount £12,000 (GBP)
Organisation University College London 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2023 
End 04/2023
 
Description Biofilms ICURe Sprint (Pavlina Theodosiou)
Amount £20,000 (GBP)
Organisation National Biofilms Innovation Centre 
Sector Private
Start 04/2022 
End 08/2022
 
Description ICURe Follow-on funding - Collaboration & Licensing Training (Pavlina Theodosiou)
Amount £12,570 (GBP)
Organisation National Biofilms Innovation Centre 
Sector Private
Start 08/2022 
End 12/2022
 
Description Joint data- and model-driven attention-based integration of imaging, proteomics, and metabolic modelling
Amount £416,073 (GBP)
Funding ID BB/Y01278X/1 
Organisation Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 12/2024 
End 05/2027
 
Description PhD "Novel Endolysin to Selectively Manage Antimicrobial Resistant S. aureus in Wound Biofilms"
Amount £101,356 (GBP)
Funding ID CTP_22_0000000010 
Organisation National Biofilms Innovation Centre 
Sector Private
Start 01/2023 
End 01/2027
 
Title Model reactor and culture system for biofilm metrology studies. 
Description We have developed a CDC reactor model system for Pseudomonas aeruginosa culture in order to carry out studies of biofilm reproducibility in partnership with LGC. 
Type Of Material Technology assay or reagent 
Year Produced 2022 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact Knowledge exchange and collaborative work in the area of biofilm metrology with industry partner LGC. 
 
Title Dataset relating to the impact of different hand-drying methods 
Description NBIC-funded FTMA4_22_030 project generated a dataset on the impact of hand washing and drying on skin microbial communities and interactions between viruses and bacteria. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2024 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact A paper was published in the Journal of Hospital Infection (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2024.03.005). This concluded that "The use of jet dryers or paper towels produces low levels of aerosolization when drying hands in a washroom. Similarly, all drying methods result in low transfer to surfaces. While the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic raised concerns regarding public washrooms, this study shows that all methods tested are hygienic solutions for dry washed hands." 
 
Description Clinical collaboration with Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust (Mohamed El Mohtadi) 
Organisation Manchester Metropolitan University
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Securing the FTMA has allowed me to strengthen my collaboration with 5D Health Protection Group Ltd and Manchester Metropolitan University which resulted in me obtaining a Visiting Lecturer position at MMU. The in vitro work carried out during the fellowship has attracted clinical collaborations as we are now replicating the experiments using clinical samples obtained from Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust operated Salford Royal Hospital.
Collaborator Contribution The role of collaborators (i.e. Dr Ashworth) involves the conceptualisation of project ideas and supervision of students. This will ultimately lead to increased research outcomes and the publication of several original research articles in the near future.
Impact Submission of a grant bid to the Academy of Medical Sciences. The application is currently under review.
Start Year 2020
 
Description Clinical collaboration with Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust (Mohamed El Mohtadi) 
Organisation Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Securing the FTMA has allowed me to strengthen my collaboration with 5D Health Protection Group Ltd and Manchester Metropolitan University which resulted in me obtaining a Visiting Lecturer position at MMU. The in vitro work carried out during the fellowship has attracted clinical collaborations as we are now replicating the experiments using clinical samples obtained from Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust operated Salford Royal Hospital.
Collaborator Contribution The role of collaborators (i.e. Dr Ashworth) involves the conceptualisation of project ideas and supervision of students. This will ultimately lead to increased research outcomes and the publication of several original research articles in the near future.
Impact Submission of a grant bid to the Academy of Medical Sciences. The application is currently under review.
Start Year 2020
 
Description Industry partnership with LGC 
Organisation Laboratory of the Government Chemist (LGC) Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution LGC Group, formerly the Laboratory of the Government Chemist, is an international life sciences measurement and tools company. It provides the role and duties of the UK Government Chemist, a statutory role and adviser to the government. We are working together in the metrology of biofilms, to understand the feasibility of developing new standards for molecular and 'omics approaches to measuring biofilms. We are providing the biofilm models and culture systems in order to generate biological material for the studies.
Collaborator Contribution LGC are applying in-house analytical measurements and approaches in order to understand the variability and reproducibility of biofilm assays, and the feasibility to develop new standards.
Impact Knowledge exchange in use of the CDC biofilm reactor model and in biofilm metrology.
Start Year 2021
 
Description Research collaboration with Micreos Pharma (Holly Wilkinson) 
Organisation Micreos
Department Micreos Human Health BV
Country Netherlands 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Performing pre-clinical efficacy testing to inform future clinical trials.
Collaborator Contribution Study support and oversight, provision of test agents and collaboration has also led to follow-on funding from the National Biofilms Innovation Centre.
Impact Publications currently in preparation but no direct outputs yet. The collaboration is multidisciplinary and brings together wound healing expertise, biological models, microbiology, genomics and formulation expertise.
Start Year 2022
 
Description Studies in Solid Formulation Stability 
Organisation GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)
Country Global 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Due to the work conducted during my EngD studies in combination with the success of this project (NBIC_FTMA_P_19_2_38), GSK and UCL signed an Exchange Knowledge Agreement and funded a 6 month study on the stability of solid formulations. The study was conducted by me under supervision of Ivan Parkin and employed a spectroscopic techniques (H- NMR, IR, UV/Vis) and scanning electron microscopy. This study can help the development of stronger formulations by giving insights on the increase of its reactive oxygen species output.
Collaborator Contribution Funding of study.
Impact None as yet.
Start Year 2022
 
Description Tecrea/University College London, Nanocin/UTI collaboration (Isabelle Papandronicou) 
Organisation Tecrea Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Tecrea - Provided expertise and intellectual input regarding the Nanocin technology. Provided Nanocin for use in experiments. Provided staff member time for completion of grant.
Collaborator Contribution University College London - Provided expertise and intellectual input regarding current urinary tract research and study design. Provided access to laboratories and equipment (such as laser scanning confocal microscope) at University college London. Trained the Tecrea lab staff in laser scanning confocal microscopy and data analysis.
Impact Follow-on funding: accepted for new NBIC grant (currently underway) for continuing the research assessing Nanocin against UTI co-biofilms.
Start Year 2021
 
Description Tecrea/University College London, Nanocin/UTI collaboration (Isabelle Papandronicou) 
Organisation University College London
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Tecrea - Provided expertise and intellectual input regarding the Nanocin technology. Provided Nanocin for use in experiments. Provided staff member time for completion of grant.
Collaborator Contribution University College London - Provided expertise and intellectual input regarding current urinary tract research and study design. Provided access to laboratories and equipment (such as laser scanning confocal microscope) at University college London. Trained the Tecrea lab staff in laser scanning confocal microscopy and data analysis.
Impact Follow-on funding: accepted for new NBIC grant (currently underway) for continuing the research assessing Nanocin against UTI co-biofilms.
Start Year 2021
 
Title Chemical modification of solids as backbones for controlled deposition of metal or bimetallic nanoparticles for tuning surface and antibacterial properties 
Description A method of tuning surfaces and their antibacterial properties including hydrophobicity and bacterial adhesion comprising the creation of a backbone structure for the in situ formation of metal nanoparticles on metallic and non-metallic surfaces. Preferably the surface is first functionalised through chemical or electrochemical reduction of a diazonium salt with carboxyphenyl or decylphenyl functionalities, followed by the controlled reduction of metal salts into metal nanoparticles. The functionalisation is preferably on a silica or alumina substrate and the nanoparticles are preferably silver and/or copper. The surfaces may form antibacterial and antibiofilm coatings on wound dressings and medical devices. 
IP Reference GB2592233 
Protection Patent / Patent application
Year Protection Granted 2021
Licensed Commercial In Confidence
Impact This research is being continued to further develop this technology.
 
Title Formation of antimicrobial surfaces using molecular films via quaternary salts ion pairing attachment and incorporation of metal nanoparticles 
Description The use of negatively charged functionalities on surfaces for the attachment of positively charged quaternary ammonium antibacterial compounds via ion pairing for their application as effective and tuneable antimicrobial and antibiofilm surfaces. Preferably the surface is first functionalised through chemical or electrochemical reduction of a diazonium salt with carboxyphenyl functionality which is then used to immobilise the quaternary ammonium salts. The ion pairs may serve as a backbone for the formation of antibacterial metal nanoparticles, particularly silver and/or copper nanoparticles. The modified surfaces can be used in medical devices, wound dressings and general surface hygiene materials such as tissues, towels, wipes and beddings. 
IP Reference GB2592369 
Protection Patent / Patent application
Year Protection Granted 2021
Licensed Commercial In Confidence
Impact This is a new and efficient way for the prevention of biofilm formation and bacterial growth on various surfaces and we have recently completed a funding project (FIF from LCR) to exploit the results. Further investigations to use this technology in antibiofilm and frequently touched surfaces in public places are under way.
 
Title Advanced imaging of co-biofilms produced by commensal and uropathogenic bacteria 
Description From https://www.tecrea.com/tecrea-announces-successful-completion-of-nbic-flexible-talent-mobility-accounts-award-project/: Through an NBIC FTMA award Tecrea undertook an "an industry-academia exchange and collaboration with the Bladder Infection and Immunity Group, UCL. This grant has facilitated a fruitful exchange of knowledge and expertise The grant was used advanced imaging training of uropathogenic and commensal biofilms. This training has equipped our team with cutting-edge techniques to visualize and understand the complex interactions within biofilms, which play a crucial role in bladder infections. Moreover, the grant enabled the evaluation of Tecrea's innovative Nanocin technology for its anti-uropathogenic action. This evaluation marks a significant step forward in our commitment to developing novel solutions for combating uropathogenic bacteria, with the potential to revolutionize treatment strategies for bladder infections." 
Type Support Tool - For Fundamental Research
Current Stage Of Development Small-scale adoption
Year Development Stage Completed 2024
Development Status Under active development/distribution
Impact N/A 
URL https://web.archive.org/web/20250228150854/https://www.tecrea.com/tecrea-announces-successful-comple...
 
Title Antiviral filters for face masks and air ventilation systems to prevent coronavirus transmission (Faradin Mirkhalaf) 
Description We have developed a new technology for the modification of filters in order to capture and kill viruses and bacteria from the air flow. The modified filters were used in face masks and tested on coronavirus. After testing, the filters showed 100% efficient to remove and kill corona viruses from the air flow. The face masks have been prototyped and are in the market (see: nanoxx.co.uk).The application of this technology for air ventilation systems is under development and we are seeking industrial/investor partners to complete this mission. 
Type Preventative Intervention - Physical/Biological risk modification
Current Stage Of Development Small-scale adoption
Year Development Stage Completed 2021
Development Status Actively seeking support
Impact We are using a similar technology to modify metal and textiles to induce antibiofilm properties within our FTMA3 projects. 
 
Title In Vitro and In Vivo Studies on a Mononuclear Ruthenium Complex Reveals It is a Highly Effective, Fast-Acting, Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial in Physiologically Relevant Conditions 
Description From https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsinfecdis.4c00447: "The crystal structure of a previously reported antimicrobial RuII complex that targets bacterial DNA is presented. Studies utilizing clinical isolates of Gram-negative bacteria that cause catheter-associated urinary tract infection, (CA)UTI, in media that model urine and plasma reveal that good antimicrobial activity is maintained in all conditions tested. Experiments with a series of Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates show that, unlike the majority of previously reported RuII-based antimicrobial leads, the compound retains its potent activity even in MRSA strains. Furthermore, experiments using bacteria in early exponential growth and at different pHs reveal that the compound also retains its activity across a range of conditions that are relevant to those encountered in clinical settings. Combinatorial studies involving cotreatment with conventional antibiotics or a previously reported analogous dinuclear RuII complex showed no antagonistic effects. In fact, although all combinations show distinct additive antibacterial activity, in one case, this effect approaches synergy. It was found that the Galleria Mellonella model organism infected with a multidrug resistant strain of the ESKAPE pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii could be successfully treated and totally cleared within 48 h after a single dose of the lead complex with no detectable deleterious effect to the host." 
Type Therapeutic Intervention - Drug
Current Stage Of Development Initial development
Year Development Stage Completed 2024
Development Status Under active development/distribution
Impact N/A 
URL https://doi.org/10.1021/acsinfecdis.4c00447
 
Title Nanoparticles (Eden Mannix-Fisher) 
Description Copper nanoparticles created by Pharm2Farm are being tested for their antimicrobial efficacy when mixed into paint and coated onto the surface of paint. The product can have many different applications both within and outside of medicine if successful. 
Type Products with applications outside of medicine
Current Stage Of Development Initial development
Year Development Stage Completed 2022
Development Status Under active development/distribution
Impact Should this antimicrobial work, the data generated from this secondment on the antimicrobial efficacy may generate income for Pharm2Farm and the customer AkZoNobel. It may also be used to decrease the incidence of disease through utilisation as a coating on door handles, walls, beds etc. within a hospital setting. 
 
Description AkzoNobel Meeting (Eden Mannix-Fisher) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Presentation of the data from the experimental work carried out in this secondment to Pharm2Farms customer, AkzoNobel. AkzoNobel is an international customer to Pharm2Farm. The purpose was to update AkzoNobel on the outcomes of the antimicrobial testing carried out against MRSA and E. coli.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description From Cradle to Grave (Katherine Fish) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The lifecycle of water management - Wednesday 8th June 2022 - University of Greenwich, London Academic and indsutry event, with ~50 attendees, to raise the profile of water safety in healthcare settings and start to create a network with links academia, industry, and the client together where problems can be addressed collaboratively. Katherine Fish was invited to give a talk highlighting the importance of considering the upstream networks supplying the premises plumbing within healthcare settings. A report of the event was published in Waterline in November 2022, showcasing Katherine's research. (https://www.waterlinepublication.org.uk/articles/event-report-from-the-cradle-to-the-grave-the-lifecycle-of-water-management-wednesday-8th-june-2022-university-of-greenwich-london/)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.waterlinepublication.org.uk/articles/event-report-from-the-cradle-to-the-grave-the-lifec...
 
Description High School Visit (Oakwood High School) (Dr Samantha McLean) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact • Key objectives were to develop Y9 student understanding in infection prevention and control and learn technical skills in aseptic technique and antibiotic susceptibility testing that also supports curriculum learning • Key learning points included infection prevention strategies from good hygiene to vaccination, consideration of antibiotic choice, antibiotic stewardship, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing including interpretation of results • Key interactions included working with three Y9 classes (~90 children and teachers) to explore practical aspects of antimicrobial susceptibility testing, involving Q&A's, seminar style teaching and practical work • What piece of information will you disseminate? I have provided vaccination demonstration cards to the school, poster on aseptic technique, interpretation of disk diffusion assays and mock disk diffusion agar plates to support teacher-led sessions throughout the school year • What would you change? Future iterations of the programme will further support curriculum learning on vaccination to ensure content delivered in this activity signposts to curriculum content • What feedback did you receive? Teaching staff were very positive, highlighting that they felt students improved their depth of understanding beyond curriculum content as a result of this activity. They also observed that the students were very engaged throughout and talked about the activities between sessions due to their enthusiasm for the activity. This mirrored feedback from the students themselves who actively engaged in sessions, asking questions and reported that they really enjoyed the sessions. Due to the success of the activity, I have been asked by the school to repeat these sessions next academic year.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022,2023,2024,2025
 
Description Industry lab tour for delegates from Nunano AFM tip company, UK (Peng Bao) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact A group of two people from Nunano has visited our lab, seen the AFM facility we used in our lab, discussed the petential collaborations with us on AFM imaging in liquid. I have shown the high-resolution images of membrane protein arrays we got using our AFM and their tips. These results have surprised them and they said "this might be the best images we saw so for around UK universities."
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Industry visitor (Peng Bao) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Three groups of delegates from different companies have visited our lab, and I showed our facility (Bruker multi-mode AFM) to them. And I showed them our best results, the ability of our AFM, and potential applications of our AFM and discussed with them about potential collaborations.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022,2023
 
Description Poster at the 32nd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (Mohamed El Mohtadi) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact I have presented my fellowship-related research findings at the 32nd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (Lisbon, Portugal on 23 - 26 April 2022). ECCMID is labelled as the world's premier Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases event, which was attended by an audience of over 14,000 colleagues from National and International institutions.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Presenting at the UK-India-Singapore Biofilm Webinar Series 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact About 50 people attended this international virtual event where I spoke on how Microbial Electrochemical Technologies (METs) can help us open a pathway to Net-Zero wastewater treatment. In this presentation I introduced the audience to the MET technologies, shared results and experiences from; the MFC pilot-scale work in Africa, my current work on pilot-scale MECs at Newcastle University and the work I am doing at the moment with RoyalHaskoningDHV in advancing the technology to the market. The audience learnt about MET technologies at larger scale and I shed light onto the possibilities of implementing these in existing wastewater treatments as an attempt to turn the water industry into a net energy producer. My talk sparked interest and a discussion followed with the audience.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.biofilms.ac.uk/event/uk-india-singapore-biofilm-webinar-series-biofilms-and-engineered-s...
 
Description School visit (Whiston J&I School) (Dr Samantha McLean) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact This outreach activity is part of an ongoing annual outreach connection between Dr Samantha McLean and a local primary school. This year 31 Year 6 pupils at Whiston Junior and Infant School took part in the activity along with two teachers and a teaching assistant. The primary aim of this ongoing outreach work is to improve microbiology education in local primary schools. Dr McLean visited the school for two days during the week and provided the children with a general introduction to microbiology and biofilms. Through practical activities students gained hands-on experience of how microorganisms spread throughout the environment, how biofilm formation makes microorganisms more difficult to clear and the variety of microorganisms that live all around us. This information was related to everyday activities that children undertake such as washing hands and brushing teeth, which ensured that students could relate to the concepts taught. Interactive Kahoot quizzes were a huge student favourite and further developed their understanding of the roles that microorganisms and biofilms play in our lives in a fun and engaging way. The students were able to carry out their own experiment swabbing their environment to find the different types of microbes that live there. They learned how to generate and test a hypothesis based on what they thought they would find and then how to change their hypothesis if the evidence suggested they should. The students loved making hair gel biofilms to understand more about the properties of these microbial communities and how this related to brushing teeth. The students were highly engaged and enthusiastic throughout the whole experience, asking many excellent questions and loving the hands-on approach to microbiology learning.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022,2023,2024,2025
URL https://appliedmicrobiology.org/resource/dr-mclean-s-primary-school-outreach.html