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Microbes and Food Safety: Flexible capabilities to reduce food safety threats and respond to emerging national needs

Lead Research Organisation: QUADRAM INSTITUTE BIOSCIENCE
Department Name: UNLISTED

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.

Technical Summary

As an innovation hub it is our aim to facilitate that new scientific findings and tools are successfully used with our stakeholders to prepare for and control microbial threats in the food chain. In this role we will improve the national capability to act swiftly against emerging threats and to pivot and act differently against enduring threats.

Planned Impact

unavailable

Publications

10 25 50
 
Description Expert Advice to Food Standards Scotland
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
 
Description Expert Advice to UK Government (FSA)
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
 
Description Expert Advice to UK Government (FSA)
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact The ACMSF committee members all have a part in influencing the FSA on using scientific evidence and expert advice on matters pertaining to foodborne pathogens. This in turn influences regulatory bodies and works towards effective solutions for societal and public health challenges. The influence also has impact on effectiveness of public service delivery where applicable to topics raised to the ACMSF members
 
Description Expert opinion for WHO review of source attribution of the global burden of foodborne disease
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
 
Description Membership of Cefas Scientific Advisory Committee
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description A Comparative One-Health Approach tackling AMR infections UK and Indian Livestock
Amount £836,240 (GBP)
Funding ID BB/Y007336/1 
Organisation Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 05/2024 
End 06/2027
 
Description BBSRC ICURe Explore Programme
Amount £35,000 (GBP)
Organisation United Kingdom Research and Innovation 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2024 
End 06/2024
 
Description Biofilm Inhibition and Pathogen Control in Food Production Environments
Amount £56,878 (GBP)
Funding ID 05POC24-07 
Organisation National Biofilms Innovation Centre 
Sector Private
Start 01/2025 
End 01/2026
 
Description Engineering Biology Hub for environmental processing and recovery of metals; from contaminated land to industrial biotechnology in a circular economy
Amount £14,881,069 (GBP)
Funding ID BB/Y008456/1 
Organisation Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2024 
End 02/2028
 
Description Engineering biology for critical metal recovery from industrial wastestreams
Amount £1,838,843 (GBP)
Funding ID BB/Y008448/1 
Organisation Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2024 
End 01/2026
 
Description FTMA4 - Food Safety Research Network Flexible Talent Mobility Account 2023
Amount £69,000 (GBP)
Funding ID BB/X01794X/1 
Organisation Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2023 
End 03/2023
 
Description MRC UK-China Award: Mechanism of multiple drug resistance and genetic evolution of prevalent Salmonella serotypes derived from animals
Amount £461,113 (GBP)
Funding ID MR/Y015231/1 
Organisation Medical Research Council (MRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2025 
End 02/2028
 
Description NRPDTPbacteriocin
Amount £80,000 (GBP)
Organisation Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 09/2022 
End 09/2026
 
Title Listeria - benchmarking panel of international isolates 
Description A benchmarking panel of significant Listeria strains created by and contributed from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Health Canada, Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Quadram Institute. Strains represent key public health events and natural biological variants. 
Type Of Material Biological samples 
Year Produced 2024 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact A key enabling panel for studies within the UK - Canada international partnership 
 
Title Mixed community biofilm model 
Description Generation and validation of a mixed community biofilm model incorporating stable levels of multiple relevant organisms from the food chain. Allowing evolution of specific pathogens to be studied in community context 
Type Of Material Model of mechanisms or symptoms - in vitro 
Year Produced 2024 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact Allows impact of bystander organisms and interactions between multiple species to be modelled to follow evolution in a more realistic context 
 
Title PRJNA914245 - Klebsiella Przondovirus sequence data 
Description Sequence data for the genomes of 10 newly discovered bacteriophages that infect Klebsiella spp. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2023 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Genome data is being used for comparative genomics, taxonomy and identification of antibacterial proteins. 
URL https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA914245
 
Title Use of hybrid assembly to characterise Campylobacter genomes 
Description This bioinformatic technique was used for approx 800 genomes from my research collection of Campylobacter genomes in support of genomic characterisation 
Type Of Material Data analysis technique 
Year Produced 2023 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact This dataset is the base for further method development to understand population diversity of Campylobacter using novel techniques 
 
Description Collaboration with Huvepharma 
Organisation Huvepharma
Country Bulgaria 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Attracted funding for a CASE studentship to work with Huvepharma. My research group is providing expertise in molecular biology, pathogen genomics, gut metagenomics and phage biology to work with Huvepharma to develop technologies and materials to develop potential products for the use as antimicrobials and probiotics in livestock feed.
Collaborator Contribution Huvepharma provide expertise in developing products and their commercialisation for use in the feed industry.
Impact Successfully attracted funding for a studentship to develop antimicrobials
Start Year 2023
 
Description Collaborative agreement established with PHAC, HC and CFIA re: existing Canada-UK Listeria partnering award. 
Organisation Government of Canada
Department Health Canada
Country Canada 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Collaborative agreement inclusive of MTA to support Canada-UK Listeria Partnership
Collaborator Contribution Collaborative agreement inclusive of MTA to support Canada-UK Listeria Partnership
Impact collaborative agreement established 2023
Start Year 2023
 
Description Collaborative agreement established with PHAC, HC and CFIA re: existing Canada-UK Listeria partnering award. 
Organisation Public Health Agency of Canada
Department National Microbiology Laboratory (NML)
Country Canada 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Collaborative agreement inclusive of MTA to support Canada-UK Listeria Partnership
Collaborator Contribution Collaborative agreement inclusive of MTA to support Canada-UK Listeria Partnership
Impact collaborative agreement established 2023
Start Year 2023
 
Description MTA with Public Health England 
Organisation Public Health England
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Long read sequencing and metabolic analysis of Salmonella isolates provided by PHE.
Collaborator Contribution Provision of Salmonella isolates, associated metadata and short read sequence data.
Impact Joint publications, some used as evidence base for improving clinical guidelines
Start Year 2021
 
Title BACTERIOPHAGE COMPOSITIONS 
Description A method of identifying and/or isolating one or more bacteriophages that display lytic activity against at least one target bacterial genus, species, or strain. The method includes the creation of a transposon mutant library using at least one bacterial strain from said genus or species and identifying the genes involved in resistance and/or susceptibility by exposing said library to at least one or more bacteriophages. 
IP Reference WO2025008620 
Protection Patent / Patent application
Year Protection Granted 2025
Licensed No
 
Description Advancing STEC Diagnostics: organised a focused workshop to tackle challenges relating to Shiga-toxin producing E. coli outbreaks 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact After being approached by representatives from industry and the regulator, FSRN run a workshop bringing together food industry, food testing service providers, policymakers, regulators and government departments to discuss challenges relating the diagnostics methods and regulatory requirements for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). The workshop was attended by 40 participants in person, with a further 40 registered for online attendance. The discussions led to the development of four workstreams which are currently being pursued by teams stemming from the participants and invited colleagues. There are currently 27 participants that have volunteered to join the workstream activities. The follow-up activities are being coordinated by FSRN.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Attendance at Bactivac meeting in Birmingham 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Two day workshop to discuss development of vaccines against human and animal pathogens.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Chair and host of the 21st International Symposium on Problems of Listeria and Listeriosis (ISOPOL). 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Over four days from the 10th-13th September, the Quadram Institute hosted 200 delegates from 25 countries and 5 continents to the 21st International Symposium on Problems of Listeria and Listeriosis (ISOPOL). This diverse community meets every three years, and the Quadram-hosted symposium included esteemed researchers studying the cell biology of infection, multiple UK and global food businesses, national and international health and food safety authorities, and a multitude of early career researchers. The Quadram host (M Gilmour and his team) have received tremendous praise on the quality of the scientific programme and the networking and social events, as it was a goal of the symposium to highlight the rich microbiology in Norwich as well as the cultural gems of our fine city, such as the Norwich Cathedral (where the Welcome Reception was hosted). Sponsors of the event included BBSRC and the new Centre for Microbial Interactions, and BBSRC has been briefed on the success of the event, with outcomes including advanced evidence on using genomics and other microbiological indicators of pathogenesis within modern risk assessment exercises. Hosting ISOPOL also resulted in considerable reputational gain for Quadram as a convenor of food safety scientific fora, as well as promoting the formation of new connections with research collaborators and major food businesses.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
URL https://quadram.ac.uk/events/isopol2024/
 
Description Discussion with a leading producer of raw pet food 
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 Discussion with a leading producer of raw pet food to implement phage antimicrobials to improve the safety of product.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Discussion with representative from the British Retail Consortium 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Discussion with representative from the British Retail Consortium to identify potential implementation of phage antimicrobials to combat bacterial pathogens in the food chain
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Dr Claire Jenkins visit 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Hosted Dr Jenkins (Acting Head of Gastrointestinal Bacteria Reference Unit) at QIB where she presented her work on genomics in public health at UKHSA. This lead to discussions on this subject and synergy with QIB research topics, including Campylobacter, Listeria, Salmonella and E. coli. This led to 3 invitations for QIB staff/students to UKHSA for discussions around i) Campylobacter and metagenomics, ii) Salmonella and E.coli , and iii) Listeria, all of which took place in January 2024.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Exhibition (Schools and county show) 
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 Schools
Results and Impact Exhibition presented to 400 school children as an assembly and displayed to 3000 visitors at the Royal Norfolk County Show, and other events including display at Earlham Institute and John Innes Centre accessible science days. Children were invited to identify who they thought were scientists, resulting in excellent discussions showing improved understanding that anyone can be a scientist.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023,2024
 
Description FSA-QIB Kitchen model 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Engagement activity attended by 8 individuals what sparked discussions of strategic collaborative activities between QIB and FSA for the understanding of Campylobacter survival in kitchen environments. This engagement aligned UK gov findings of Kitchen-Life 2 and QIB MFS ISP Themes 1-3
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023,2024
 
Description Food Safety Research Network Community meeting 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Participation in the Food Safety Research Network Community meeting in Birmingham in February 2024 to network to exchange knowledge on approaches to improve food safety and disseminate our activities in the use of phage as antimicrobials and the impact of copper on Salmonella in pigs. Potential applications and needs of industry were established. Contacts for further discussion were identified.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Hosted 1-week visit of scientists from the Public Health Agency of Canada's Advanced Genomics Unit 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Support project planning and strategic connections on shared interests in genomics, bioinformatics, and metagenomics
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description In-person Listeria meeting Winnipeg Canada 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact A two-week visit (September 25th to October 6th, 2023) of the postdoctoral researcher Ana Victoria Gutierrez from the Quadram Institute, took place at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. This visit served as an enriching training and engagement opportunity, integral to advancing the objectives of the BBSRC UK-Canada Partnering Award.
At the heart of this visit was the exchange of knowledge and expertise between the partnering institutes. Crucially, the meeting fostered the development of international collaborations in areas of mutual interest. By bringing together experts from diverse backgrounds, including the Division of Enteric Diseases, Science Technologies and Core Services Division, and the One Health Division, as well as specialized units such as the Special Bacteriology Unit, Streptococcus and STI Unit, Applied Genomics Innovation for Laboratory Excellence (AGILE), Phage BioBank, Bioforensics Assay Development and Diagnostics, and the National Reference Centre for Mycobacteriology, the partnership was able to capitalize on a wide range of expertise.
Particular emphasis was placed on the Enteric Diseases Division, where discussions regarding Listeria were centered. The engagement with units such as the Advanced Genomics Unit, Innovation and Application Development Section, Reference and Diagnostic Services, Genomic Surveillance Platform, Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing, Genomics Core Unit, Computational and Operational Genomics, Data Sciences, Data Analytics and Algorithm Development, and Bioinformatics Pipelines Development proved to be invaluable in advancing the partnership's objectives.
While the specific outcomes and impacts of this visit may still be unfolding, it undoubtedly laid a strong foundation for future collaboration. By leveraging the expertise and resources of both institutes, the partnership is poised to make significant strides in improving public health and food safety programs in both countries through the innovative use of Listeria genome and metagenome data.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Industry-academy workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact 45 participants including 15 SMEs on Food and Microbes - "Sustainable food production: from soil health, nutrition to
human health"
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2025
 
Description Invite presentation on Listeria research and outcomes of engagement with industry 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Invited research seminar at the University of Guelph / Agriculture Agrifood Canada
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Invited presentation to Farmed Insect Protein Workshop, Sheffield 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Workshop to discuss industry needs to transition and scale up the production of nutritious and safe edible insects. Present update on Food Safety Research Network prgrammes and strategic intiatives.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
URL https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ukeia_so-the-farmed-insect-protein-research-workshop-activity-7166700...
 
Description Invited webinar speaker to PATH-SAFE 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Invited speaker to UK government-funded PATH-SAFE programme (Pathogen Surveillance in Agriculture, Food and Environment) webinar series on the genomic epidemiology of foodborne organisms
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Knowledge exchange with UKHSA enteric pathogen surveillance team 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Meeting to share analysis of surveillance data that adds value to UKHSA core activities to improve public health
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2025
 
Description Listeria project planning discussions with UKHSA 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact January 2024 visit of Quadram's Listeria group (staff and students) to UKHSA Colindale to exchange knowledge and plan for conjoint projects on Listeria genomics, Metagenomics, food microbiology
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Nanopore sequencing in Fiji 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Blog written to describe our support of the first nanopore sequencing in Fiji.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
URL https://quadram.ac.uk/blogs/supporting-the-first-nanopore-sequencing-in-fiji/
 
Description Norwich Pseudomonas workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact scientists across Norwich research park presented brief over-views of their research and participated in discussions and exploration of collaborative oppotunities
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Norwich Science Festival 2024 
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 Schools
Results and Impact Developed and ran a stand at the Norwich Science Festival communicating the differences between 'good' and 'bad' microbes
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
URL https://norwichsciencefestival.co.uk/whats-on/nrp-explorium-2024?start_time=2024-02-21T10.30
 
Description Popular article for scientific community 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact An advice article for MyBioTechniques #LEARNZone which covers choosing the right sequencing platform & library prep, optimizing DNA extraction through to automating bioinformatic analysis
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.biotechniques.com/analytical-chemistry/ten-tips-for-high-throughput-dna-sequencing/
 
Description Poster talk 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact This engagement was at the Microbiology Society Annual meeting where a poster on the characterisation of Campylobacter, the most prevalent foodborne bacterial pathogen in the UK, using metagenomic approaches.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Project planning with global food producer 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Site visit to Quadram and project planning regarding investigation of food spoilage using microbiology, genomics and metagenomics
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Seminar presentation 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact The hybrid Seminar event, hosted by George Mason University Science and Technology Campus included approx 55 participants across higher education staff from senior management, academics, post graduate and undergraduate students, post doctoral staff and researchers. The topic of discussion was the application of metagenomics in understanding complex transmission dynamics of zoonotic pathogens. This was followed by round table discussions with students and early career researchers.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Symposium talk- Leiden University 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Symposium seminar to researchers and academics which sparked questions and discussions, and potential for future collaborations explored
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description UKHSA-QIB "Afternoon of Campy" Seminar Talk 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact The day long seminar and facility visit was attended by QIB researchers and UKHSA staff. I presented on Campylobacter trends and characterisation methodology research as well as conducted meetings with gastroenterics reference laboratory staff at UKHSA.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024