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By Michele Barbour

The Early Career Enterprise Fellowship (ECEF) provides training, time buyout, resource, and specialist support to a postgraduate research student who wishes to explore the commercial applications of their research.

Applications for this academic year’s scheme are now open, and more information including the training offered, time commitments and the application form is available on our ECEF webpage. The scheme, not too dissimilarly to my role, sits at the intersection of innovation and academia. It’s an exciting opportunity to explore the commercialisation of research and pick up skills that will be useful for a future career, academic or otherwise.

Don’t just take my word for it, though.  Following last month’s blog post, I recently caught up with another of our 2023-24 ECEF cohort to hear about their experiences. Read on to find out more, and I hope you’re inspired to consider the Early Career Enterprise Fellowship!

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Elena Fillola Mayoral

Elena is a PhD candidate in AI for Climate, and her research revolves around using AI to speed up greenhouse gas emissions reporting and validation. When reflecting on her experiences of our inaugural ECEF scheme, Elena shared these comments.

“Receiving the Early Careers Enterprise Fellowship (ECEF) has provided me with a new perspective on my research, particularly in terms of practical application and scalability. I explored how our system to infer greenhouse gas emissions could be implemented as a cloud-based solution and made accessible to a wide range of users, as well as researched the wider emission monitoring sector to better understand our technology’s role. The training was invaluable to learn more about the commercialisation journey and to define objectives for our potential enterprise. On top of this, I received six months of university-funded incubation support from SetSquared, an exciting opportunity to work with their team and Entrepreneurs in residence to continue shaping our path to deployment!”

We’re so pleased that Elena found the ECEF experience beneficial and are excited to see how her research and entrepreneurial journey continues!

By Michele Barbour

First piloted in 23/24, the Early Career Enterprise Fellowship (ECEF) provides training, time buyout, resource, and specialist support to a postgraduate research student who wishes to explore the commercial applications of their research.

I am very proud of our Early Career Enterprise Fellowship scheme at the University of Bristol. Of course with any new initiative, it’s important to reflect carefully on the outcomes and roll these reflections into future iterations. As such, we are now engaged in seeking feedback from our ECEFs and their doctoral supervisors before we launch for 24/25.

Ahead of the launch of our 24/25 ECEF scheme next week, I spoke to two of this year’s cohort to understand the challenges and opportunities the scheme gave them. Read on to learn more about their experiences, and keep an eye out for the launch of our 24/25 ECEF scheme on the University of Bristol website!

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James Uzzell 

James was one of our inaugural Early Career Enterprise Fellows. James, who is a PhD student in Advanced Composites in the EPSRC CoSEM CDT – Composites Science, Engineering and Manufacturing, used his fellowship as a means to advance the Technology Readiness Level of a dynamic induction coil for energy efficient composite manufacturing. When asked about his experiences, James shared:

“The ECEF was a fantastic opportunity that allowed me to shift my focus away from my PhD research and towards exploring the potential for industry application and commercialisation of technology that I had been developing. The time spent thinking about my work outside of a purely academic standpoint helped me to gain a much better perspective on how my research can fit into the larger world. Beyond this, the time spent hearing from and speaking to founders of technical startups within SETsquared was very useful in gaining an insight into what is required to get research from the lab into a commercial enterprise. Since the ECEF we have been able to apply for further research funding, explore IP protection and make wider industrial connections.”

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Jennifer Dumle Daniel

Jennifer is a PhD candidate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship and works closely with Dr Lucy Kelly, Associate Professor in Education, on The Diary Toolkit: an innovative initiative to support teachers in the workplace. Looking to scale and commercialise her approach and expand the reach and impact of the Toolkit, Jennifer said of her ECEF experience:

“The ECEF fellowship was a transformative opportunity for me at The Diary Toolkit. It provided crucial insights into commercialising our product and exposed me to successful entrepreneurs, from whom I gained valuable knowledge about scaling our business. On a personal level, the ECEF has connected me with researchers across the wider university network, fostering greater collaboration and potential innovation. The ECEF has been instrumental in shaping both The Diary Toolkit’s business trajectory and my own professional growth. The skills, knowledge, and connections gained through this fellowship have positioned us to make a meaningful impact in the industry while opening doors for exciting research collaborations.”

By Michele Barbour

The University Enterprise Fellowship scheme provide resource, tailored support, and protected time to selected academics for a broad scope of enterprise undertakings that could include a patent, a spinout, a partnership relationship, or a consultancy.

It is with very great pleasure that I announce the University Enterprise Fellows for 24/25!

Our six new University Enterprise Fellows will be using their Fellowships to explore commercialisation of their research outputs and build new networks with industry and investors. You can read more about their plans and aspirations below.

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Dr Richard Helyer

I am excited to have been awarded a University Enterprise Fellowship. This will allow me to engage with potential partners to bring our initiatives in using human patient simulation for undergraduate teaching to the wider healthcare education community.

Human patient simulation brought about a step change in healthcare education allowing learners to experience patients, trauma, disease and treatment in a safe environment and at scale. We have extended its use to teaching essential concepts of physiology, such as how the body responds to blood loss, and pharmacology, for example how drugs affect function of organs in the whole body, to early years undergraduates. Our approach has received considerable interest from other institutions and potential commercial partners who agree that improving the understanding of key scientific concepts brings about more effective and safer practice for healthcare professionals. The resources provided by this fellowship will allow me to explore the best direction in which to take our work with potential partners, for the benefit of students everywhere that are our future healthcare scientists and professionals.

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Professor Iain Gilchrist

I am overjoyed to be awarded this fellowship. For the last 10 years we have been working on ways to objectively measure, in real time, the responses of audiences to creative content (including film, television and live theatre). We have known for some time that there is significant commercial interest in what we have been doing and this fellowship will give me the time, and focus, to really understand the market for our work and learn about the best way to deliver these new products to commercial partners and customers.

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Professor Nicholas Howden

I am delighted to receive this University Enterprise Fellowship, as it will allow me to translate my research into real-world impact. Creating new tools to help solve practical problems is at the core of engineering, and the UEF will provide key support, expertise and industrial contacts to develop such tools.

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Dr Robert Sharples

It’s a privilege to join the University Enterprise Fellows this year. I will use the fellowship to develop specialist programmes for international students, making sure that they have the best possible opportunity to thrive at university. I will be working with groups of students around the country, as well as their lecturers and university leaders, to create prototype resources and measure the impact they have on students’ learning and wellbeing.

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Dr Rebecca Shepherd

I am thrilled to be awarded the University Enterprise Fellowship.

This opportunity will help me turn my research into real-world applications by setting up a commercial ivory identification service, demonstrating the impact of research beyond academia.

 

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Dr Lucy Cramp

I’m really thrilled to have received this University Enterprise Fellowship. It gives me the opportunity to immerse myself in re-modelling our commercial offering of organic residue analysis at the University of Bristol. This is a complementary approach for reconstructing ancient dietary patterns from molecular traces in pottery vessels that can now be a routine part of the post-excavation toolkit across the heritage sector, from commercial units to museums and independent specialists. I am particularly excited to have the opportunity to integrate this offering with our new, cross-faculty AHRC Centre for Chemical Characterisation in Heritage Science, for which we have just been awarded £1M in funding to establish. From 2026, this will enable users from across the UK heritage community to access our facilities and expertise in mass spectrometric and stable isotope approaches in the heritage sciences.

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I’d like to wish the best to all of this year’s University Enterprise Fellows, and I speak for all of us when I say we’re looking forward to hearing more about their experiences!

A Hub of Innovation and Inspiration

The University of Bristol and Bristol Innovations recently hosted the annual Festival of Enterprise, an event that illustrates the interface between research and entrepreneurship. This Festival brought together a diverse group of researchers, postgraduate students, and industry professionals, all eager to explore and celebrate the entrepreneurial applications of academic research. Featuring insightful presentations, dynamic competitions, and plenty of networking opportunities, the Festival highlighted the university’s commitment to fostering an entrepreneurial spirit within its academic and research community.

A Celebration of Research and Entrepreneurship

The event began with a warm welcome from Professor Judith Squires, Deputy
Vice-Chancellor, who set the tone for a day full of innovation and collaboration. The morning sessions, chaired by Prof Ian Bond and Prof Jeremy Tavare, featured presentations from University Enterprise Fellows (UEFs) from both the current and previous academic years, showcasing their cutting-edge projects and entrepreneurial ventures. The presentations highlighted the impressive potential of academic research to address real-world challenges. Dr Joanna Burch-Brown, Dr Paul Clarke, Prof Charl Faul, Dr Frances Giampapa, Dr Paul Golf, Dr Camilla Morelli and Dr Laszlo Talas each spoke with warmth and enthusiasm about their enterprising journeys, showcasing the breadth of what entrepreneurship in academia can entail. Prof Jason Johnson and Dr Andrew Wilson then described the university’s collaboration with Belab1407, illustrating successful pathways from research to market. The focus on practical applications and real-world impact was a recurring theme throughout the day.

PechaKucha Presentations and Awards

The afternoon sessions were particularly engaging, featuring PechaKucha presentations by our early career enterprise fellows (ECEFs) and chaired by Prof Harry Mellor. These concise, fast-paced presentations kept the audience captivated, with each fellow given just a few minutes to present their innovative ideas. The judging panel, Kim Brook of SetSquared Bristol, Alun Williams of Parkwalk Advisors, and Nathan Guest of VWV, evaluated their presentations, and Festival delegates were invited to select the “audience’s choice” prizewinner.

The judges’ choice award went to Rachel Hare, reflecting the impact and engagement of her work on bereavement and the Good Grief project, while the audience’s choice award was given to James Griffith for his exceptional presentation describing innovative technologies to help the aviation industry improve its sustainability credentials. Our other ECEF speakers, Elena Fillola Mayoral, Jennifer Daniel, Dr Grace Pearson, James Uzzell, Kamirul Kamirul, Lingteng Kong and Nicholas Gray were all very highly commended for their thought-provoking and inspiring work.

Networking and Collaboration

Throughout the day, attendees had plenty of opportunity to network and explore the various forms of support available to researchers, emphasizing the university’s role in nurturing early-stage ideas and helping researchers transform them into viable collaborations and businesses.

The Festival of Enterprise was more than just a showcase of research and ideas; it was a celebration of the collaborative spirit that characterises the University of Bristol. By providing a platform for researchers to transform their ideas into impactful enterprises, the university is playing a crucial role in addressing global challenges and contributing to economic growth.

Looking Forward

The success of the Festival of Enterprise is a testament to the University’s dedication to advancing research and innovation. As the university continues to champion entrepreneurial endeavours, I expect to see even more groundbreaking projects and spinouts emerging from our research community. The Festival shone a spotlight on the entrepreneurial potential within academic research, and was a celebration of creativity, innovation, and collaboration, and left everyone looking forward to what next year’s Festival will bring.

By Michele Barbour and Olivia Champion

Following on from the hugely successful visit from beLAB1407 for the Enterprise Roadshow in October, this month the Research Commercialization Team hosted Start Codon. The Enterprise Roadshow Seminar series brings commercialization partners to the University of Bristol to meet with Academics who are engaged in translational research.

Start Codon invest in and support early stage health and life sciences ventures and we heard from Investment Director Michael Salako about role of venture builders in bridging the valley of death when commercializing academic research, and their role in attracting further investment to bring new technology to market. We also heard about the importance of pressure testing your own assumptions, advice that is relevant to us all, but particularly when making assumptions about market fit for technology.

Lunch before the seminar allowed academics, members of the commercialization team and start codon to network, creating a relaxed atmosphere for a vibrant Q&A session after the seminar.

For the next Enterprise Roadshow Event, the Research Commercialisation Team brings ParkWalk to the University of Bristol on 24^th January 2024. Parkwalk is the UK’s most active investor in the university spin-out sector, and currently has over £450m of assets under management. They have invested in over 160 companies across their funds, including funds managed in conjunction with the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial and Bristol.

To learn more about this opportunity and if you would like to join us for the networking event, please contact RED-innovation@bristol.ac.uk

By Michele Barbour and Olivia Champion

It was a full house for the inaugural Enterprise Roadshow seminar and networking event organised by the Research Commercialisation Team on 18^th October 2023. The Enterprise Roadshow brings industry experts to the University of Bristol with an aim to accelerate the translation of research, to maximise impact. The October Enterprise Roadshow event brought beLAB1407 to meet with University of Bristol academics working in drug discovery. BeLAB1407 is a partnership between Bristol Myers Squibb and Evotec, which invests globally in exciting academic research amenable for drug discovery funding. Investment of up to $1.5M is available for commercial screening support in each successful project. As well as a networking lunch and an interesting Q&A session, several academics had one to one meetings with beLAB1407 to present their research and discuss opportunities for commercialisation. Watch this space!

For the next Enterprise Roadshow Event, the Research Commercialisation Team brings Start Codon to the University of Bristol on 7^th November, a start up incubator who invests in early stage science innovations. Please sign up for the event if you are interested in learning more about this opportunity and would like to join us for the networking lunch.

For more information please contact Research Commercialisation Managers Olivia Champion (Olivia.champion@bristol.ac.uk) or Harriet Bray (Harriet.Bray@bristol.ac.uk).

By Michele Barbour

Our Research Commercialisation Team has grown rapidly over the past year, and has attracted some talented and energetic new joiners. Charlotte Severn recently joined the Team as a Research Commercialisation Associate and, alongside her colleague Lasani Wijetunge, has been selected for the prestigious LifeArc AUTM Technology Transfer Fellowship. I caught up with Charlotte and Lasani to ask them about their new career moves and what they hoped to gain from the Fellowship, as the first people from the Bristol team to take part in this scheme.  

Charlotte, Lasani, could you tell me a bit about yourselves and your careers to date please? 

Lasani 

I have always been interested in understanding how science discoveries made at the bench could

translate into products that make a tangible societal impact. At the end of my PhD studies at the University of Edinburgh with Prof. Peter Kind, I was involved in an internationally collaborative study in partnership with a biotech firm, Seaside Therapeutics, USA, that led to a highly successful pre-clinical validation of a targeted therapy for fragile X syndrome, a monogenic cause of autism. The strong pre-clinical validity of the drug led to Roche’s first foray into clinical trials of a drug for fragile X. It was also a first-hand experience in understanding and appreciating the trials and tribulations associated with the quest for developing targeted therapies for complex disorders, especially in the rare disease space.

My recent work in the School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience was with Dr. Michael Ashby and Prof. Jack Mellor on cholinergic modulation of sensory processing. There is evidence to suggest that cholinergic neuromodulation is dysregulated in both neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. This work has been supported by Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, Elizabeth Blackwell Institute/Wellcome Trust, and an Academic career developmental fund from UoB. 

Charlotte

I have always had an interest in science and the natural world so I always knew I wanted to go to university to study for a science degree. At the time Biomedical Sciences gave a young person without a chosen career a broad basis in something I was fascinated by. 

My interest in scientific research was cemented during a research project as part of a masters degree here at Bristol with Prof. Stuart Siddell in virology. Prof. Siddell first introduced me to cell culture and genetic manipulation, the possibilities were seemingly endless. My PhD project was then in Prof. Ashley Toyes group to re-create the bone marrow niche using a 3D culture model to increase the yield of ex vivo derived red blood cells. Developing the system we created a second generation scaffold which we “decorated” with peptides to increase biomimicry. During the latter part of my research career I developed the macrophage arm of the group. Investigating the macrophage phenotype during polarisation and their involvement during processes such as wound healing and cancer.  

Charlotte, I understand you’ve recently joined our commercialisation team as a Research Commercialisation Associate. Congratulations! What inspired you to take that career direction? 

Having been a part of a highly translational team who had successfully spun out Scarlet Therapeutics, I have had first hand experience of witnessing great research impact. Through reflection during many lockdowns and insightful discussions with a fantastic mentor I decided that a career supporting researchers through translation rather than research itself was ultimately where I wanted to be. Having looked into the field and through speaking to a contact in the commercialisation team about technology transfer I knew that’s what I wanted to do.  

As such I am thrilled to have made the jump, pivoting my career whilst utilising my scientific background whilst having the challenge of gaining experience in aspects of business, patent law and marketing throughout the commercialisation lifecycle. 

You have both been selected for a very prestigious LifeArc AUTM Fellowships – perhaps you could explain what that is and what you hope to gain from the experience? 

Charlotte 

The LifeArc AUTM Technology Transfer Fellowship is an opportunity for academics to transition into careers in technology transfer through a year-long program of networking, training and mentoring. Since its launch in 2017 it has supported over 55 fellows into careers within the innovation sector.  

The fellowship year kicks off with AUTM University in Kansas City USA, a crash course in all things technology transfer with an opportunity to network with colleagues from across the globe. We will also attend the American and European associations of technology transfer annual conferences allowing extensive networking with the most influential players in the field. The fellowship provides two mentors; a prominent leader in the field and a “buddy” alumni mentor. After such a positive first experience with mentoring I hope the support will aid in successfully navigating the transition from academia enabling me to achieve my goals and hone new skills developed during the year.  

Lasani 

I was not aware of LifeArc-AUTM fellowship until few days before its deadline-it was an accidental discovery via a link a friend of mine sent to me. I knew of LifeArc, but not of AUTM then. I am interested in developing a career that facilitates transformation of society by science and technology, and this felt like an amazing opportunity. So I am thrilled to become a LifeArc-AUTM fellow to learn about the process of commercialisation of science discoveries to products that meet an unmet need, and engage in making these products inclusive to all. 

What are you most looking forward to after the fellowship – what do you aspire to in terms of commercialisation at UoB? 

Charlotte 

I hope that the fellowship will provide a solid basis for a longstanding career in research commercialisation. Through the formal and independent learning I can implement knowledge gained directly into my current role. Contacts made through the extensive networking opportunities will provide a treasure chest for the wider team to call upon for investment and funding opportunities, insights into particular processes and general advice. The network of fellows alone across the UK and Europe will provide a lens into other tech transfer offices to enhance the ecosystem here within the Department of Research Enterprise and Innovation (DREI). 

Ultimately my own aspirations over the coming years is to become a Registered Technology Transfer Professional (RTTP) and managing my own portfolio, supporting our incredible academics on the journey of translating science into real world impact. 

Lasani 

Technology transfer is multifaceted: its success relies on the meeting of minds between the innovator(s), corporate partner(s), and legal partner(s) as well as abiding by the governmental affairs. I am hoping that the year-long fellowship would provide insights into how these viewpoints intersect to bring about a change. More so, I am looking forward to understanding how you scrutinise the potential (commercial and/or humanitarian) of a science discovery to start with. As a scientist, I am always excited by the science, but this feels like taking that step back to really question the product-market fit. What is my why? Is there really a need? How do you synthesis the science (often as scientists we love the details) and communicate the high-level view to persuade a different audience… this could well be making an educated projection far into the future, e.g., in life sciences, drug discovery to clinic could be +10 years! The ecosystem currently feels like the riskier explorative phase is carried by startups/small biotechs that then might develop it further themselves or partner with and/or sell to a large corporation. Universities and affiliated biotech accelerators can play a key role in this early phase to nurture the inventors to develop their technology, e.g., UoB Enterprise team, SETsquared and Bristol’s incubation spaces like Engine Shed and Science Creates. I am hoping that the fellowship will give me a greater understanding of how these relationships are developed and fostered.   

And finally – now you have started your fellowship and returned home from your intensive week in Kansas, what did you gain from the experience? 

Lasani  

It was an amazing opportunity as a novice to the field to gain insights into the fundamentals of commercialising a science discovery and learn about best practises: from evaluating its potential to negotiating with a potential licensee.  

The thing that stood out was how passionate the specialist instructors were, and how engaged the technology transfer community is to help each other navigate it. It was also our first in person get together as the 2023/24 cohort of LifeArc-AUTM fellows; it was great to discover our backgrounds, share common issues we have faced and discuss our goals. 

Charlotte 

It was truly a fantastic opportunity, the course gave an excellent base of knowledge for me to establish a career in technology transfer and I was able to begin developing my network. I supplemented the knowledge gained since the start of my role in June with sessions including; valuing assets, reaching partners, licensing and negotiation skills. I was also lucky enough to share the experience with the 2023/2024 cohort of the LifeArc AUTM Technology Transfer Fellows, hearing their experiences, motivations and career aspirations.  

If I had to choose a take home message it would be the importance of forming communicative relationships within the field; both with inventors and partners throughout the commercialisation journey but also those within technology transfer by means of advice and knowledge sharing. 

Thanks Charlotte and Lasani, and we look forward to hearing more about your experiences! I also caught up with Andrew Wilson (Head of Research Commercialisation) about two of his team being selected for the fellowship.

Andrew Wilson, Head of  Commercialisation 

The LifeArc-AUTM fellowships are a fantastic opportunity to really kick-start a career in Research Commercialisation and better enable them to support the progression of great science into patient benefit.  I am so pleased that Charlotte and Lasani are part of this. This programme will broaden their experience in this exciting field, allow them to learn from international best practice and, perhaps most importantly, grow their vital professional networks in this exciting field. I am really looking forward to working with them both over the coming years.  

By Michele Barbour, APVC – Enterprise and Innovation

In July 2023, the University of Bristol welcomed over 300 guests representing over 95 companies and organisations to the Festival of Enterprise. It was a stimulating day of discussion and debate on the opportunities and challenges at the interface between research and the commercial world.

Anna-Lisa Wesley’s stimulating keynote, #Step into the spin, gave an excellent insight into the mind of the spin-out chairperson, and set us up for a robust discussion about academic entrepreneurship and the landscape for spin-out founders, investors, ecosystem providers, and commercialisation professionals. We were joined by an expert panel featuring Kimberley Brook, Anthony Croxford, Rosalind Darby, Catherine Fletcher, Rayner Lim and Alun Williams, chaired by Andrew Wray. 

We went on to focus on industry-academia collaboration with an inspiring keynote by Oracle for Research’s Alison Derbenwick Miller, who painted an uplifting vision of what can be achieved when academia and industry work in a close and mutually respectful partnership. These themes were explored and elaborated further by an expert panel featuring Sam Bell, Hamid Falaki, Frances Frith, Stuart Harrison, Sofia Oliveira, Arjun Parekh and Rich Pitts, chaired by Annela Seddon. 

We were also delighted to welcome our 2022/23 University Enterprise Fellows and enjoyed presentations by Marc Holderied, Paul Golf, Joanna Burch-Brown, Laszlo Talas and Emmanouil Tranos, on their exciting commercialisation undertakings. The whole day was further strengthened by our exhibition featuring Business West, Innovate UK Edge SW, WECA’s Business Growth Hub, Quantum Frontier, Science Creates, Future Space, Setsquared Bristol, Cabot Institute, Elizabeth Blackwell Institute, Bristol Digital Futures Institute, Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, and many of our University teams who support enterprising academics. 

What emerged was a sense of hope and optimism, that by working at the interface of research and industry we can address some of society’s most pressing issues. Another theme was humility – that only by working in collaboration and partnership can we achieve that impact. A further strong thread to run through the day was trust – that collaborative relationships, whether between industry and academia, between investor and entrepreneur, between commercialisation professional and academic, can only thrive where there is mutual trust, openness and respect.  

Thank you again to our speakers, exhibitors and guests for such a stimulating, inspiring, and enjoyable Festival.  

You can watch a short video synopsis of the Festival below. 

 

From his early days as a computer scientist at Imperial College, through to his present cross-disciplinary role at the University of Bristol with both the Medical and Veterinary Schools, Professor Andrew Dowsey has been an advocate for multidisciplinary team work. Over the course of his career, spanning his time in London, Texas, Manchester, Liverpool and now Bristol, this has seen him work with colleagues and stakeholders across the UK and USA to deliver innovative ideas and cutting-edge methodologies for the benefit of clinical practice and food security.

His Enterprise Fellowship is an extension of his Team Science approach, which aligns with the global One Health agenda – optimising health outcomes for animals and humans through an integrated approach to medicine, specifically antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In a collaborative effort involving both internal and external experts in microbiology, machine learning, bacterial genomics and public health, Professor Dowsey hopes to develop a time-critical diagnostic tool for the clinical detection of antibiotic-resistant infections.

You have several roles at the University, working on both human and animal health, though you started out as a data scientist. How did you get here?

My fascination with data science was more about what computers could do for us, rather than how they worked under the hood. During my degree in Computer Science at Imperial, I had been focused on 3D graphics and multimedia. At the time, my role was very much within Engineering rather than Health Science. I wasn’t originally planning on doing a PhD either, but then I met my future supervisor, who invited me to have a conversation after he became intrigued when he saw me working on with my face pressed up against the computer screen examining a video processing algorithm I’d developed. When I realised I could apply this interest to research in medical imaging, I never really looked back.

I started out exploring medical image computing. From that and from other people I met, I got into health data and diagnostics. When I came to Bristol in 2016, I’d been working with clinicians and surgeons for a number of years, and thought perhaps I could work with vets too. That opened my eyes to the One Health agenda, and that’s how I got into antimicrobial resistance, bugs and bacteria.

You’re an enthusiastic proponent of “team science”. Why is that?

When I started out at Imperial, I was based in the computer department, but we moved to the Institute of Biomedical Engineering so I was doing a lot of collaboration across the disciplines from the outset. When I got my first lectureship in Manchester in the Faculty of Health Sciences, working in a drug discovery centre in their NHS Foundation Trust, on bioinformatics and data science for biomarker discovery with mass spectrometry, I found myself in a truly multidisciplinary environment and experienced the benefits of being properly embedded with analytical chemists, bio-scientists and clinicians, rather than collaborating from a distance and only interacting sporadically. That approach gave me a much better understanding of what drives people. Since then, I’ve pushed for this way of being thoroughly embedded with the other disciplines.

You spearheaded the creation of the John Oldacre Centre for Dairy Welfare and Sustainability at Bristol Veterinary School. Tell us about that.

Bristol Veterinary School has one of the biggest animal welfare and behaviour groups in the world. It has a working dairy farm that is used for teaching purposes, so I felt it would be great if we could supercharge the farm for research. It’s thanks to the fact that I’m so close to that environment, with my joint role across the schools, that I was able to go down to the farm on multiple occasions and get a real sense of what they do, to understand what concerns farmers have. As a result, we’ve built a centre using Artificial Intelligence in combination with the welfare, sustainability and AMR expertise on site, that actually makes a practical difference.  For instance, we’re creating an early detection system based on how cows tend to change their social and interactive behaviours when they get a subclinical illness – much like humans avoid each other when they have a cold. Rather than purely monitoring them for explicitly present conditions, it’s opening up the prospect of using the technology to detect disease much earlier than having to wait until it’s apparent.

Your Enterprise Fellowship is specifically focused on AMR in a clinical setting. How does this build on the work you’ve been doing?

Through working on AMR, first with vets and then with clinicians at Bristol Royal Infirmary and Southmead Hospital, I’ve come to understand the clinical workflow, particularly how clinicians use mass spectrometry to identify bugs and bacteria from blood samples. I realised I could bring in the expertise and experience that my team has in mass spectrometry for the benefit of improving bacterial diagnostics; we’ve developed methods that can potentially determine the strain type and the resistance of a bug, based on data, which provides a faster response than waiting for the results from the pathology centre.

What do you hope to achieve/discover?

Currently, infection diagnostics take around 24 hours to confirm bacterial infection and a further 24 hours to determine antibiotic susceptibility. The problem is that the patients with things like severe septicaemia don’t have time to wait a day or two for the clinician to determine the right antibiotics. Our studies have shown that prediction models that use machine learning can accelerate the diagnostic process. If we can translate this technology into clinical use, that could substantially accelerate appropriate prescribing. The idea is that we can give the clinician more information about the bug or the bacteria, to help them understand the strain and whether it exhibits a particular resistance or toxicity mechanism, in such a way that a doctor can make a confident decision on that basis.

In the context of AMR, doctors also have to be concerned about AMR stewardship and not overusing certain drugs. This is also something that our approach could help with indirectly through better prescribing, and there are potential applications in outbreak detection and surveillance, too.

Your EF is focused on understanding and navigating the commercialisation process that could help take your technology into clinical practice. Was that always your intention?

I want to learn about the things I don’t know – regulations, knowledge transfer, all the things that oftentimes can feel more complicated than they are until you actually tackle them. I’ve been involved in lots of projects over the years since I was a post-doc working with multiple industrial stakeholders. I feel confident in that environment, but I don’t feel at all confident in developing my work into commercial translation because I haven’t done that before.

When I got into academic research, my passion was for getting all the way down the pipeline with an idea to the point of having something that could actually be used – that’s still my prime motivation. We’ve been talking to experts in the transfer of medical technologies, which has motivated me to look further into the limitations of artificial intelligence for diagnostics in clinical settings, especially given the potential for bias against protected characteristics – for instance, where diagnostic tools are not always as robust as they could be.

In a fundamental research context, our focus is on what information we can extract and how can that be translated into clinical use. There are lots of directions we can take this – that excites me. Talking to stakeholders and learning more about the market will reveal what we do next. Will it be a spinout or will we look at licencing? Or will this idea lead to something completely unexpected and solve a problem we’re not yet aware of? Time will tell! It’s virtually never the case that the idea you have at the start is the one you end up with at the end. I’m excited to find out which direction this will take.

Professor Andrew Dowsey is a Turing Fellow and Chair in Population Health Data Science in the Faculty of Health Sciences, where he is also the Director for Innovation and Enterprise.

 

The seeds of environmental and humanitarian advocacy were sown early in Dr Joanna Burch-Brown’s life, growing up in close proximity both to nature and communities dedicated to social justice. The radical environment of Oberlin Liberal Arts College in Ohio affirmed her interest in philosophy as a practice and discipline that nurtures understanding and drives conscientious change. After attending Cambridge for her PhD and Oxford for a post-doc, she found her way to Bristol in 2012 where a more “hands-on” approach to philosophy reaffirmed her sense of vocation.

In 2015, Dr Burch-Brown played a key role in the Countering Colston Campaign, and in the subsequent development of the Bristol History Commission, which led to the 2021 launch of Bridging Histories, a free online learning project focused on bringing divided communities together. Continuing the collaborative and community-centred approach that underpins this work, the Enterprise Fellowship awarded to Dr Burch-Brown and the team behind Bridging Histories will allow the project to expand its reach and make a greater difference.

Your writing, teaching and research is rooted in explorations of contested heritage, transitional justice, black philosophical thought and environmental ethics, and on reducing prejudice. How and when did you become interested in this area of work?

I grew up in the Apalachee Mountains in Virginia, way out in the countryside, so I became very interested in environmental issues and nature. In 1991, when I was 10, the Rodney King beatings happened in LA. All across the country there were protests around racial inequality and police brutality. Going to some of those protests were very formative experiences for me, which makes me think about how important those historic moments can be for shaping people’s outlooks.

I then got really lucky; my mum met her partner, who is an amazing theatre artist, and we became part of an organisation called Alternate Roots, a networking organisation of incredibly diverse artists across the south of the US who use the arts in communities to bring about positive social change and social justice. All of that shaped my interests and my view.

How did your experience and your training in philosophy inform your approach to working with the Countering Colston Campaign?

I spent a good period of time listening to people who had longstanding connections with Bristol explaining their thoughts about what the city’s priorities should be. As a philosopher, I was looking to see what I could usefully get behind. Engaging in those conversations, hearing what people had to say and analysing that to systematise the different views was where I felt my contribution to be.

From 2015 until 2020, I worked with the Campaign to listen to the arguments on all sides of the debate, and to then distil the most important points on both sides. I was interested in finding a way for everyone to hear each other and work towards creative solutions. It was a really hands-on way of working as a philosopher, which I loved.

Engaging people in conversations around “contested heritage and public memory” is no doubt inherently and necessarily complex and challenging – how do you navigate those conversations in a way that builds greater understanding?

With the Countering Colston Campaign, one of the other campaigners, Mark Steed, collected hundreds of letters that were coming into the Bristol Post about the proposed renaming of the Colston Hall. By analysing them and identifying each of the arguments that were being made for and against, I was able to put the arguments into systematic terms that everyone could understand.

Another key benefit is that it can be very calming for people to feel they are being heard and understood when you relay back to them the points which they can then clearly see on the table. It can also be extremely helpful for institutional decision makers, who may not have had time to study the views in great depth, to be able to see a digested version of the key concerns. All of that helps to build a bigger picture which enables people to see what creative solutions might be possible.

Tell us about your motivation for developing Bridging Histories.

I believe in acting from an attitude of fundamental respect and love towards every person. I’m interested in exploring the positive intention behind people’s views. Even if there’s something that I disagree with very deeply, I want to understand the intention behind that view and find creative ways to honour and respect different perspectives.

In developing Bridging Histories, the idea has been to dissolve the very rigid debates and frameworks that we can get locked into. Once you get people telling their stories, sharing their personal memories, so much shifts in your social imagination. As people start hearing each other’s stories and becoming curious about each other, they can step outside of what can seem like a rigid problem and find a more imaginative response.

It’s been an incredibly wholesome initiative to be running – we invite anybody anywhere to join in a series of activities that celebrate their unique identity in a way that traverses the past, present and future. We invite people to write an “I am from” poem, share a family recipe, share something about the history of where they grew up, and share something about their family history. We also invite people to investigate or even create a monument or mural. Finally, we ask people to consider how they are inhabiting the role of changemaker. There’s something beautifully connecting about the process and the stories that emerge.

Tell us about your Enterprise Fellowship; how will it expand and extend your work with Bridging Histories and what do you hope to achieve?

We’ve created a wonderful community of ambassadors who are helping to organise collaborations and changemaking projects. Now we want to take that basic structure and build a social enterprise that will allow us to work with more people. We’re frequently approached by schools, charities, museums, companies, all kinds of groups with their own reasons for wanting to bring people together across difference. Sometimes they want to solve a particular problem, sometimes it’s just about celebrating the community. By building a social enterprise, we’ll be able to offer both free resources and a more formal, bespoke package of tools, resources and support to help people tackle whatever challenges they’re facing.

What are your personal and professional aspirations in terms of where this work will lead you next?

My dream would be to have Bridging Histories roll out on a global scale, with cohorts of ambassadors all over the world, so that people could start projects anywhere they wish, where ambassadors would have the tools to apply the resources and methodologies in a locally appropriate way.

The social meanings of particular problems as faced by different communities are often really nuanced, you can’t just provide a blanket solution. The dream would be to have activities happening in different places in different ways that help to spread more awareness of how we can tackle these apparently thorny problems in a way that is really uplifting and brings people together.

I’ve been incredibly lucky to connect with some incredible partners and collaborators, from the co-leaders to the ambassadors and everyone involved in the projects we’ve had the privilege and the pleasure to be involved in. To see the project and the people involved grow, that’s the dream.

Dr Joanna Burch-Brown is a Senior Lecturer and co-Director of Teaching in the Department of Philosophy, a founding member of the University of Bristol’s Centre for Black Humanities, and academic director for the Fulbright Summer Institute on ‘Arts, Activism and Social Justice’. She also serves on the Bristol History Commission.