Skip to main navigationSkip to main content
The University of Southampton
Biological Sciences

Southampton student awarded £80,000 to prevent hospital superbugs

Published: 6 October 2016
Fergus Watson

University of Southampton student Fergus Watson is to receive an Industrial Fellowship, worth £80,000, from The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 to fund his research that could eradicate hospital superbugs.

Fergus is one of ten of the UK’s most promising young doctoral engineers and scientists to receive a Fellowship to help fund their projects and bring their technologies to fruition. The Commission, originally founded by Prince Albert to organise the Great Exhibition of 1851 and then use its profits to further British industry, has recognised the projects for their potential to impact health, environment and business.

Fergus, a Postgraduate Research Student in Microbiology, is working with Bioquell UK Ltd to eliminate biofilms, which are thought to be one of the main causes of hospital superbugs and multi-drug resistant infections.

Fergus will look to use Bioquell’s hydrogen peroxide vapour (HPV) technology to eliminate the biofilm threat, while comparing its effectiveness to hospital disinfectants. He will look at ways this research can influence hospital procedure by highlighting weak spots in cleaning practices and potential risk zones.

Fergus said: “The Fellowship has given me this fantastic opportunity to advance my academic career alongside my professional career. I have always wanted to continue my studies into a PhD research project and this industrial fellowship has allowed me to pursue this. I am keen to combine the wealth of knowledge and resource from the University of Southampton and the wealth of industrial experience from Bioquell to excel in this area of research; and I am enjoying being back in the student environment.”

Chemistry graduate Tom Fleming, who is now an EPSRC funded chemistry DPhil student at the University of Oxford, also received an Industrial Fellowship to support his research into new anti-cancer drugs that can combat chemoresistance.

The Industrial Fellowships provide recent graduates with the means to develop innovative technology with commercial potential, ideally leading to a patent, while completing a PhD or EngD. Each Fellow receives up to £80,000 worth of funding over three years for their work, to be carried out in collaboration with an academic institution and a business partner.

Applications for the 2017 Industrial Fellowships are now open. To learn more visit the website here.

 

Related Staff Member

Privacy Settings