8 projects awarded NAMRA Pump Priming Funding in Round 2

Pump Priming projects awarded in Round 2

• 'Ultrasonic cleaning of real world contaminated floor surfaces' Project Team - Dr Tom Secker, Dr Mengyang Zhu and Pro Tim Leighton. The team will investigate the application of ultrasonic cleaning for removing pathogens from surfaces such as abattoir floors, hospital floors, butchers' slabs and farms.
• 'A multidisciplinary platform for studying antimicrobial peptides: bridging the gap between the in vitro and in silico regimes' Project Team - Dr Syma Khalid and Dr Maurits de Planque. This project brings together 'in vitro' and 'in silico' techniques for the first time to research antimicrobial peptides, candidiates for modification into novel antibiotics.

• '3D printing of cow's shoe' Project Team - Dr Shoufeng Yang and Dr Emma Roe. This collaboration applies revolutionary 3D printing technology to animal husbandry. It explores the possibility of 3D scanning and 3D printing a customised cow's shoe in the context of preventing infection and reducing the use of antibiotics in animals.

This project contributed to the NAMRIP Launch Conference Exhibition on 14th December 2015.

•  'A pilot study to evaluate the efficacy of an ultrasonically activated water stream for wound cleaning of antimicrobial resistant biofilm infections'. Project team - Dr David Voegeli, Dr Tom Secker, Prof Bill Keevil and Prof Tim Leighton. The aim of this project is to adapt the Starstream system so it works efficiently for cleaning wounds by removing AMR bacteria and unwanted material from a wound, aid wound healing and improve a patient's health and comfort.
• ‘Crystal structure of the Neisseria gonorrhoeae adhesin complex protein (Ng-ACP), a vaccine antigen for preventing infection by antibiotic resistant bacteria'. Project Team - Dr Myron Christodoulides, Dr Ivo Tews and Dr Maurits de Planque. This collaboration brings together expertise in infectious diseases, structural biology and nanoparticle characterization to aid the development of a vaccine for gonococcal infection (a superbug showing resistance to antibiotics).

• 'Enabling testing of Antimicrobial Resistance to antibiotics via laser-patterned paper-platforms'. Project Team - Dr Collin Sones, Dr Bhaskar Somani. The team aims to develop a low cost and rapid diagnostic test to allow early-stage detection of infection and also testing of antimicrobial resistance to antibiotics.

This project contributed to the NAMRIP Launch Conference Exhibition on 14th December 2015.

• 'The effect of surface roughness on the attachment and removal of MRSA and prion-associated amyloid from surgical surfaces'. Project Team - Dr Tom Secker and Dr Mengyang Zhu. This project will research the characteristics of surgical surfaces and its effect on cleaning efficency. This will provide an insight into the correct surface topology to employ in a surgical environment to reduce infection. 
• pilot study to evaluate the effectiveness of StarStream for surgical hand disinfection' . Project Team - Dr Sandra Wilks, Dr Jacqui Prieto, Dr David Voegeli, Prof Bill Keevil, Prof Mandy Fader and Prof Tim Leighton. This pilot study will recruit 20 volunteers to compare the effectiveness of washing hands with Starstream enhanced water to ordinary water and evaluate a potential clinical application for Starstream technology in the National Health Service.

3rd Pump Priming Competition

The 3rd call for NAMRA Pump Priming is now open to all members of NAMRIP. The deadline is Friday 29th January at 5pm. Please contact Yvonne Richardson for a copy of the application form and guidance.