New Business and Innovation Director to help steer STFC Strategy
The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) have announced that business development expert, Paul Vernon, will take the helm as the new Executive Director of Business and Innovation. He will play a critical role in helping STFC shape and deliver a business and innovation strategy.
Welcoming Mr Vernon to the role Professor Mark Thomson, Particle physicist and Executive Chair of STFC, said: “Paul brings significant expertise to the role and is joining STFC from the University of Chester, where he was the CEO of Thornton Science Park in Cheshire and Senior Executive Director of Commercial Operations at the University. We are delighted to be able to say that we are also welcoming back someone who has a significant amount of experience in our field and is a trusted and respected former colleague.”
Between 2002 and 2014 Paul Vernon worked for STFC and was responsible for spinning out five technology businesses, establishing business development activity and heading up campus development for the National Science and Innovation Campuses.
Project Promises COVID-19 Test Results in 10 Minutes
Taking up the post in coming weeks Mr Vernon said that he is looking forward to working closely with the business and innovation team at STFC to help develop the organisation:
“It’s a challenging time for everyone involved in science and innovation in the UK right now but with this comes priorities and opportunities. I am looking forward to connecting with former colleagues and building new relationships at STFC, as I take overall responsibility for the provision of high-calibre professional services to departments.
“One of my areas of focus will be developing and exploiting commercial relationships and business opportunities. I will also be working to support collaborative ventures and programmes with partner organisations, such as universities.”
As a member of the Executive Board, he will also help to shape STFC’s overall future priorities and plans.
52492pr@reply-direct.com Paul Vernon
Company Launch brings Potential Sequencing Standard for Biopsy Analysis
Base Genomics, a developer of epigenetic technology for early and sensitive detection of cancer from liquid biopsy, has launched with the potential to set a new gold standard in DNA methylation detection. The company, which has closed an oversubscribed seed funding round of $11 million USD (£9 million GBP) to progress development of its TAPS (TET- assisted pyridine borane sequencing) technology, is initially focused on developing a blood test for early-stage cancer and
Philip Hand
Imperial College London and UK diagnostics fi rm Intelligent Fingerprinting have joined forces to develop a simple 10-minute COVID-19 fi ngerprint test, ideal for use by non-medical staff in care homes and workplaces.
The project will use Intelligent the company’s existing technology – which features highly sensitive lateral fl ow technology and fl uorescence measurement techniques within a portable test reader – to create a ‘point- of-care’ test for quick and safe application. Intelligent Fingerprinting will work with researchers at the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London to validate its testing approach and accelerate development.
A fi ngerprint-based system could play a signifi cant role in enabling rapid coronavirus testing with the potential to deliver a positive or negative COVID-19 result on-site within just ten minutes. The system is hygienic and non-invasive and by using the sweat from fi ngerprints rather than nasal or oral fl uid samples, there is no hazardous biological waste associated with each test.
“Intelligent Fingerprinting is delighted to be working with researchers at Imperial College London on this important development project,” said the company’s Executive Chairman, Philip Hand. “Bringing together our joint expertise will greatly enhance the potential of delivering this ground- breaking testing solution in a meaningful timeframe.”
52507pr@reply-direct.com Anna Schuh Vincent Smith EU Fund backs Materials Innovation Hub in Manchester
With plastic waste forecast to reach 40 billion tons per year globally, urgent action is needed to fi nd sustainable solutions to making, using and disposing of plastics. As a region with clean growth at the core of its economic ambition, the Innovation Hub, to be located in the Royce Hub building, will help small to medium local businesses to fi nd sustainable innovations to waste management and more sustainable plastics.
Three interlinking laboratories will be equipped with capability to characterise, synthesis and process polymers, facilitating innovation in new sustainable polymers, improved methods of recycling, and validation of emerging sustainable materials that appear on the market.
The European Regional Development Fund has awarded £5 million to the Henry Royce Institute to launch a £10 million Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub (SMIH) for Greater Manchester.
The ability to develop new plastics and recycling infrastructure is also underpinned by an understanding of the behaviours of individuals and businesses that may inhibit innovation adoption. The programme of advise, assessment and innovation
will thus incorporate collaborative social science research to help businesses make informed choices to sustainable solutions.
The SMIH will be led by Director Michael Shaver, Professor of Polymer Science at The University of Manchester and Lead for Sustainable Materials for the Henry Royce Institute.
“The Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub provides a platform to work with SMEs across Greater Manchester to help them adopt the right sustainable plastic innovation for the right reasons. We will pioneer solutions that fi t with our current and emerging waste management practices and help companies make decisions that are truly sustainable rather than just band- aid interventions,” Professor Shaver said.
52493pr@reply-direct.com Oliver Waterhouse
minimal residual disease. The funding round was led by Oxford Sciences Innovation and also included investors with industry expertise in genomics and oncology.
“In order to realise the potential of liquid biopsies for clinically meaningful diagnosis and monitoring, sensitive detection and precise quantification of circulating tumour DNA is paramount,” said CMO Anna Schuh. “Current approaches are not fit for purpose to achieve this, but Base Genomics has developed a game-changing technology which has the potential to make the sensitivity of liquid biopsies a problem of the past.”
First developed at Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Branch at the University of Oxford, TAPS is a novel chemical reaction that converts methylated cytosine to thymine under mild conditions. It is said to offer reduced sequencing costs as the reaction does not degrade DNA. “Genomic technologies with the power, simplicity and broad applicability of TAPS come along very infrequently,” said Base Genomics CTO Vincent Smith. “It has the potential to have an impact on epigenetics similar to that which Illumina’s SBS chemistry had on Next Generation Sequencing.”
“The ability to sequence a large amount of high-quality epigenetic information from a simple blood test could unlock a new era of preventative medicine,” said Base Genomics founder and CEO Oliver Waterhouse. “In the future, individuals will not just be sequenced once to determine their largely static genetic code, but will be sequenced repeatedly over time to track dynamic epigenetic changes caused by age, lifestyle and disease.”
52505pr@reply-direct.com
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