23rd April 2015
‘Embarrassing Bodies’ consultant microbiologist Professor Valerie Edwards-Jones headlines Antimicrobial event in Swansea
Over 100 delegates from across the UK and Europe are expected to convene in Swansea next week (29th April) to embark on a discussion around ‘The Antimicrobial Challenge’.
The event which is being held at the Village Hotel in Swansea, is organised by Swansea University’s Centre for NanoHealth and will be hosted by antimicrobial expert Dr Chris Wright who will provide an insight into how the University, Industry and the NHS can work together to tackle this global threat.
Professor Valerie Edwards-Jones who is the Clinical Director for MelBec Microbiology Ltd and also a key figure on the ‘Embarrassing Bodies’ TV programme will headline the event by talking about ‘New and novel techniques for tackling infection in our healthcare system’.
The event will also hear from a number of other experts from The Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery, Steritouch Ltd, WIPAK Ltd, USC Ltd, KTN (Knowledge Transfer Network) and NESTA.
Dr Chris Wright, Swansea University, said, “Microbes present a major threat to human health in the 21st century. The increased challenges to combat microbes’ impacts far beyond the healthcare sector and microbial control must be improved in food, agriculture, environment and water processing industries. Microbial mechanisms, epidemiology, disease treatment and contamination control strategies and prevention of antimicrobial resistance are a major challenge to all.”
He added, “The event will provide opportunity for experts across the various industries to come together and share experiences and form alliances that will identify new ways to challenge this major threat to our society.”
The Centre for NanoHealth (CNH) at Swansea University is at the forefront of medical imaging, diagnosis and treatment. CNH offers access to over 50 academic staff from the Colleges of Medicine, Engineering and Science, Health Board (NHS) clinicians, and industry. CNH is a member of several global nanohealth networks. Within CNH, Dr Chris Wright from the College of Engineering is on the executive board of CNH and his group are working with several companies in the development of novel materials for the control of bacterial contamination. He is also championing within CNH and the University the application of electrospinning a fabrication method for the production of functional surfaces and the delivery of therapeutic agents involved in antimicrobial control and regenerative medicine.
Swansea University is a world-class, research-led university located in beautiful parkland with views across Swansea Bay close to the Gower Peninsula, the UK’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The University was established in 1920 and currently offers around 330 undergraduate courses and 120 post-graduate courses to 16,800 undergraduate and postgraduate students.
The results of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 showed that the University has achieved its ambition to be a top 30 research University, soaring up the league table to 26th in the UK, with the ‘biggest leap among research-intensive institutions’ (Times Higher Education, December 2014) in the UK.
In September 2015, the University’s new £450m, 65 acre science and innovation Bay Campus will open, to complement an upgraded Singleton Park Campus.
View Swansea University’s Centre for NanoHealth profile here