An interview with Dr Mark Richardson
Dr Mark Richardson is Chief Executive of The National Biofilms Centre (NBIC). In this interview he tell us more about how collaborating with other scientific insitutions is important in harnessing the UK’s academic and industrial strengths in understanding the world of biofilms.
Tell us more about the National Biofilms Innovation Centre
The National Biofilms Centre (NBIC) launched in 2017 funded by the UK Research and Innovation Department (UKRI), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Innovate UK. We are a collaboration between the University of Southampton, University of Liverpool, University of Nottingham and University of Edinburgh, alongside 41 UK universities/research institutions and more than 100 companies. Our goal is to harness the UK’s academic and industrial strengths in biofilms. The core pillars of our strategy and activity is targeted towards the prevention, detection, management and engineering of biofilms. We have three key pillars of activity:
1) Research: our researchers generate new knowledge targeted to address unmet commercial and societal needs.
2) Innovation: we invest in workshops to bring the academic and industrial community together and in independently assessed funding competitions. We create collaborations between academia and industry to progress science from the lab to real world applications.
3) Training: we train and develop the next generation of scientific researchers.
How else are you hoping to encourage research opportunities in the world of biofilms?
We are also forming international collaborations with other leading biofilm centres around the world, including the Centre for Biofilm Engineering (CBE) in the US, and the recently formed Singapore National Biofilms Centre (SNBC) to create global research programmes and seek international funding. We have also led a joint workshop with CBE on “Microbes and Metal” looking at the problem of microbial induced corrosion.
Why are biofilms important to microbiology?
The biofilm phenotype is the predominant mode in which all bacteria (and algae) create communities meaning they offer a wide range of challenges and opportunities. Their impact spans from the crisis of antimicrobial resistance to the potential of using engineered biofilms to create energy from waste flows. In the health, food, marine, oil, water, waste and gas sectors, there are also many opportunities to tackle and harness biofilms in pursuit of societal benefit.
Why does microbiology matter?
The study of microorganisms is a vital part of not just managing human health, but also the whole sustainability debate for our planet. It has simply never been as important as it is now. Each month it seems we learn more. Recently, for example, the interaction between the human microbiome (usually adopting a biofilm mode) and health and wellbeing. There are also a multitude of opportunities to study and harness microbes in order to address areas such as plastic and waste degradation, energy production and carbon capture.
