Proof of Concept funding awardees
| Awardee | Institution | Project title | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | |||
| Mike Allen | Plymouth Marine Laboratory | ALGEBRA: ALGal Environmental and Biotechnological Risk Assessment | Details |
| Tom Bibby | University of Southampton | Unlocking the potential of Dunaliella through development of transformation-based strategies for gene manipulation | Details |
| Seth Davis | University of York | Exploiting the genetic potential of Galdieria sulphuraria for industrial biotechnology | Details |
| Carole Llewellyn | Swansea University | Exploring chlorophyll-f and associated metabolism for improved intensive cultivation of cyanobacteria | Details |
| Willie Wilson | Plymouth Marine Laboratory | Development of an algal crop protection program through vaccination by novel viruses | Details |
| Round 2 | |||
| Alistair McCormick | University of Edinburgh | A molecular toolbox to commercialise cyanobacteria: synthetic genetic sensor-regulator circuits for increased yields of phycobiliproteins | Details |
| Saul Purton | University College London | Production of protein antibiotics in the algal chloroplast | Details |
| Colin Robinson | University of Kent | Engineering of supramolecular assemblies for enhanced high-value compound synthesis in the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii chloroplast | Details |
| Michele Stanley | Scottish Association for Marine Science | Tetramed: Spent media from Tetraselmis cultivation as a source of new bioactives | Details |
| Round 3 | |||
| Attila Molnar | University of Edinburgh | High value chemicals from algae: Developing a transgene-free genome editing toolbox to enhance carotenoid production | Details |
| Round 4 | |||
| Katherine Duncan | University of Strathclyde | Accelerating the biotechnological potential of marine microalgae using a molecular networking comparative metabolomics approach | Details |
| Martin Michaelis | University of Kent | Identification of algal extracts with anti-cancer activity | Details |
Business Interaction Voucher awardees
| Awardee | Industry partner | Project title |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Allen (Plymouth Marine Laboratory) | Photoquest Ltd. | Phytography: Digital High Value Products From Phytoplankton |
| Jared Cartwright (University of York) | Phycosera Ltd. | Characterisation of the potential of Chlorella microalgae to produce recombinant proteins under fermentative growth conditions |
| Peter Eastmond (Rothamsted Research) | Algenuity | Optimisation of algal culture for the production of human milk fat substitute |
| Patricia Harvey (University of Greenwich) | Cellexus Ltd. | Cultivation of Dunaliella salina, an extremophile, for glycerol and carotenoids using a novel Single-Use Bioreactor |
| Patricia Harvey (University of Greenwich) | Varicon Aqua Solutions Ltd. | Development and evaluation of novel nutrient formulations for microalgal cultivation |
| Alistair McCormick (The University of Edinburgh) | Algaceuticals | Algae Wiki Database cross correlates microalgae to their high-value molecules under identified growth conditions |
| Ralph Noble (NIAB EMR) | Algaecytes Ltd. | Post lipid extracted microalgal biomass as a substrate nutrient supplement for mushroom cultivation |
| Jagroop Pandhal (The University of Sheffield) | TeeGene Biotech Ltd. | Characterisation of info-chemical induced EPS from Scenedesmus for sustainable production of bioemulsifiers and biosurfactants |
| Brenda Parker (University College London) | Algafy Ltd. | High throughput screening platform for evaluating desirable phenotypes in microalgae |
| Brenda Parker (University College London) | Industrial Phycology | Removal of heavy metals from wastewater using microalgae: Phycoremediation and metal recovery |
| Geoffrey Proffitt (Swansea University) | AlgaeCytes Ltd. | Technical consultancy for the first commercial microalgae pilot module in the UK |
| Saul Purton (University College London) | Algaplex Ltd. | Developing synthetic biology tools for Spirulina |
| Alison Smith (University of Cambridge) | Pursuit Marine Drive Ltd | Research grade algae - a supply bottleneck in algal research and development |
| Alison Smith (University of Cambridge) | Plessey Semiconductors Ltd & Alfa Laval Ltd | Increasing algal growth and harvesting efficiency in glasshouses using LED lighting and centrifuges |
| Alison Smith (University of Cambridge) | J T Environmental Consultants Ltd. | Implementing Algebra guidelines to risk assessments of scale-up of non-native species |
| Alison Smith (University of Cambridge) | Feed Algae Ltd. | Optimisation of batch-scale cultivation of tropical marine diatoms |
| Alison Smith (University of Cambridge) | Membranology | Expanding the range of algal species suitable for membrane harvesting |
| Alison Smith (University of Cambridge) | Algaceuticals Ltd. | Growth optimisation in next generation algal bioreactors for bioactive compounds |
| Michele Stanley (The Scottish Association for Marine Science) | Biopower Tecnologies Ltd. | The use of micronisation powders from biomass by-products as growth supplements for microalgae |
| Seetharaman Vaidyanathan (The University of Sheffield) | C-Tech Innovation Ltd | Efficient cell lysis for extraction of intracellular products from microalgae using pulsed electric field |
| Seetharaman Vaidyanathan (The University of Sheffield) | Varicon Aqua Solutions Ltd. | Pilot scale production of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and fucoxanthin in a diatom using a Phyco-FlowTM system |
| William Zimmerman (The University of Sheffield) | Perlemax Ltd. | Microalgal flotation - the microbubble way |
Training & Conference funding awardees
| Awardee | Institution | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Alison Smith | University of Cambridge | Molecular Life of Diatoms in Seattle, USA (7-10 July 2015): PDRA Katherine Helliwell presented her talk "Vitamin B12 cycling between aquatic microbes: cooperation versus competition". |
| Seetharaman Vaidyanathan | University of Sheffield | European Phycological Congress 2015 in London (23-28 August 2015): PDRA Maria Huete-Ortega presented her talk "Linkage between photosynthesis and nitrogen metabolism on the accumulation of lipids in microalgae". |
| Carole Llewellyn | Swansea University | 5th Annual World Congress of Marine Biotechnology 2015 in Qingdao, China (6-8 November 2015): PDRA Claudio Fuentes-Grunewald presented two talks, "Biotechnological applications of marine bioactive compounds from the red microalgae Porphyridium purpureum" and "Performance of the new internal LED photobioreactor". |
| Saul Purton | University College London | MBI course "Downstream Processing: From Cell to Column: Integrated solutions for Rapid Bioprocessing of Biologics" in London (16-19 November 2015): PDRA Laura Stoffels attended this training course. |
| Seetharaman Vaidyanathan | University of Sheffield | The 6th International Conference on Algal Biomass, Biofuels and Bioproducts (San Diego, June 2016): PDRA Maria Huete-Ortega presented talk "“Molecular basis of lipid production in Phaeodactylum tricornutum (CCAP 1055/1) under nitrogen starvation: a systems investigation”" and poster "Effect of culture conditions on lipid productivity in marine microalgae". |
| Steven Kelly | University of Oxford | PHYCONET/IBCarb meeting on Algal Polysaccharides in Edinburgh (14-15 July 2016): PDRA Ellis O'Neill gave a talk on de novo transcriptome sequencing of the alga Euglena gracilis revealing unexpected capabilities for carbohydrate metabolism. |
| Brenda Parker | University College London | European Symposium for Biochemical Engineering Sciences in Dublin (11-14 September 2016): Brenda presented her research on scale up for recovery of intracellular products from Chlamydomonas and Phaeodactylum. |
| Katherine Duncan | University of Strathclyde | PHYCONET/HVCfP workshop on High Value Products from Algae in Nottingham (1-2 November 2016): Katherine gave a flash presentation on using molecular networking for algal comparative metabolomics. |
| Alison Smith | University of Cambridge | Gordon Research Conference on Chloroplast Biotechnology (8-13 Jan 2017, Ventura, California): PDRA Doris Gangl presented a poster on metabolic engineering of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii using synthetic biology approaches. |
| Mike Allen | Plymouth Marine Laboratory | Vietnamese Algae Conversion workshop (12-14 Jan 2017): Mike gave a talk on technologies for harvesting algal blooms at the Vietnamese Algae Conversion workshop (12-14 January 2017, Hanoi University), which aims to develop joint UK-Vietnam projects in areas such as algal biotechnology and bioremediation. |
| John Day | Scottish Association for Marine Science | Algem training day (6 July 2017): Research Support Scientist Naomi Thomas attended this training event at Algenuity. |
| Seetharaman Vaidyanathan | University of Sheffield | 7th International CeBiTec Research Conference Bielefeld (24-27 September 2017): PDRA Maria Huete-Ortega presented a talk: "Study of the molecular regulatory mechanisms involved in lipid biosynthesis in microalgae". |
| Olga Sayanova | Rothamsted Research | Rothamsted Research staff members Chiara Gandini, Alex Pudney, Krisztina Sarkozi and Richard Smith attended the Algem training at Algenuity on 31 October 2017. |
| Mike Allen | Plymouth Marine Laboratory | Mike attended the MBRE 2018 conference on 5-6 March 2018 in Glasgow, where he presented a talk: "Genetic engineering of microalgae: potential and problems". |
| Daniel Nowakowski | Aston University | Christopher Thomas from Daniel's group attended the MBRE 2018 conference on 5-6 March 2018 in Glasgow and presented a talk on "Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Algal Feedstocks". |
Undergraduate Summer Studentships
| Awardee | Project | |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | ||
| Eleanor Binner | University of Nottingham | Proof of concept study to extract EPA from wet microalgal strain ALG01 (in collaboration with AlgaeCytes Ltd) |
| Oliver Ebenhoeh | University of Aberdeen | Optimising the storage of long chain omega-3 fatty acids in triacylglycerol for microalgae using a mathematical model |
| Brenda Parker | University College London | Examining the interactions between cultivation and downstream processing for recombinant protein production in microalgae |
| Glen Wheeler | Marine Biological Association | Elucidating functional forms of vitamin B12 in microalgae |
| 2017 | ||
| Tom Bibby | University of Southampton | Tapping the unused potential of photosynthesis |
| Eleanor Binner | University of Nottingham | Microwave-assisted depolymerisation of an algal polysaccharide |
| John Day | The Scottish Association for Marine Science | A paradigm shift in algal cultivation: exploring the potential of heterotrophic and mixotrophic cultivation of the holdings of the Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa |
| Attila Molnar | University of Edinburgh | Establishing a transgene-free genome editing protocol for a cell-walled algae Chlamydomonas nivalis |
| Brenda Parker | University College London | Algal-BPV educational tool |
| Alison Smith | University of Cambridge | How does 3’UTR choice affect transgene expression in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii |
| Michele Stanley | The Scottish Association for Marine Science | Evaluating the potential of marine microalgae for the production of omega 3 enriched phospholipids for use as encapsulation agents and sterols for liposome stabilisation |
| Elinor Thompson | University of Greenwich | Routes for manipulating the carbon concentrating mechanism of cyanobacteria: regulatory proteases |
| 2018 | ||
| Seth Davis | University of York | Transformation and heterologous expression of a Galdieria sulphuraria candidate enzyme in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii |
| Chris Howe | University of Cambridge | The transition to heterotrophy in the dinoflagellate Esoptrodinium |
| Luke Mackinder | University of York | Development of a combinatorial Golden Gate assembly platform for multigene expression in the chloroplast of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii |
| Attila Molnar | The University of Edinburgh | Comparing and assessing nucleotide precision gene-editing technologies in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii |
| Alison Smith | The University of Cambridge | Using riboswitches to regulate and optimise production of diterpenes in Chlamydomonas |
| Michele Stanley | The Scottish Association for Marine Science | Evaluating the potential of marine microalgae for the production of terpenes |
IB Seeding Catalyst Funding awardees
| Awardee | Industry partner | Project title |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Caddick (The University of Liverpool) | Unilever | Process development for the production of natural UV-protectants |
| Anil Day (The University of Manchester) | AlgaeCytes | One step transformation of a platform microalgal strain to boost Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid yields |
| Attila Molnar (The University of Edinburgh) | Scottish Bioenergy | Optimizing the single-stranded oligodeoxynucleotide repair templates for CRISPR-mediated genome editing in micro-algae |
| Alla Silkina (Swansea University) | ufraction8 | Evaluation of microalgae dewatering cultures using massively multiplexed microfluidic systems |