Professor Katie Laird

Prof Katie Laird is a Professor of Microbiology in the School of Pharmacy and Head of the Infectious Disease Research Group at De Montfort University. She has a BSc (Hons) in Biology and obtained a PhD in applied microbiology in 2008.

Her research is centred on the prevention of transmission of healthcare acquired infections including the development of novel antimicrobials. A particular focus of Prof Laird’s research is on the role of healthcare textiles as fomites, her research has raised international awareness of the risks to healthcare workers of incorrect laundering of uniforms. The research group she leads was the first to determine the stability of coronavirus on textiles during laundering; these findings informed global infection control policies in industrial laundries, thereby protecting laundry and healthcare workers. She has worked closely with world-leading brands and laundry trade bodies (UK, Europe and USA), securing significant funding to develop innovative and efficient approaches to combat the spread of pathogens via healthcare textiles. Prof Laird is currently developing an internationally-accepted test protocol which will transform the laundry industry globally through a united approach to validating

 She is also a founder of “A Germ's Journey” educational resources (www.germsjourney.com) teaching young children about health hygiene globally.

 

 

Infectious Disease Research Group

Click here for a full listing of Katie Laird's publications and outputs.

• Hospital Acquired Infections
• Enterococcus spp.
• C. difficile
• Healthcare Laundry
• Biofilms
• Novel antimicrobials (nano-metals and natural products)

There are two main areas of research currently being conducted, one of which is the assessment of novel antimicrobials such as essential oils against HAIs both in vegetative and biofilm form for use in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry.

Secondly, healthcare textiles are being assessed for their potential as cross contamination routes for C. diffilice and other HAIs. The effectiveness of the NHS laundering policy at removing microbial loads on bed linen from the hospital ward through to the national contractors for NHS laundering and on-site laundering in care homes is being determined; as well as studies on the attachment of micro-organisms to textile fibres. In addition, novel antimicrobial ingredients for washing detergents and textile coatings are also being explored.

Katie has also a founder of A Germ's Journey an edicational brand for children on infection control and microbiology  (www.agermsjourney.com). This project has global reach and has reached 170 000 individuals across 117 countries.

• Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Science (BSc): Basic Microbiology 
• Pharmacy (MPharm): Pharmaceutical microbiology, asepsis, infection, the skin and the pulmonary system.
• Dissertation projects
• MSc Students
• PhD Students.

• DMU Future Research Leaders Fellow (2015)
• Outstanding Poster Award the American Society of Microbiology (2015)
• Medici Fellow  – Birmingham University (2014)
• HACCP Level 4  (2011)
• DMU Media Fellowship (2010).
• Chartered Biologist (2010), Society of Biology
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2009)
• House of Commons award (2008) for research excellence in Hospital Acquired      Infections by Alan Johnson (Health Secretary). 

• Main Committee Member for the Society for Applied Microbiology July 2010 – July 2013.
• Meetings sub-committe member for the Society of Applied Microbiology July 2010 - 2015. 

• Editor for a Special Issue in Smart Materials and Structures on sporting protective equipment 
• Editor for the International Journal of Food Science Technology, June 2019 – to date
• External Examiner for the Biomedical degree at the University of Bradford,  1^st Aug 2018 – Nov 2022
• Management committee member for the United Kingdom for the COST Action CA16227: Investigation and Mathematical Analysis of Avant-garde Disease Control via Mosquito Nano-Tech-Repellents
  • Lead for Medilink East Midlands Infectious Disease Special Interest Group, 2017 – to date
  • Reviewer for the Journal of Applied Microbiology, Letters in Applied Microbiology, Food Control and Journal of Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

• Society for Applied Microbiology – main committee member (2005-2008)
• American Society of Microbiology (2006)
• Society of General Microbiology (2006)
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2008)
• British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (2007)
• Society of Biology (2009).

 

Katie leads in collboration with Medilink East Midlands the Infectious Disease Special Interest Group for the East Midlands, please visit  http://www.medilinkem.com/events/events-calendar to see when the next event is.

 

Food micro Conference

• Laird K, & Phillips, C. Copenhagen, Denmark, August  2010:Inhibition of legionellae in water by citrus essential oils and components.
• Fisher, K. & Phillips, C. Italy September 2006: The effect of citrus essential oils and vapours and their components on the survival of foodborne pathogenic bacteria in vitro and in food systems.

House of Commons, Set for Britain

• Fisher, K. & Phillips, C. March 2007: Citrus essential oils: a potential bactericide in both the clinical and food arenas.

 

American Society of Microbiology Conference

• Tarrant, J. Jenkins, P. & Laird, K. How clean are your Hospital Beds?, American Society of Microbiology General Meeting, peer reviewed abstract (New Orleans), May 2015.  Awarded outstanding poster.
• New Orleans, June 2017

Ø  Owen, L., White, A. and Laird, K. (2017) Bioautography-Guided Identification of Antimicrobial Essential Oil Components of Oregano, Cumin and Rosewood against Antibiotic Sensitive and Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecium, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa [poster]. ASM Microbe 2017,

Ø  Anita Ogbechie, Amos Abioye, Jinsong Shen, Katie Laird (2017), Antimicrobial Activity of Litsea, Lemon and Rosemary Essential Oils and Their Combinations Against Healthcare and Sportswear Infection-Related Pathogens 

Ø  S.E. Walsh, B. Pankhania, S. Price, K. Laird, L. Smith, K. Huddersman (2017), Preventing Infections using De Montfort University’s Novel Catalyst Technology [poster]. ASM Microbe 2017

Society for Applied Microbiology Conference

• London, Nov 2018
  • Ø Owen, L. and Laird, K. (2018) Investigation of synergistic antibiotic-essential oil component combinations as a means to preserve the current antibiotic repertoire in Enterococcus sp. [poster] Society for Applied Microbiology Antimicrobial Resistance Meeting 2018, November 2018, London.
  • Alhareth, Z, Owen, L, Dixon, J, McKechine, K, Smith, L and Laird, K. (2018) The mechanism of antibacterial action of Essential Oils against Enterococcus faecium: the role of transport channels, [poster] Society for Applied Microbiology Antimicrobial Resistance Meeting 2018, November 2018, London.

• Dublin, July 2015:

Ø  Anita Ogbechie, Amos Abioye, Jinsong Shen, Katie Laird; Novel green antimicrobial textile coatings for use in the healthcare and sport arenas

Ø  Tejpal, J. & Laird, K., Comparison of the antibacterial effect of silver and zinc oxide in solution and on coated surfaces on biofilms (2^nd prize, student poster competition)

Ø  Owen, L. & Laird, K. Developing a topical preparation containing a synergistic antimicrobial combination of essential oils for the control of acne vulgaris-associated bacteria.

• Tarrant, J. & Laird, K. Brighton, July 2014: Clostridium difficile spores and healthcare laundry policy: How clean is your hospital bed?
• SfAM Early Career Scientist Research Symposium – March 2021,
• Owen, L., Shivkumar, M. and Laird, K. (2021) Persistence of human coronaviruses on textiles during laundering. March 23rd 2021 [online poster presentation].
• Crosby, S., Younie, S., and Laird, K. (2021). Evaluating the effectiveness of A Germ’s Journey interactive health-education resources and interventions to improve young children’s understanding of microorganisms and handwashing skills globally,  March 2021, [online poster presentation].
• Shivkumar, M., Adkin, P., Owen, L., Patel, J., Shantharami, U., Goodyear, L. and Laird, K. (2022) Stability of human coronavirus OC43 on leather and viral transfer to different surface. SfAM ECS Symposium, Cardiff, 20th June 2022.

• Tejpal, J. & Laird, K. Edinburgh, July 2012: Reproducibility of a Static and a Continuous Flow Method for the Formation of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms &Bacterial contamination of healthcare uniforms and survival on different textile fibre types.
• Tarrant, J. & Laird, K. Dublin, July 2011: Assessment of methods for recovery of Clostridium difficile spores from textiles.
• Fisher, K. & Phillips, C. Belfast, July 2008: The use of ozonated water to inhibit pathogenic bacteria.
• Fisher, K. & Phillips, C. Cardiff, June 2007: The use of citrus essential oils against Enterococcus faecium and E. faecalis.

 

Society of General Microbiology Conference

• Fisher, K. & Phillips C., Harrogate March 2009: The use of an antimicrobial citrus vapour to reduce Enterococcus sp. on lettuce and cucumber.

IUFoST

• Laird, K. & Phillips, C. Cape Town, South Africa, August 2010: The effect of an essential oil vapour on the growth of Penicillium chrysogenum, Aspergillus niger and Alternaria alternate in vitro and on food." (oral presentation)

Textile Institute World Conference

• Riley, K., Laird, K. & Williams, J. Shah Alam, Malyasia, May 2012:How closely do hospital staff follow NHS guidelines on domestic laundering procedures? (oral presentation).

Australian Society for Microbiology

• Riley, K., Laird, K. & Williams, J. Melbourne, July 2014:  Can fibre type have a role in the reduction of microorganism survival on healthcare uniforms?

Royal Pharmaceutical Society

• Rivers, P., Laird, K. and Ali M (Brighton, September 2014: Perceptions of antibiotic use and microbial resistance - a pilot study to test the potential of a fictitious vignette to assess lay beliefs and attitudes (oral presentation)

Euroscicon - Antibiotic alternatives for the new millennium

• London, November 2014:

Ø  Laird, K. A Citrus Essential Oil Vapour: An Alternative to Chemical Disinfectants (oral presentation).

Ø  Tejpal, J. & Laird, K. Comparison of the antibacterial effect of silver and zinc oxide in solution

            and on coated surfaces (poster)

Ø  Owen, L. and Laird, K., An Investigation of the Double and Triple Synergistic Antimicrobial Interactions Between Litsea, Rosewood and Clove Essential Oils Against Acne-Associated Bacteria Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis (poster).

Phytochemical Society of Europe

• Lille, France 2017
  • ^Ø    Owen, Lucy, Grootveld, Martin, Arroo, Randolph, Ruiz-Rodado, Victor,Price, Penny and Laird, Katie, (2017) Antimicrobial activity of ternary essential oil mixtures in topical cosmetic preparations against acne vulgaris-associated bacteria. Phytochemical Society of Europe Young Scientists' Meeting. 
  • ^Ø    Anita Ogbechie, Amos Abioye, Jinsong Shen, Katie Laird (2017), Antimicrobial activity of Litsea cubeba, Rosmarinus officinalis and Citrus lemon essential oils against five skin-infection related pathogens Phytochemical Society of Europe Young Scientists' Meeting. 

APMAS

• Alanod Alshareef, Katie Laird & Richard Cross (2015), Chemical Synthesis of Copper Nanospheres and Nanocubes and Their Antibacterial Activity Against Escherichia coli and Enterococcus sp. Turke

ICPAM-11

• Alanod Alshareef, Katie Laird & Richard Cross (2017), Shape-dependent antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles on Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecium bacterium, Romania

ECCMID

• Lucy Owen, Katie Laird & Philipee Wilson (2018) Three-Dimensional Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships of Essential Oils as Antimicrobial Agents, Madrid
• Lucy Owen, Joseph P. Webb, Jeffrey Green, Laura J. Smith and Katie Laird (2019) Transcriptional response of vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium to a synergistic antibiotic-essential oil combination: A strategy to preserve the current antibiotic repertoire? ECCMID, Amsterdam, Netherlands, April 2019.
• Owen, L. and Laird, K. (2020) Dual-Function Antimicrobial Laundry Supplement and Textile Coating for the Decontamination of Healthcare Laundry. ECCMID, Paris, April 2020 [poster]. Abstract only published
• Alhareth, Z., Owen, L., Dixon C.J., Smith, L., and Laird, K. (2020) Gene expression analysis of transport channels in Enterococcus faecium (VRE). ECCMID, Paris, April 2020 [poster]. Abstract Only Published.
• Owen, L., Apps, L., Stanulewicz, N., Hall, A. and Laird, K. (2021) Knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of UK healthcare workers towards uniform laundering polices during the COVID-19 pandemic. European Congress on Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, 9-12th July 2021, online [poster].
• Adkin O P and Laird K. (2021) The interactions of bacterial contamination with healthcare mattress textiles specifically designed to repel microorganisms. European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, 9-12th July 2021, online [poster].
• Alhareth Z., Dixon J., Smith L., Laird K. (2021) Calcium channels: proposed involvement in the antimicrobial effect of a natural product formulation against vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium. 31st European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, 9-12th July 2021, online [poster].

• Owen, L. and Laird, K. (2022) Evaluation of current healthcare laundry hygiene monitoring methodologies. ECCMID, online, 23-26^th April 2022 [poster].

 

ECCVID

• Owen, L., Shivkumar, M. and Laird, K. (2020) Stability of Model Human Coronaviruses on a Range of Textile Fibre Types. ESCMID Conference on Coronavirus Disease, 23-25^th September 2020 [online].

 

BSAC

• Owen, L. and Laird, K. (2018) Synergistic essential oil-antibiotic combinations as a strategy to maintain the efficacy of current antibiotics against Enterococcus sp. [poster] British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy Antibiotic Resistance and Mechanisms Workshop, November 2018, Birmingham.
• Alhareth, Z, Owen, L, Dixon, J, McKechnie, K, Smith, L and Laird, K. (2018) Is the antimicrobial mechanism of action of essential oils against bacteria associated with channels similar to TRPV1 channels found in mammalian cells? [poster] British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy Antibiotic Resistance and Mechanisms Workshop, November 2018, Birmingham.

 

EU Cost Action (CA16227)

 

• Marija Grancaric, A, Laird, K, Shen, J and Botteri, L. (2019) Development of sustainable cotton fabrics with natural immortelle essential oil for antimicrobial and mosquito repellent functions. [oral] 1st International Conference on Political Decision Making and Vector-Borne Diseases – Interdisciplinary Research, Complexity and Bio-Mathematics, 4-5 of April 2019, Valença, Portugal
• Laird, K, Shen, J., Soroh, A., Rahim, N., & Grancaric A, (2019) EU COST ACTION (network) project (CA16227) Interdisciplinary Research on Mosquito-combating Textiles and Paints, Scientific Meeting. Microencapsulation of natural essential oils to develop sustainable textiles for antimicrobial and mosquito repellent functionality. Malta, Dec 2019.

 

Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research

• Owen, L., Laird, K, Samarasinghe, S., Weisenburge, S., Koch, E. and Gronier, B. (2019) Menthacarin – a proprietary combination of peppermint and caraway essential oils – exerts selective antimicrobial activity against gastrointestinal bacteria. Sept. 1-5, 2019,  Innsbruck, Austria.

BERA

• Crosby, S., Laird, K. , and Younie, S. (2019), Creating Resources with Children in India using a co-creation model for Developing Countries to address UN SDG goals. BERA, Global Perspectives: re-imagining education, 20-21st June 2019, Worcester, UK.
• Crosby, S., Laird, K. and Younie, S. (2019) GERMS JOURNEY: co-creation of resources for addressing UN Sustainable Development Goals in education & health in developing countries. BERA, Global Perspectives: re-imagining education, Worcester, UK, 20-21st June 2019

 

ITMC

• Grancaric A M, Laird K, Botteri L, Shen J and Laatikainen K, Microencapsulation for Improved Mosquitoes Repellent Efficacy of Cotton Fabrics, ITMC 2019 Conference, Marrakech, Morocco, 13-15 November 2019.

 

 International Council on Education for Teaching

• Crosby, S., Laird, K., and Younie, S. (2021) A Germ’s Journey: co-creation of resources for addressing UN Sustainable Development Goals in education & health in low-and-middle-income countries. International Council on Education for Teaching (ICET) World Assembly Conference, 21-23 June, 2021

 

European Conference on Health Communication

• Lahiri, I, Crosby, S., Firth, C., Laird, K. and Younie, S. (2021), Lessons learnt from Germ’s Journey- importance of health communications in a post pandemic world, online 4-5 November 2021.

Infection Prevention Society

• Owen, L., Cripwell, L., Hook, J., Shivkumar, M. and Laird. K. (2021) Disinfection of laundry using low temperature validated ozone system, OTEX, against human coronavirus HCoV-OC43. 13^th Annual conference Liverpool, 27-29 September 2021

 

 

 

 

• Product development
• Infection control product efficacy testing
• Healthcare textiles and laundering
• Contamination and transmission routes for disease.
• Food poisoning outbreaks
• Food spoilage.
• Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAIs)
• Infection control – how to prevent outbreaks of viral and bacterial disease
• New antimicrobials

 

Previous desktop analysis studies for efficacy of products have been conducted, also possible lab based projects could be conducted on the efficacy of antimicrobial products.

Expertise in efficacy of antimicrobial textiles or laundry products for the clinical and food arena

 

Current research student supervisions:

• PhD - Identification of Biomarkers for Improved Prognosis of Severe Obesity and Response to Bariatric Surgical Intervention: An Extensive Metabolomics Investigation. Oct 2016 -2020 – 2^nd Supervisor
• PhD – Mechanisms of Action of Novel Antimicrobials. Oct 2017 – 2021 – 1^st Supervisor
• PhD - Assessment of A Germ’s Journey Educational Resources. Oct 2017 -2023 – 2^nd Supervisor
• PhD - Development of eco-friendly and novel coating technology for durable functional textiles: A solution to bacterial, fungal and mosquito borne disease in the travel and sport arenas. Oct 2019 – 2023 – 1^st Supervisor
• PhD –  Anti-microbial Peptide Hydrogel for Topical Applications & as Lubricants for Catheters- Jan 2020 – 2024 – 2^nd Supervisor
• PhD - Germ's Journey Education Resources: Handwashing for Children – Oct 2021 - 2026

 

Completions: 6 PhD and 2 MRes

• Society for Applied Microbiology Summer Placement Studentship (June-August 2022): The role of domestic antibacterial laundry cleansers in the development of biocide resistance and cross-resistance with antibiotics - £2500, CI
• Textile Services Association, temperature profiling of bioindicators in the wash system, Dec 2021, £ 14,030.00, PI
• Textile Services Association, the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of care homes towards laundering of textile, Nov 2021, £11,592.00, PI
• Dakem Ltd, Assessment of antiviral efficacy of MoskitoGuard® with active ingredient picaridin. Aug 2021, £10 858, CI
• Propress Industrial Project, assessment of garment steamers o textiles surfaces to remove coronavirus, Aug 2021, £10 080, PI
• National Biofilms Innovation Centre, Public Engagement and Outreach Grant, A Germ’s Journey: A Fight against Resistance interactive educational resources to improve children’s understanding of Antimicrobial Resistance, March 2021, £2953, PI
  • Travel Grant, Microbiology Society, Chemical analysis of natural products in combination with antibiotics. Oct 2016-Jan 2017: £3000, PI
  • Analysis antimicrobial effect of natural oil extracted from plant based product on Gut Microflora, Industrial Project: Jan 2015- Aug 2015: £6000, CI

• Valneva Industrial Project, assessment of mosquito repellent active ingredients for anti-coronavirus activity, March 2021, £2000, CI
• Microfresh Industrial Project, wash testing of antimicrobial coated textiles, Jan 2021, £25 188, PI
• Barclays Covid build back better donation for Germ’s Journey Bye Bye Germs, Dec 2020, £40 000. PI
• Dettol donation for Germ’s Journey Bye Bye Germs, UAE version, Dec 2020, £6500, PI
• NewGen industry contract for climbing association: June 2020, £10 000, CI
• JLA industry contract looking at coronavirus and ozone washing systems: June 2020, £15 000, PI
• Trelleborg contract research to test the efficacy of a new healthcare mattress coating to prevent the attachment of bacteria, March 2020, £35 000, PI
• TSA contract research to develop a test method for testing the antimicrobial efficacy of industrial laundries , October 2019, £104 500 PI
• PAL International sponsorship of Germ’s Journey website, September 2019, £6500, PI
• JLA contract research of the efficacy of ozone washing machines, October 2019, £12 100
• Next donation for Germ’s Journey Project, September 2019, £5000
• PAL International sponsorship of Soaper Heros project at Alder Hey Hospital, August 2019, £15 000
• Wederell Trust, Funds to support the creation of a Germ’s Journey African edition, Jan 2019 – July 2019: £2500, PI
• EcoGen Limited, Industrial Project, Antimicrobial efficacy of needle destruction device, Jan 2019 – March 2019: £5940, PI
• Germ’s Journey Gujarati Book, crowdfunding. April 2018, £7550
• PAL International Research Project, part funded by the European Regional Development Grant, efficacy of antimicrobial wipes against C. difficile. Jan 2018 – Aug 2018: £19 920, PI

• WET Engineering Consultancy, Assessment of a novel antimicrobial against biofilms in pipes in chicken sheds. Jan 2018 – Dec 2018: £10 920, PI

• Microfresh Research Project, part funded by the European Regional Development Grant, Phase two, assessment of antimicrobial detergents for healthcare laundry. Jan 2018 – Jan 2019: £45 500, PI
• PAL International donation for A Germ’s Journey Middle East Poster, Nov 2017 – July 2018, £750, PI

• Microfresh, Industrial Project, Assessment of antimicrobial detergents for healthcare laundry. July 2016-July 2017: £5000, PI
• Educational Resources Grant, Society for Applied microbiology, A Germs Journey. July 2016-July 2017: £3,855.00, PI

• DAAD Rise Programme: Internship from Germany for research placement starting Aug 2015: £5000, PI

• Partnerships in Knowledge Transfer (PiKT), European Regional Development Fund, Essential oil blends for the use in skin care products. March 2014- March 2015. £87,000, PI, collaborators: Penny Price Aromatherapy.
• Educational Resources Grant, Society for Applied microbiology, A Germs Journey. July 2015-July 2016: £3000, PI
• Students into Work Grant, Society for Applied Microbiology (2011):£2500, PI
• DAAD Rise Programme: Internship for research placement July – Sept,  2011: £5000, PI

 

• UKRI, Supporting the implementation of intergenerational policies using Germ's Journey dementia resources, £5000 PI
• Internal PhD Bursary, Development of a durable, affordable eco-friendly textile solution for microbial and mosquito borne disease control. October 2021 £64 000 CI
• Global Challenges Research Fund, Germ’s Journey Sierra Leone: handwashing education for children to address UN SDGs in education and health and the Covid-19 pandemic, March 2021 £10 000, PI
• Higher Education Innovation Fund, Global Covid-19 handwashing discussions, December 2020, £8034.50, PI
• Higher Education Innovation Fund, British Footwear Association Covid-19 Research Project, August 2020: £22, 015, PI
• Higher Education Innovation Fund, funding to support the assessment of the role of textiles in the transmission of coronavirus, May 2020-October 2020: £34, 452, PI
• Global Challenges Research Fund follow up fund, Germ’s Journey Around the World: Co-creating handwashing education for all to address UN SDGs in education and health, March 2020, £3000, PI
• HEIF funding to support the development of antimicrobial laundry products for Microfresh, October 2019 – July 2020: £17 000, PI
• Global Challenges Research Fund, Germ’s Journey Around the World: Co-creating handwashing education for all to address UN SDGs in education and health, February 2019 – July 2019: £10 000, PI
• Council for At Risk Academics (CARA), PhD Studentship – Mechanisms of action of novel antimicrobials, November 2017 -2019: £49 500, PI

• PhD Student Bursary (Fees only) – Development of novel synergistic therapeutic strategies to combat antimicrobial resistance: critical roles for natural products, PhD, October 2015 – 2018: £12 600, PI

• Higher Education Innovation Fund, Infectious Disease Research Group Networking Launch, September 2016 – July 2017: £3000, PI
• Internal PhD Bursary - Antimicrobial textile coatings for use in the sports and travel arenas. October 2014-2017:  £62,988, PI

• Research leave award: The use of natural products in synergy with antibiotics – Sept 2014 - January 2015: £5000, PI
• Future Research Leadership: January 2015 – Dec 2015: £2000, PI
• Internal PhD Bursary (Fees only) – The use of nano-metals against biofilms in a biomedical context. October 2011-2014: £12 600, PI
• Internal PhD Bursary - Survival of Clostridium difficile on cloth and exploration of new interventions during healthcare laundering, October 2010-2013: £54 000, PI
• 3D spacer fabrics for medical applications, RIF, October 2010-October 2011, (£10,000), CI.
• Pump Prime Funds: Development of consultancy expertise and equipment, October 2010- October 2011 (£10,000), PI. 

United Kingdom Patent Application No. 0809935.0: Antimicrobial citrus essential oil blend vapour.

 

Invited Speaker:

• 1. Infection Control and Prevention; Knowlex (Knowledge Exchange for the NHS), Care Home Conference, Infection control educational resources for those living with dementia (intergenerational research). Birmingham UK, 14^th June 2022.
  2. Infection Prevention Society, Care Home Special Interest Group conference, Infection control educational resources for those living with dementia (intergenerational research), Derby UK, 8th June 2022
  3. Owen, L., Shivkumar, M., Apps, L. and Laird, K. (2022) Laundering healthcare uniforms at home: risks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Infection Prevention and Control Conference, Birmingham, 26th April 2022. 
  4. TSA Knowledge Network Open Day. Efficacy of Microbial Test Methodologies for Laundry 9th February 2022 [Online].
  5. National Health Executive 365: Infection Control in NHS Estates: Leaders debate, infection control, online, 16^th December 2021
  6. Infection Prevention Society, Yorkshire Branch Meeting, Stability of coronaviruses on textiles and during laundering: Are healthcare textiles a COVID-19 infection control risk?, online, 23rd March 2021
  7. Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA), Low Temperature washing of Nurses Uniforms, USA, September 2017 via webinar
  8. Infection Control and Prevention Conference; Knowlex (Knowledge Exchange for the NHS), Domestic Laundering of Nurses Uniforms: The Effect of Low Temperature Laundering, Leeds, 12^th July 2017.
  9. European Textile Services Association (ETSA), Hygiene of Domestic Laundering – Evaluating Risks and Opportunities. Paris 14^th-16^th of June
  10. Infection Control and Prevention; Knowlex (Knowledge Exchange for the NHS), Domestic Laundering of Nurses Uniforms: The Effect of Low Temperature Laundering, London, Feb 2017.
  11. Society of Hospital Linen Services and Laundry Managers Conference; Stratford Upon Avon, Domestic Laundering of Healthcare Uniforms, May 2016
  12. Penny Price Aromatherapy Open Day, Hinckley, A citrus essential oil vapour a possible chemical disinfectant, May 2015
  6. British Footwear Association, Global Industry Webinar, The life of covid on leather, 24^th November 2021
  7. Textiles Rental Services 10th Annual Healthcare Conference, Stability of coronaviruses on textiles and during laundering: Are healthcare textiles a COVID-19 infection control risk?, Texas USA, 17-18^th November 2021
  8. Textiles National Congress, Efficacy of Microbial Test Methodologies for Laundry,Birmingham, UK, 10th November 2021
  9. British Infection Association Conference, Future Proofing Antibiotic Resistance: Alternatives to Antibiotic Discovery’ A synergy between natural products and vancomycin to combat VRE,8^th November 2021
  10. National Health Executive 365: Infection, prevention and Decontamination:  Decontamination Panel Discussion, online, 23^rd June 2021
  11. Department of International Trade, Innovations for Global Challenges Webinar Series, How a Germ’s Journey is improving hygiene and reducing sickness around the world, online, 25^th March 2021.
  13. Textile Services Association, COVID-19 and Healthcare Laundry Global Trade Association Webinar, Stability of Model Human Coronaviruses on a Range of Textile Fibre Types, online, 19^th Jan 2021.
  14. Infection Control and Prevention; Knowlex (Knowledge Exchange for the NHS), Are Textiles and Infection Control Risk, Birmingham, Feb 2020
  15. TRSA 8th Annual Healthcare Conference & Exchange, Session Title: Current Healthcare Market-Related Research Review: Research to Develop a New Standardised Test Method to Determine the Antimicrobial Efficacy of Laundry Processes. San Diego, Nov 2019.
  16. Textile Services Association, Annual Conference, Healthcare Textiles Research: Nurses Uniforms and Bedsheets, Warwick, UK, Sept 2019
  17. EU COST ACTION (network) project (CA16227) Interdisciplinary Research on Mosquito-combating Textiles and Paints, Scientific Meeting. Natural Products for Use in Antimicrobial Microcapsules for Textiles: Novel and Green, Orhid, Macedonia Oct 2018
  18. Society of Hospital Linen Services and Laundry Managers Conference, Barnsley, C. difficile  the gremlin of hospital bedsheets, May 2018.

   

 

Examples of evidence of the ‘Impact’ of research e.g. references to reviews/articles in main stream media, examples of feedback from users, exhibition attendance figures.