Research Strategy ADDRESSING GRAND CHALLENGES Our research strategy is dictated by the innovation and impact needed to address cross sectoral and global grand challenges for biofilms. We will embed responsiveness to both emerging UK government strategic priorities, as well as the societal and stakeholder needs that we identify through extensive consultation across our academic and industry partnerships. Challenges and emerging areas where NBIC’s technologies will provide transformative impacts include: 27 • tackling the onset of infections (hospital-acquired, indwelling medical devices, surgical), mitigation of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and novel treatments for biofilm-associated chronic infections; • identifying new biomarker technologies for resistant biofilm infections (recognised by the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy and Life Sciences Sector Deal); • hygiene and diagnostic platforms for pathogens, in light of the unprecedented awareness from the pandemic; • energy efficiency, driven by climate change, where challenges include preventing biofouling and microbially influenced corrosion of marine vessels and infrastructure. Future-proofing against the same threats is required for new energy infrastructure e.g. hydrogen transport as the world starts transitioning towards net-zero emissions; • prediction and mitigation of the impact of climate change on biofilms and microbiomes critical to food and water security; • mastering engineering microbial biofilm communities to deliver new energy sources, whether through microbial fuel cell and biomass conversion technologies or resource optimisation via aerobic and anaerobic biorefinery; • establishment of global, harmonised standards in biofilms, and underpinning biobanking and bioresource capabilities to address critical and unmet enabling needs, as consistently identified by our national and international academic-industry road-mapping.
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