Professor Ritu Kataky is progressing her research closer to commercialisation with support from our university partnership, Northern Accelerator.
Professor Kataky’s innovative work with biofilms to control the formation and spread of bacteria will make a real-world impact in the form of smart bandage technology. This can reduce reliance on antibiotics and improve patient outcomes by reducing the risk of disease and infection when treating wounds.
Things are changing in the sector, more women and ethnic minorities are coming through the universities and are doing more to promote female scientists and encourage greater participation
Ritu’s story
Growing up in Shillong, India, Ritu went to Loreto Convent, a girls’ school that emphasised the arts and social sciences. She was the only girl in her class to study pure science.
After undertaking undergraduate and postgraduate work at the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, she completed her PhD at Newcastle University, before transferring to Durham University and progressing through the ranks to become a Professor in the Department of Chemistry. She was the first female BAME Professor in her department and the second woman to hold a senior management position.
Commenting on the diversity in the sector, Ritu said “Things are changing in the sector, more women and ethnic minorities are coming through the universities and are doing more to promote female scientists and encourage greater participation”.
From lab to life
With support from Technology Transfer Manager, Heather Allinson, and North East University partnership Northern Accelerator, SmartBiofilm Ltd was born in early 2021.
As with many academics, Ritu didn’t see herself as an entrepreneur, rather viewing her prospective spin-out as a logical step to taking her research out of the lab to make a real-world impact. Northern Accelerator was able to provide proof of concept funding, external business diagnostic support, and a place on its coveted training course, Future Founders, which develops academics’ entrepreneurial skills.
Northern Accelerator’s Executives into Business programme has also brought an experienced business executive on board to lead the business through its start-up phase, while Ritu intends to focus on the scientific consulting side of the business, concentrating on the practical application of the technology and its potential benefits for people in developing countries.
Find out more about Ritu’s company at smartbiofilm.com