Prize for Nottingham scientists
3 May 2001
Antarctic microbes may be the key to new and novel ways of treating infectious diseases, according to a team of Nottingham-based scientists.
The team have won a £2,500 runner-up prize for their ideas in a prestigious Environmental Sciences Business Plan Competition run by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
Led by John Peberdy and Johanna Laybourn-Parry the colleagues have drawn up business plans for MicroNova BioActives, a proposed spin-out company based on technologies developed at the University of Nottingham. They hold a unique collection of microbes from Antarctica, from which they will develop new anti-infective drugs to combat serious illnesses.
Further information
Professor John Peberdy
University of Nottingham
Tel: 0115 951 3231
Emma Head
University of Nottingham Press Officer
Tel: 0115 951 5793
NERC Press Office
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU
Tel: 01793 411561
Mob: 07917 557215
Notes
1. Other members of the MicroNova BioActives team are Maggie Smith and Chris Finnis.
2. The winning team in the NERC Business plan Competition is from the Centre for Global Atmospheric Modelling at Reading University. They received £12,500 for their business development.
3. NERC leads in providing independent research and training in the environmental sciences.
Press release: 04/01
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