Santorini Scientific Ltd. and UWE Bristol have been successful in securing grant funding from Innovate UK to form a new 3-month Accelerated Knowledge Transfer (AKT). Heart transplant rejection affects more than 50% of transplant patients. The pioneering approach of this project is to develop a laboratory-based biological vascular model with sensors to monitor biological indicators of rejection, which addresses this critical challenge. Thus, through a greater understanding of relevant biological processes, personalised treatment will be improved, and new effective drugs developed.

Accelerated Knowledge Transfers are ‘designed to build an intensive partnership with a specialist academic team to deliver a short and targeted intervention to accelerate the evaluation or development of an innovation project.

The Health Technology Hub at UWE Bristol conducts leading research in the biosensing space. This project is led by Dr. Alex Yue, Head of Instrumentation at the Institute of Bio-Sensing Technology at UWE Bristol. Dr. Yue is an expert in sensor systems and instrumentation for medical applications. To support this project, research associates Dr. Tom Draper, a specialist in nanotechnology, molecular biology, and fluidic system design, and Dr. David Ferrier, an expert in biosensor technology, will be joining the team.