Project staff and support

Kim McCosh and Anna Lishman (Intern, University of Strathclyde)
Joanna Vlahopoulou (Company supervisor, Bioinnovel Ltd)
Tony Mulholland (Academic mentor, University of Strathclyde)
David Allwright (Technology Translator, Industrial Mathematics KTN)

This Internship project was carried out at Bioinnovel Ltd, in conjunction with University of Strathclyde. It is part of the KTN's Industrial Mathematics Internships programme, co-funded by EPSRC. Start date: March 2009; duration: 6 months.

Project overview

Bioprocesses such as microbial fermentation and cell culture are fundamental for the production of a whole host of products ranging from pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals, food ingredients and bio-fuels. At present, these processes operate in a sub-optimal fashion because of the lack of available monitoring, and optimisation technologies which could “control” the biological system, and lead to maximised yields and product quality. Bioinnovel is a new biotechnology venture developing novel in-line process sensors and associated bio/chemo-informatics and control software for bio-processing, agro-food processing and specialty chemicals processing. Its vision is to revolutionise the way that these industries develop, monitor and control their production processes. This project contributed to the ongoing development of Bioinnovel’s ultrasound probe technology which aims to significantly increase the capacity and productivity of these industrial sectors by introducing effective real-time process performance monitoring and optimised control. This technology is being developed using a multi-disciplinary approach that combines mathematical modelling with ultrasound engineering, chemistry, biology and software engineering. The focus of this project was to further develop the acoustic component of the mathematical modelling associated with this technology.

The project was initially undertaken by Kim McCosh but, due to her securing a permanent job with a financial organisation, she had to leave the project after 4 months. The remaining two months of the internship were then completed by Anna Lishman.

"This internship scheme provided an ideal way for the intern to gain experience in using their mathematical skills in a commercial environment. It also helped me to establish a relationship with the industrial partner that has resulted in a longer term collaboration. All three parties have gained considerably from the experience and I hope to take advantage of this excellent scheme again in the near future," said academic supervisor Tony Mulholland, University of Strathclyde.

Project outcomes

The interns gained experience in working in a multi-disciplinary environment involving engineering, bioprocessing, mathematical modelling and business planning. By the end of the internship they had not only gained experience in applying mathematics to a real world problem they have also become very familiar with how a small company operates, how it finances and markets itself, and manages projects.

"Overall, the internship was proved to be beneficial for Bioinnovel because the scheme enabled us to reduce the risk in taking on new staff to work on a short-term project such as the above, and dedicate time and resources to their training. Although the project was only a part of a bigger development activity, it did support our core venture, and its outcome can lead to the successful validation of our technology. Moreover, it helped us cement a relationship with the academic supervisor. The successful completion of the project, and its results have helped us to move our development programme forward by putting together a collaborative bid with the academic associate aiming to work further on the performance monitoring of bioprocesses using predictive modelling techniques which comprise fundamental parts of Bioinnovel’s vision and brand," said industrial supervisor Joanna Vlahopoulou, Bioinnovel Limited.