With support from Edinburgh Innovations, Professor Wallace has taken his remarkable discoveries out of the lab and into the real world. Stephen Wallace is Professor of Chemical Biotechnology in the School of Biological Sciences and group leader of the pioneering Wallace Lab at the Centre for Engineering Biology. Innovating at the intersection of organic chemistry and molecular biology, Professor Wallace is genetically engineering bacteria to transform waste into valuable industrial products. Through his relationship with Edinburgh Innovations, which started soon after he took up his initial post at the University, Professor Wallace has been able to make vital connections with the industry professionals best placed to take his extraordinary discoveries out of the lab and into the real world where they can have maximum impact. Now, with no shortage of talent or vision, and with the passionate support of Edinburgh Innovations, Professor Wallace and his team are playing a key role in helping the chemical industry to decouple from fossil fuels. “I remember meeting Lorraine Kerr at a meeting early on in my time at Edinburgh and feeling really invigorated by her passion for connecting academia and industry, and she's been a real cheerleader for us since then. I think Edinburgh Innovations are incredible players really, it's not just support they offer, it's active encouragement to go for industrial engagement that I think is unique to Edinburgh, and something I think that many more academic scientists need. Edinburgh Innovations has been central to the evolution of my lab’s research over the past six years. By engaging us with potential industrial partners at an early stage in a project’s development, this has helped us maximise the applicability of our work, motivated my team, and ultimately increased the impact of the discoveries we’ve made. “EI is always incredibly easy to work with. They are always keen to learn, eager to help and efficient to deliver. “I have found my interactions with EI to be particularly effective in the areas of IP protection and industrial engagement. For an academic researcher, identifying what can or cannot be protected and then navigating the path to filing a patent is a treacherous and often unclear journey, and so EI’s guidance and expertise in all these areas has been indispensable. “For biotechnologists, securing research funding is becoming more and more competitive and as Engineering Biology becomes a focus of UKRI funding calls in 2024 (and beyond) demonstrating robust industrial collaboration and end-use is no longer just desired, but now essential for a bid to be realistically competitive. Making these industrial connections with companies with both a UK and global presence has only been possible for me through the guidance I’ve received from EI.” This article was published on 2024-07-19
