Rachel Brown, a veterinarian who was experienced in ultrasound in other food producing sectors and was keen to transfer her knowledge and expertise into aquaculture, was hailed as key to the success of the project
The discovery has been made by a partnership between Pulcea and the University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture, which has just been recognised as 'Outstanding' for its knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) between industry and academia by Innovate UK.
The three-year project started in 2019 with funding of £189,878 by Innovate UK, following on from a £99,000 grant from the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre's (SAIC) in 2016, which confirmed the concept of using ultrasound for the treatment of sea lice.
Ian Jamieson, technical director of Pulcea, said in a press release: “Our KTP with the University of Stirling has been a great success, delivering impressive results and allowing our innovative technology to be developed so it can make a real difference to the aquaculture industry in the future.
“The support of SAIC has been invaluable and we are delighted with the recognition from Innovate UK, which highlights the progress that is possible when business and academia work together.”
KTPs bring together industry and academia to deliver business-led innovation projects. Funded by Innovate UK, they aim to help businesses improve their competitiveness and productivity through knowledge exchange, technology, and skills development, with support from the UK’s leading universities. Leading the academic aspects of the project were the Institute of Aquaculture’s Professor James Bron and Dr Armin Sturm, alongside Pulcea's technical director Ian Jamieson.
Rachel Brown, global innovation manager for Aqua Pharma Group (APG), Pulcea’s commercial partner, said: “This project has provided the perfect opportunity for the transfer of my skills and experience in veterinary ultrasound to the aquaculture industry. The knowledge triangle between associate, company and academic partner enabled the acceleration of the development of Pulcea’s innovation beyond what would have been otherwise possible. I am now focused on helping my international APG colleagues with the commercialisation of this research.”
