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William Johnston, a postdoctoral researcher from Glasgow Caledonian University, recently used the Don Whitley Scientific Travel Grant to attend the first Microbes in Women’s Health (MiWH) Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark and present his research, 'Development and treatment of a novel in vitro biofilm model of bacterial vaginosis'. Keep reading to hear what William had to say.
“My name is William Johnston and I am a postdoctoral researcher at Glasgow Caledonian University, working under the supervision of Dr Ryan Kean. I was awarded the DWS travel grant to present a poster at the first Microbes in Women’s Health (MiWH) conference held in Copenhagen, Denmark from 9th to 11th April 2024.
Our work focusses on a particular bacterium called Gardnerella vaginalis, which is a facultative anaerobe involved in the onset of bacterial vaginosis (BV) – a condition strongly associated with both pre-term birth and miscarriage. This bacterium can form biofilms that confer protection against front-line antibiotic therapies.
As such, we are currently investigating new ways to target this organism within its biofilm-embedded state. One such avenue we are exploring is the use of bacteriophage-derived endolysin proteins, which are capable of killing G. vaginalis in a highly specific manner.
I presented some of this data as a poster during the MiWH conference, which was a fantastic opportunity for me to share our data and network with leading researchers in the field. It is amazing seeing the recent advancements in anaerobic microbiology and I was able to learn so much from researchers all over the world.
Whitley Workstations are pivotal to our research, both within GCU and the field as a whole, and I am grateful for their continued support and award of the travel grant.”
We are delighted to see our workstations helping to facilitate postdoctoral research and we congratulate William on receiving the Don Whitley Scientific Travel Grant. If you are interested in our travel grants, please find more details on the Travel Grant page. For more information on our Anaerobic Workstation range please see the products below or email us at sales@dwscientific.co.uk.
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