Business engagement and innovation
As Director of Business Engagement and Innovation, I work with colleagues across the Department and in Exeter Innovation to build a culture of innovation in Biosciences. I encourage our staff and students to consider commercialising their research, and I work with industry, charities, and government agencies to maximise the impact of what we do here. With 20+ years' experience working with industry on applied R&D and innovation, I know what it takes to turn excellent science into real-world impact - and what stakeholders need from a university to make that happen.
Within the Department of Biosciences, our partners get access to a broad range of world-class expertise and state-of-the-art research facilities. We work closely with partners across our core thematic areas, offering a flexible, tailored approach to each engagement - from a single consultancy project to a multi-year strategic partnership. Below are the different ways to work with us.
Professor Mike Allen, Director of Business Engagement and Innovation
Within the Department of Biosciences, our partners will have access to a broad range of world-class expertise and state-of-the-art research facilities. We work closely with our partners across our core thematic areas, offering a flexible and tailored approach to each engagement. The following provides different modes of interaction and collaboration.
Engagement opportunities
- Access to state-of-the-art equipment and facilities
- R&D collaboration projects
- PhDs and industrial fellowships
- Contract Research & Consultancy
Knowledge exchange activities
- Joint appointments and secondments
- Knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) projects
Training and professional development
- Degree Apprenticeships
- Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
- Specialised training
Key areas of expertise and capabilities
Our partners will have access to a diverse range of expertise and resources in Biosciences, including:
- Engineering Biology
- Cell and developmental biology
- Biochemistry and structural biology
- Plant and crop disease and food security
- Host-microbe interactions and immunity
- Medical mycology
- Bacteriology
- Microbial ecology, evolution, and genetics
- Virology and phage therapy
- Aquaculture
- Ecotoxicology
- Biodiversity and conservation
Linked resources
Biosciences and the wider University include state-of-the-art facilities and related expertise, which can be accessed by our partners.
Aquatic Resources Centre
- Aquaria with freshwater and marine species
- Sustainable aquaculture
Bioimaging facility
- Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)
Cytometry facilities
- Quantitative Imaging Cytometry
- Single Cell Genomics
DNA Sequencing Facility
- Long and short read sequencing
- Single-cell sequencing
- Oxford Nanopore sequencing
Greenhouse and controlled plant growth facilities
- Molecular plant pathology
- Cell biology
- Biochemistry
- Genetics
Mass Spectrometry Facility
- Metabolomics analysis
Case studies
ISCA Diagnostics
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Established in 2012 by Professor Christopher Thornton, ISCA Diagnostics Ltd. is a University of Exeter spin-out company specialising in rapid point-of-care tests for life-threatening fungal infections of humans.
ISCA Diagnostics enables bench-to-bedside translation of hybridoma technology to the medical sector, providing easy access to highly specific monoclonal antibodies for research and diagnosis of human mycoses.
ISCA’s flagship diagnostic is the Aspergillus lateral-flow test that allows rapid bedside detection of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, a devastating lung disease of immunocompromised patients.
Commercialisation of the test and its uptake by hospitals around the world was recognised at the University of Exeter Knowledge Exchange Awards in 2022, where Professor Thornton and ISCA Diagnostics Ltd. won the ‘Commercialisation Project of the Year’ award.
Image by Steve Haywood
SeaGen (Seaweed Generation)
Co-founded by Exeter University's Professor Mike Allen, SeaGen (Seaweed Generation Ltd.) is a marine biotech company on a mission to preserve, protect, and harness the ocean using autonomous, solar-powered robots to monitor ocean, river, and lake biodiversity and grow seaweed at scale, restoring ecosystems, creating low-carbon materials, and drawing down carbon.
The company grew directly out of two decades of research into algae valorisation, bioremediation, and biorefinery technology - work that spans over 100 published research articles on topics from water sanitation to high-throughput liquid processing. Working closely with Exeter University, SeaGen has hosted numerous undergraduate and postgraduate interns within the company and supports 2-3 university-based dissertation projects each year.
Building on a successful Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Exeter University, six Innovate UK grants and contracts with partners such as the FCDO, SeaGen has a global outlook and has delivered projects relating to sustainable food/feed/fertiliser production, carbon sequestration technology development and environmental biodiversity & infrastructure monitoring.
The company has deployed a network of environmental monitoring buoys across Quintana Roo, Mexico, and has signed agreements and MOUs with Mexico's Instituto Mexicano de Investigación en Pesca y Acuacultura Sustentable (IMIPAS) and with the Government of Antigua and Barbuda to undertake international trials of its patented technologies.
In 2023, SeaGen's technology was named a TIME Magazine Invention of the Year - recognition of how fundamental biological and engineering research can be translated into a deployable, commercial technology with real environmental impact.
SeaGen is backed by numerous angel investors, venture capital funds and corporate sponsors such as Marsh Group (formerly Oliver Wyman).
Contact us
For more information about engagement opportunities within Biosciences, please contact Prof Mike Allen m.allen5@exeter.ac.uk