A celebration of 10 years of CyanoSol research at Garthdee
On 18 October 2023 the CyanoSol research group celebrated 10 successful years of world class research at Garthdee by hosting a successful research showcase event.
Over 50 participants, including external and internal project collaborators, industry and researchers, took part in a day well spent celebrating the cutting-edge research of the CyanoSol group led by widely acclaimed researchers Professors Linda Lawton and Christine Edwards from the School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences.
Professor Linda Lawton led lab tours on the 6th floor of the Sir Ian Wood Building, introducing all to state-of-the-art laboratories used to progress research. The lab tours were followed by lunch, networking and poster displays which generated much debate. After lunch the CyanoSol group research presentations, ranging from ‘Safe Drinking Water for Sri Lanka’ to ‘Performance of Septic Tanks for Pharmaceutical Removal and Their Impact to Water Quality’, inspired the audience. The event closed with a celebration held over Prosecco, mocktails and nibbles.
CyanoSol Directors, Professor Linda Lawton and Professor Christine Edwards, are internationally renowned researchers, both with over 35 years’ experience in the study of toxic cyanobacteria. They have facilitated the establishment of the CyanoSol research group that is world-leading in the study of toxins from cyanobacteria and algae, including bioactive compounds, production, detection and removal. Their expertise extends to advanced water treatment and in situ remediation of both natural and man-made compounds (agricultural, pharmaceuticals etc.) with increasing interest in the presence of microplastics.
CyanoSol’s outstanding success includes international research collaboration and the award of major research grants totalling over £10m in the last 10 years alone.
Current projects for the group include:
- NERC Mitigating Microbial Hazards - Eliminating HABs from salmon farms
- DEFRA Rapid, quantitative field test for shellfish toxins
- Marine Scotland Science Yes/No shellfish toxin test
- SFC Hydro Nation Microplastics as a vector for micropollutants in aquatic environments
- SFC Hydro Nation Elimination at source of biocidal agents from fresh water environments by TiO2 photocatalysis
- IBioIC Valorisation of algal biomass
- BBSRC Unlocking the biotechnological potential of Desertifilum tharense
The event exemplified RGU's strong research culture that exists across the University as well as projects that address global issues and create societal benefit both regionally and internationally.
