About the Project
This project uses engineering to tackle the microbiological problem of food contamination. This project will investigate the fundamental science and engineering issues that must be addressed to produce an invention that can turn cold water without additives into an effective food cleaner, using ultrasound. Previous inventions from this lab include StarStream ( http://tinyurl.com/o9qyheu ).
We might think that technological advances mean that the problem of serious illness from food that is not properly cleaned is a decreasing issue: this assumption is wrong – such illnesses will inexorably worsen if we continue down our current path, leading to increased fatalities over time directly from food poisoning, because the current set of microbes that contaminate food are being supplanted by ‘superbugs’. When superbugs on food infect people, they give rise to illnesses that cannot be cured by ‘antimicrobials’. i.e. antibiotics, antiviral agents, antifungal agents, or the drugs used to treat parasitic infections. More insidiously, the occurrence of contaminated food contributes to the evolutionary development of superbugs which have AntiMicrobial Resistance (AMR). Solutions combining engineering and microbiology are needed, or by 2050 AMR will be killing more people than cancer ( http://youtu.be/jZLiMerIwhQ; http://bit.ly/PPSAMRDD; http://tinyurl.com/zm5my8r ).
Even today, there is a global need for improved cleaning of salads after harvesting, to remove chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides etc.), and microbiological contamination (e.g. direct from the soil or from water that has been affected by animal waste). Some countries allow a greater chemical load than the EU does, and in the developed world both organic and intensive food production have seen outbreaks of serious illness because of insufficiently cleaned leaves (e.g. http://globalnews.ca/news/2471603/one-dead-12-sickened-from-listeria-contaminated-salad-from-dole-food-cdc/).
The ability to clean salads with just cold water would clearly be an advantage over the use of chemicals (and would leave no aftertaste). Prof Leighton at Southampton University pioneered several technologies for cleaning using just cold water, with no chemicals, by the addition of ultrasound and bubbles. For example, StarStreamTM (http://www.southampton.ac.uk/engineering/research/projects/starstream.page? passes an ultrasonically active stream of water over the object to be cleaned: but this project will pioneer a new approach - mass washing of salad leaves is probably best achieved using immersion of the salad. This project will develop and explore ‘green’ cleaning systems in baths and pipes to clean salads in cold water without chemicals. The inclusion of the partner industry, Vitacress, will ensure this fundamental research goes through to real impact, helping society, probably in the lifetime of this project.
Although this project will be based in Engineering, we have a strong collaboration with Life Sciences who will undertake measurement of the microbiological load and the successful candidate should embrace the opportunity to get such cross-disciplinary experience: in the future careers market, researchers with cross-disciplinary experience will be well placed, and indeed the project will receive the support of the University Strategic Research Group, NAMRIP (see http://www.southampton.ac.uk/namrip/news/latest.page).
Requirements: Applicants should have a 2:1 or first class undergraduate degree in a physical sciences or engineering.
Aims: The PhD will last for 3 years and include interactions with Vitacress. The aim will be to make a significant impact on food safety by the end of the project.
Supervisors: Professor Timothy Leighton FREng FRS and Professor Bill Keevil BSc PhD CBiol FRSB FRSM FAAM.
Start date: Approximately 27 June 2017 although can be flexible for good candidate.
Please not applications are accepted on a rolling basis with projects being offered once a suitable candidate has been found. We therefore advise to apply early in order to avoid disappointment.
If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact Professor Timothy Leighton FREng FRS, Acoustics research group, Email: [Email Address Removed], Tel: +44 (0) 2380 59 2291.
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