Innovations During COVID-19 - Alastair Kirby (Science Innovation Union 2020)

Alastair Kirby is the founder and CEO of the med-tech start-up, Vivisco. He began his research career at the University of Leeds and the Open University, before joining the Medical Research Council Doctoral Training Partnership at King’s College London. During Alastair's PhD, he observed his Neurosurgical colleagues using light-activated compounds for targeting cancerous brain tissue. Realising the wider clinical potential for these compounds, Alastair founded Vivisco, with the mission to develop a new generation of photodynamic devices. Alistair joined the SIU's Innovations During COVID-19 to speak about how he, in partnership with his engineering co-founder Dr Christopher Russell, capitalised on the versatility of Vivisco’s technology to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Funded by Innovate UK, they developed a novel photodynamic device for the treatment of respiratory infections, which could act as a first line of defence against future pandemics. The Science Innovation Union is an entrepreneurs-led not-for-profit organisation with a focus on Translational Science. Social Media: http://science-union.org/thescienceunion   / sciinnovunion     / science-innovation-union     / sciinnovunion