Leveraging UKRI Impact Acceleration Account funding to drive translational research

A Manchester project to advance the development and commercialisation of a novel pro-healing bacterial strain is advancing thanks to a strategic award from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Professor Sheena Cruickshank has leveraged Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) funding to drive her project, which aims to transform a scientific discovery into a market-ready product, addressing unmet needs in skin health and wound care.

About the funding

The UKRI IAA is a strategic funding mechanism designed to bridge the gap between research and real-world application.

At The University of Manchester, the IAA provides flexible, short-term funding to accelerate the translation of research outputs into societal and economic impact. It bridges the gap between research and application, enabling collaboration between academics, businesses, policymakers, and communities.

Professor Sheena Cruickshank

Sheena is a Professor in the Division of Immunology, Immunity to Infection and Respiratory Medicine at Manchester.

View academic profile

Key features include:

• Purpose: Support early-stage commercialisation, proof-of-concept work and engagement with industry.
• Scope: Enables activities such as pilot studies, IP protection, prototype development and market validation.
• Impact: Helps researchers secure follow-on funding, attract industry partners and de-risk innovations before commercial investment.

About the project

Professor Sheena Cruickshank is an immunologist at Manchester. Her research focuses on barrier immunology, with a strong interest in skin barrier and wound healing.

Through a PhD studentship funded by SkinBio Therapeutics, a life sciences company spun out from the University, Sheena’s team identified a unique bacterial strain that promotes skin cell health. Unlike most skin bacteria, which are neutral or harmful to skin cells, this strain demonstrated significant pro-healing properties during in vitro screening.

The discovery opened opportunities for therapeutic applications, but translating it into a commercial product required targeted funding, industry engagement and robust intellectual property (IP) protection.

From the initial funded studentship, SkinBio Therapeutics was happy to develop the working relationship with Sheena and explore opportunities to fund further research into the bacterial strain for commercial use through IAA grants.

IAA funding: a catalyst for progress

Sheena successfully secured three separate IAA awards, each addressing a critical stage in the commercialisation journey:

Proof of Concept IAA

Funded in collaboration with SkinBio Therapeutics, this award supported early proof-of-concept work, including initial screening of the pro-healing bacterial strain and feasibility testing, so that it could broaden its claims for therapeutic application.

Secondment Scheme IAA

Also funded in collaboration with SkinBio Therapeutics, this award enabled a secondment to strengthen collaboration between academic and industry teams, facilitating knowledge transfer and formulation development.

Commercial Development Fund IAA

The current award focuses on commercial readiness, enabling the team to generate pre-validation data, understand more about the phylogenetics of the bacterium and refine the IP strategy so they can work towards filing a patent to secure licensing opportunities.

These three IAAs collectively provided the essential flexibility, momentum and resources needed to move the project from discovery towards commercial viability, while building strong industry links and de-risking the technology for future investment.

Future directions

Following the completion of the current IAA, Sheena and her team will move from an initial discovery to being in a strong position to leverage industry engagement through potential licensing opportunities, translating it into a potential product in the skincare market.