Swansea University researcher wins £60k funding for biomaterial research

A researcher at Mediwales member Swansea University is the third person in the institution’s history to win funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Dr Jonathan Widdowson, 26, who is also the CEO of company ProColl, won the funding of £60,000 that will aid his mission to supply biomaterials to help researchers create innovations such as artificial skin and organs with the group’s vegan-friendly materials. This includes a material based on collagen, a major component of connective tissues in the human body, for medical breakthroughs that could have potential in fields such as cancer drug testing to (autograft) organ replacement.

Dr Widdowson has reportedly discovered a way to produce non-animal derived products with just two people involved in production to meet global demand.