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Dr Fiona Henriquez's research into the debilitating eye infection Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) has significantly impacted on the handling of contact lenses and their cases to the benefit of the world's 125 million contact lens users. Her research findings have been ground-breaking for the research community and have featured widely in the media reaching audiences from scientists, industry professionals, the general public and individual contact lens users. The research has resulted in 2 patents and there are 3 non-disclosure agreements in place with companies relating to commercialisation projects. Related work on Acanthamoeba cysts has resulted in a fourth commercialisation project.
Our research identified an epidemic of Acanthamoeba infection amongst UK contact lens wearers, established the epidemiology of infection, introduced improved approaches to contact lens hygiene, developed the most sensitive test to make a diagnosis and discovered a new treatment for established infection. This has impacted on contact lens wearers around the world, forming the basis for guidelines and patient information leaflets, types of contact lens solutions, and treatments for this rare but devastating condition.
The impact we describe arose from research led by Professor Brian Tighe between 1998 and 2013 involving research students and fellows of Aston Biomaterials Research Unit (BRU). We proposed [3.1] that responsive polymers modelled on nature's macromolecules would be required for successful synthesis of biomaterials analogues of natural systems. This led to health and economic impacts in the area of vision care, specifically: a commercially successful family of daily disposable contact lenses (current annual sales > 2 billion lenses), which use blink-activated release of hydrophilic macromolecules from contact lenses to mimic aspects of the corneal surface thereby enhancing ocular comfort.
Bristol University's School of Veterinary Sciences, a global leader in feline medicine, was the first UK centre to develop and commercially offer polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and quantitative (q) PCR assays to detect a range of feline infectious and genetic diseases. Since 2008 there has been a dramatic increase in the number of qPCR tests performed, with over 35,000 tests carried out between 2008 and 2013. The results of genetic testing have informed breeding programmes and resulted in a reduced prevalence of genetic disorders such as polycystic kidney disease (PKD). The results of testing for infectious diseases have informed diagnosis and treatment modalities and, together with the genetic testing, have contributed to significant improvements in feline health and welfare. This work has also generated commercial income in excess of £1.7M, which has been used to further research into feline infectious and genetic diseases.