ResearchPod

In this episode of Enterprise Sessions from the University of Bristol, Professor Michele Barbour speaks with Dr Rebecca Shepherd, Senior Lecturer in Anatomy, whose unconventional journey from NHS histology labs to ivory identification expert has sparked a thriving research‑led enterprise.
What began as an enthusiastic promise to TV anatomist Professor Alice Roberts during a book‑tour lunch has since evolved into a sophisticated service using Raman spectroscopy and machine learning to distinguish between elephant and mammoth ivory with remarkable accuracy. Along the way, Rebecca discovered a surprising global demand — from auction houses and museums to conservation organisations and private collectors — for non‑destructive, reliable ivory identification.
In this captivating conversation, Rebecca shares how an academic side‑project became a conservation tool, a business opportunity, and a deeply interdisciplinary research endeavour drawing on anatomy, chemistry, data science, archaeology and physics. She also reflects on learning to navigate pricing, legal frameworks, client relationships, and the unique opportunities that arise when curiosity meets enterprise.

🔍 In the episode:

·        Why anatomy is far from “all discovered”
·        How a chance email to Professor Alice Roberts changed Rebecca’s career
·        Using Raman spectroscopy to analyse ivory — and pushing accuracy to 99.7%
·        Collaborating with chemists, data scientists, conservationists and museums
·        The ethics, laws and complexities of the ivory trade
·        Building a research‑based service within a university environment
·        The practicalities of pricing, insurance, safety and client negotiation
·        How enterprise influences — and enriches — academic research
·        Advice for researchers thinking about commercialising niche expertise
 
🌐 About the Enterprise Sessions
The Enterprise Sessions bring together founders and researchers to share candid insights on spin-outs, start-ups, raising capital, and translating research into real-world impact. Our goal? To inform, inspire, and challenge myths about research commercialisation.
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If you enjoyed this episode, please like and share! Explore more at University of Bristol Enterprise Sessions and subscribe to our YouTube channel for future episodes.
Connect with our Guests:
Dr Rebecca Shepherd – LinkedIn
Michele Barbour – LinkedIn

Food insecurity and sustainability are huge global challenges. Yet research suggests that farmers, retailers and consumers reject up to 40% of the food we produce because it simply looks unattractive. 
New research published by Singapore Management University looks at the psychology behind consumers’ behaviour and how to mitigate its effects. 
Read the original research: doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2025.06.004

In this episode of Enterprise Sessions from the University of Bristol, Professor Michele Barbour speaks with Professor Paul Bates, world‑leading expert in flood inundation modelling and co‑founder of Fathom, one of the University’s most successful research‑driven companies.
Paul reflects on a remarkable career that began with a Bristol PhD in the late 1980s and evolved into pioneering work that transformed global flood modelling. He describes the technological shift that enabled a new generation of high‑resolution terrain data, the academic debates that reshaped the field, and the multidisciplinary collaborations that built the foundation for Fathom’s modelling techniques.
The conversation traces Fathom’s origins from two ambitious PhD students with an idea, through early years of bootstrapping, to international clients including insurers, banks, multinationals, and the World Bank. Paul also discusses the challenges of spinning out before universities had mature commercialisation systems, the importance of staying ahead of competitors through transparency and innovation, and the recent acquisition of Fathom by Swiss Re.
Finally, Paul reflects on what research entrepreneurship means within academia, how Fathom has strengthened Bristol’s scientific capabilities, and what lies ahead for both him and the next generation of global flood models.
🔍 In the episode:

·        The origins of flood inundation modelling at Bristol
·        How new airborne laser mapping transformed what was scientifically possible
·        Overturning long‑held assumptions in the field
·        The multidisciplinary team behind high‑resolution flood models
·        Serendipity, road trips — and how two PhD students sparked a company
·        Fathom’s unconventional path: bootstrapping, grants and early customers
·        Data‑as‑a‑service before it was mainstream
·        Building global flood maps used by insurers, governments and financial institutions
·        Staying ahead of competitors by publishing methods openly
·        Growing from four founders to a 50‑person global team
·        Acquisition by Swiss Re and what it means for the future
·        Entrepreneurship in academia: culture, opportunity and barriers
·        The virtuous cycle between research and commercial innovation
·        What’s next: NASA’s SWOT satellite and the next era of global flood modelling
 
🌐 About the Enterprise Sessions 
The Enterprise Sessions bring together a diverse mix of company founders and researchers who talk openly about their personal experiences of forming spinouts and start-ups, raising capital, academic-industry partnerships and the joys of translating research discoveries into real-world impact. The series aims to inform, inspire and challenge myths and stereotypes about research commercialisation and how businesses and universities can work together to tackle society’s biggest challenges.  
👍 Like, Share, Subscribe, Explore
If you found this episode inspiring or informative, please don’t forget to like and share. Visit our website or subscribe to the University of Bristol’s YouTube channel for more Enterprise Sessions.  
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/enterprise-sessions 
Paul Bates – LinkedIn
Michele Barbour – LinkedIn

Of all the scares and scandals around meat farming practices in the UK, few have been as persistent as been bovine TB. While we're nowhere near the 1930s estimate of the number of cattle infected, it's never really gone away. Why is that?
Dr. Neil Watt of MV Diagnostics joins us to cover where bovine TB has been hiding between outbreaks, how changes in testing may help pin it down, and why now might be the turning point on the management, maybe even eradication, of bovine TB in the UK.
Read the original paper: https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.4241
Read more : https://www.mvdiagnostics.co.uk/

In this episode of Enterprise Sessions from the University of Bristol, Professor Michele Barbour sits down with Professor Ash Toye and Professor Jan Frayne, two leading biochemists whose long‑standing research partnership has evolved into one of the UK’s most exciting biotechnology spin‑outs: Scarlet Therapeutics.
Together, Ash and Jan share the remarkable journey from academic collaboration to scientific breakthrough — and ultimately to founding a company built on the promise of lab‑grown and engineered red blood cells. What began as a quest to understand red blood cell development became a platform capable of producing universal donor cells, modelling rare diseases, and creating “blood as medicine” through engineered therapeutics.
This episode goes far beyond the science. Ash and Jan discuss the reality of spinning out a wet‑lab biotech, the commercial challenges, the importance of the right CEO, and the dynamics of co‑founding a company with a long‑term academic collaborator. They also speak candidly about funding frustrations, scientific obsession, conflict‑of‑interest tightropes, and the excitement of helping their postdocs become industry scientists.

🔍 In the episode:

Bristol as the UK’s “red blood cell corner”
Making red blood cells in the lab: from stem cells to clinical trials
The origins of Scarlet Therapeutics — and why the first idea “wasn’t enough”
Immortalised red blood cell lines and the role of CRISPR
Therapeutic blood: treating metabolic disorders using engineered cells
How to pick a CEO — and why neither founder wanted to be one
What happens when a US company beats you to your idea
The emotional rollercoaster of fundraising and venture capital
Navigating dual identities as academics and directors
The power of co‑founding: creativity, challenge and complementary personalities
What lab‑grown blood means for rare donor groups and transfusion medicine
How spin‑out life feeds inspiration back into academic research
Advice for researchers considering commercialisation or co‑founding
 
🌐 About the Enterprise Sessions 
The Enterprise Sessions bring together a diverse mix of company founders and researchers who talk openly about their personal experiences of forming spinouts and start-ups, raising capital, academic-industry partnerships and the joys of translating research discoveries into real-world impact. The series aims to inform, inspire and challenge myths and stereotypes about research commercialisation and how businesses and universities can work together to tackle society’s biggest challenges.  
👍 Like, Share, Subscribe, Explore 
If you found this episode inspiring or informative, please don’t forget to like and share. Visit our website or subscribe to the University of Bristol’s YouTube channel for more Enterprise Sessions.  
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/enterprise-sessions