Graduation time at the Open Innovation Hub for Antimicrobial Surfaces
This summer has brought a marvellous weather to Liverpool, with the best ever scenario for the graduation season 2018. At the OPIHAS, we are particularly excited by the graduation of our first Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) in the field of antimicrobial surfaces: Ioritz Sorzabal Bellido.
Ioritz joined the Open Innovation Hub team on 2014, with an industry-funded PhD scholarship, aiming to develop novel antimicrobial surfaces relevant to a multimillion-pound portfolio of healthcare products manufactured by the market-leading company that sponsored his PhD. During these intense years of training and research at Liverpool’s OPIHAS, Ioritz has gained experience in the use of several high-resolution imaging techniques applied to complex bio-interfaces, pushing the state-of-the-art and contributing to several scientific publications in the emerging field of smart-surfaces. After submitting the final version of his PhD thesis, he has been awarded the PhD degree from the University of Liverpool, becoming the first doctoral graduate from OPIHAS.
It has been a long journey, from his natal Basque Country town in Spain to the riverside of the Mersey, and for the last part of this journey the whole team of OPIHAS has witnessed the commitment and enthusiasm that Ioritz devoted to his research and to open new avenues for junior members of the team. For these reasons, he has established himself as an emerging researcher in the field of antimicrobial surfaces, with the potential to become a future leader in this field. The team of OPIHAS is proud of its first PhD graduate and congratulate (we can say now!) Dr. Ioritz Sorzabal Bellido for his achievements and wish him success in his future career.