Glasgow bacteriologist wins AMS Springboard Award to study how S. aureus colonises the nose

Dr Justine Rudkin, a Lecturer in Bacteriology at the University of Glasgow’s School of Infection & Immunity, has received a prestigious Academy of Medical Sciences Springboard Award for her work on the common bacterium Staphylococcus aureus.

The Springboard programme this year awarded £6.7 million to 55 early career researchers at 38 institutions across the UK, backing curiosity‑driven, discovery‑stage science that underpins future treatments and interventions. The grants help researchers take their first steps as independent group leaders by testing bold ideas aimed at improving lives, reducing health inequalities and strengthening the UK’s long‑term research base.

Rudkin’s research focuses on nasal colonisation by S. aureus, a prolific pathogen that resides in the nasal passages of up to 50% of the population. Carrying the bacterium in the nose is a major risk factor for developing S. aureus infections, including pneumonia and sepsis.

With the new funding, her team will investigate how the organism interacts with the protective mucus layer that covers nasal epithelial cells, work that could clarify how it anchors within this niche.

“I am very proud to be awarded AMS Springboard funding, which will be transformative for both my research group and my own development,” Dr Rudkin said, noting the support will cover research costs, enable recruitment of a new team member and fund attendance at a residential training course she has long hoped to take.

Now in its 11th year, the Springboard programme has supported 471 early career researchers at 68 UK higher education institutions, with more than £50.5 million invested since its creation in 2015. The initiative has broadened its institutional and regional reach, with researchers at the University of Lincoln and the University of Greenwich funded for the first time this year.

Backed by the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Wellcome and the British Heart Foundation, the latest awards span the breadth of biomedical and health research, aiming to help people healthier lives, reduce health inequalities and strengthen the UK’s ability to prevent and respond to future health emergencies.

In comments attributed to the UK Science Minister Lord Vallance FMedSci, the support was described as helping researchers advance ambitious discovery‑stage work at a point when attracting commercial investment can be difficult, with the goal of tackling diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and chronic pain and ultimately saving lives.