Dr Michelle Maclean

Senior Lecturer

Electronic and Electrical Engineering

Contact

Personal statement

I’m a Senior Lecturer in the Departments of Electronic & Electrical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering. 

My research is concerned with microbial infection control, and the development of novel disinfection and sterilisation technologies for public health applications, with particular focus on healthcare-associated infections (HAI) – the most frequent adverse event in health-care delivery worldwide, with hundreds of millions of patients affected annually.  

My major research focus has been on the fundamental antimicrobial effects of violet-blue light and it's development as a cutting-edge decontamination technology for a range of infection control applications.

I have a highly interdisciplinary background, with a BSc in Immunology and Microbiology (2002), and a PhD focused on the interdisciplinary development of UV and visible-light for sterilisation and infection control applications (2006), which I conducted at The Robertson Trust Laboratory for Electronic Sterilisation Technologies (ROLEST), at Strathclyde.  After completion of my PhD I continued my research at ROLEST where I worked as a Research Fellow.  In 2014, I was appointed as a Lecturer through a Strathclyde Chancellors Fellowship, and I was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2017.  I have more than 70 publications, including journals, conference proceedings and presentations at scientific and medical conferences, and also have a growing IP portfolio.

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Area of Expertise

  • applied microbiology
  • microbial inactivation
  • decontamination and sterilisation
  • infection control

Prize And Awards

Research Project of the Year
Recipient
2011

More prizes and awards

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Publications

Maths, medicine and microbiology  : preventing periprosthetic infection
Eccles Sarah, Maclean Michelle, McGinty Sean, Shields David W, McCormick Christopher
Glasgow Meeting of Orthopaedic Research (2024)
The preclinical validation of 405 nm light parasiticidal efficacy on Leishmania donovani in ex vivo platelets in a rag2−/− mouse model
Kaldhone Pravin R, Azodi Nazli, Markle Hannah L, Dahiya Neetu, Stewart Caitlin, Anderson John, MacGregor Scott, Maclean Michelle, Nakhasi Hira L, Gannavaram Sreenivas, Atreya Chintamani
Microorganisms Vol 12 (2024)
https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12020280
Viricidal efficacy of a 405-nm environmental decontamination system for inactivation of bacteriophage Phi6 : surrogate for SARS-CoV-2
Sinclair Lucy G, Ilieva Zornitsa, Morris Georgina, Anderson John G, MacGregor Scott J, Maclean Michelle
Photochemistry and Photobiology Vol 99, pp. 1493-1500 (2023)
https://doi.org/10.1111/php.13798
Metabolomics evaluation of the photochemical impact of violet-blue light (405 nm) on ex vivo platelet concentrates
Sun Jinchun, Dahiya Neetu, Schmitt Tom, Stewart Caitlin, Anderson John, MacGregor Scott, Maclean Michelle, Beger Richard D, Atreya Chintamani D
Metabolomics Vol 19 (2023)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11306-023-02050-6
Laboratory evaluation of the broad-spectrum antibacterial efficacy of a low-irradiance visible 405-nm light system for surface-simulated decontamination
Sinclair Lucy G, Dougall Laura R, Ilieva Zornitsa, McKenzie Karen, Anderson John G, MacGregor Scott J, Maclean Michelle
Health and Technology Vol 13, pp. 615-629 (2023)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12553-023-00761-3
Electric field distribution and thermal effects in biological cells under PEF treatment
Song B, Timoshkin I V, Wilson M P, Maclean M, Given MJ, MacGregor SJ
15th Universities High Voltage Network Colloquium (2023)

More publications

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Teaching

I teach on a variety of modules in the Biomedical Engineering Department:

BE919 Research Methodology

BE428 Research Methods in Biomedical Engineering

BE207 Human Cell Biology 2

BE915 Medical Science for Engineering (Haematology and Immunology lectures)

BE101 Biomedical Engineering (sterilisation of devices lecture)

BE901 Regenerative Medicine & Tissue Engineering (sterilisation and decontamination lecture)

I also supervise a range of interdisciplinary students (EEE, BME, SIPBS) for their undergraduate and postgraduate research projects.

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Research Interests

I am based in The Robertson Trust Laboratory for Electronic Sterilisation Technologies (ROLEST), in the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering, and my research is focused on the development of novel disinfection and infection control intervention technologies for public health applications, including prevention of healthcare and food/waterborne infections.

The majority of my research to date has focused on investigations into the fundamental antimicrobial effects of 405 nm high-intensity narrow-spectrum (HINS) light.  Research has focused on determining antimicrobial sensitivity, wavelength sensitivity and the mechanism of inactivation.  Much work has been focused on establishing the effects of this antimicrobial light against key pathogens including MRSA and Clostridium difficile, and I am involved in the investigation and development of this light technology for a range of disinfection applications. 

One such example of this is the development of the HINS-light Environmental Decontamination System (EDS), a novel visible light system for continuous disinfection of occupied environments such as hospital isolation rooms.  This research project was awarded the Times Higher Education Award for ‘Research Project of the Year’ in 2011.   

I am also involved in the development of a number of other electro-technologies for development towards disinfection and sterilisation applications, including ultraviolet light, pulsed electric fields, oxidative corona and plasma technologies, and ozone.

Professional Activities

PhD External Examiner
External Examiner
11/1/2017

More professional activities

Projects

KE Income - £5,000 (21/22): Linea Lighting, Italy [HINS-light Environmental Decontamination System]
MacGregor, Scott (Co-investigator) Maclean, Michelle (Co-investigator) Anderson, John (Co-investigator) Woolsey, Gerry (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2021 - 30-Jan-2022
KE Income - £77,190 (21/22): Hubbell Lighting, USA [HINS-light Environmental Decontamination System]
MacGregor, Scott (Co-investigator) Maclean, Michelle (Co-investigator) Anderson, John (Co-investigator) Woolsey, Gerry (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2021 - 30-Jan-2022
KE Income - £366,394 (21/22): Kenall Lighting, USA [HINS-light Environmental Decontamination System]
MacGregor, Scott (Co-investigator) Maclean, Michelle (Co-investigator) Anderson, John (Co-investigator) Woolsey, Gerry (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2021 - 30-Jan-2022
KE Income - £30,000 (21/22): Maltani, South Korea [HINS-light Environmental Decontamination System]
Maclean, Michelle (Co-investigator) MacGregor, Scott (Co-investigator) Anderson, John (Co-investigator) Woolsey, Gerry (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2021 - 30-Jan-2022
KE Income - £327 (21/22): Pinnacle Lighting, USA [HINS-light Environmental Decontamination System]
MacGregor, Scott (Co-investigator) Maclean, Michelle (Co-investigator) Anderson, John (Co-investigator) Woolsey, Gerry (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2021 - 30-Jan-2022
Doctoral Training Partnership 2018-19 University of Strathclyde | Sinclair, Lucy
Maclean, Michelle (Principal Investigator) MacGregor, Scott (Co-investigator) Sinclair, Lucy (Research Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2019 - 01-Jan-2024

More projects

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Contact

Dr Michelle Maclean
Senior Lecturer
Electronic and Electrical Engineering

Email: michelle.maclean@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 2891