Emma Hayhurst at Technocamps International Women's Day Event 2024
Emma did not know what she wanted to be when she grew up. Her favoured options ranged from flying planes to working in a zoo, and most things in between. She chose to study Zoology (because she liked animals) at Sheffield University (because she liked the trams and the lecturers seemed laid back) but nearly decided to become a white-water raft guide in Zimbabwe and not go to university at all.
Once there, she changed course to Microbiology, and this was the start of a lifelong passion for the tiny bugs that rule the world.
After a brief spell volunteering in a rural health clinic in Ghana, she returned to university to do a PhD focused on the architecture of bacterial cell walls. She loved research but realised that she could do the work she was doing until she was 80 and not one single person would benefit from it – it had no application in the real world. This was the reason she moved to Wales and became a lecturer at the University of South Wales, where she remained for 15 years. She loved her academic job – she was inspired by the many amazing students she had the pleasure of teaching, and she got to pass on her love of microbiology to others!
She also carried out research on antibiotic resistance in bacteria – one of the most pressing global health challenges we currently face. She is now CEO of Llusern Scientific – a company she helped set up with the aim of producing an affordable diagnostic test for Urinary Tract Infections which will improve patient care and reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance. Outside of work, she is a mum to two kids, a wild swimmer and a very amateur but very enthusiastic bird watcher.