The University of Lincoln is recruiting Michele Barbour , currently the associate pro vice chancellor for enterprise and innovation at the University of Bristol, as pro vice chancellor for research and commercialisation.
Barbour will take on her new role in the autumn, bringing to a close nearly 22 years with the University of Bristol, where she has been in charge of enterprise and innovation since February 2022.
Barbour is also a professor of biomaterials in the Bristol Dental School.
She launched a spinout, Pertinax Pharma, to commercialise a novel antimicrobial technology based on disinfectant chlorhexidine in 2015. However, in July 2025, the company decided to close and is due to wind down by the end of this month.
Neal Juster, vice chancellor of the University of Lincoln, describes Barbour’s recruitment as “a significant strategic step forward as we accelerate our ambitions to translate world-class research into real-world value.”
Babour herself says she was drawn to the new job because it is “a university that plays a vital role in its city and region while also looking outward with growing international research aspirations.”
She added: “I see significant opportunities to build on the university’s existing strengths, enhance the impact of its research, and further develop innovation and commercialisation activities that create value for communities, businesses and wider society, as well as for researchers and students.”
