Alicia Showering

After completing a degree in Biological Sciences and a Master’s in Epidemiology, Alicia Showering is now in the final year of her PhD. Her studies are focused on understanding why there are natural differences in how attractive humans are to mosquitoes.

Alicia believes that current mosquito repellents are not fit for purpose as they only last a few hours and have to be reapplied several times a day to be effective.

Her idea – called bugbiome – is to harness the skin microbiome of people who are naturally repellent to mosquitoes. She aims to create a product that will harness this good bacteria to produce a natural, long-lasting mosquito repellent.

“I’m delighted to have the support of the Young Innovators programme to help de-risk my idea and I’m looking forward to joining a cohort of like-minded entrepreneurs. I’m keen to also get feedback on my idea from business mentors, and use their support to develop a business plan,” she says.