Livestock improvement

Stewart is a researcher at the Moredun Research Institute and the main area of his research is the development of novel methods of disease control and diagnosis for the ectoparasitic mite Psoroptes ovis. Part of his current research, funded by DEFRA, involves mapping the host response to infestation with P. ovis elucidating the signalling pathways involved with a view to identifying novel methods of intervention and discovering potential vaccine candidates for disease control.

Keith is a research scientist a the Moredun Research Institute with particular interests in moelecular immunology and immunogenetics with a focus on genes and proteins in livesitck populations controlling recognition and the response to infection.

Francesca is a research scientist at the Moredun Research Institute, where she currently provides veterinary pathology expertise for Moredun research projects covering a number of bacterial, parasitological and viral diseases of sheep and catttle.

David is a senior principal scientist at the Moredun Research Institute and his current research interests include: understanding the mechanisms by which chlamydial pathogens cause disease and the interaction between host and pathogen; identifying and characterising the components that can be used in the control of chlamydial infections through genomic, bioinformatic, molecular and proteomic approaches; and development of improved control strategies for Ovine Chlamydiosis, including improved vaccines, vaccine delivery systems and diagnostic tools.

David is a principal scientist at the Moredun Institute, and has a longstanding interest in retroviral pathogenesis and his current research focusses on understanding the pathogenesis of ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma and the development of diagnostic tests for controlling disease.

Andrew is a research leader in cell and molecular sciences at the James Hutton Institute. His current research interests include the production of novel diagnostics and vaccine candidates using plants, bacteria and nanotechnology; ciruclar bioeconomy, revalorization of waste streams and development of new biotechnologies; and involvement of nuclear domains and proteins in plant responses to virus infections and environmental cues.

Frank Katzer is a molecular parasitologist at the Moredun Institute working on protozoan parasites of veterinary and public health importance.

I originally trained as a vet, but was less interested in treating individual animals, than in improving animal health and welfare in the population as a whole. I therefore moved sideways into veterinary epidemiology. In my present role I use a number of statistical and modelling techniques to make inferences from animal test and disease data, and determine the effect of various test and control strategies.
In a previous EPIC project, I have looked at data on E. coli O157 in calves, liver fluke in cattle, Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD), sheep scab and bovine TB.

My long term interests focus on the relationship between sequence variation and protein function in relation to livestock disease.  I have studied the immune system of livestock species and genetic variation of pathogens for over 20 years and am interested in the molecular interactions between host and pathogen.