Virus diversity and evolution
Lead Research Organisation:
THE PIRBRIGHT INSTITUTE
Department Name: UNLISTED
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Technical Summary
The Pirbright Institute provides the UK with capacity to predict, detect, understand and respond to incursions of viral pathogens of livestock and viruses that spread from animals to humans. Pirbright represents a hub of world class facilities and expertise for the study of exotic and endemic viral diseases in the natural host, therefore enabling our research to be directly translated into future control measures.
Virus genomes are continuously reshaped by mutation, recombination and re-assortment. These processes facilitate the diversity and rapid evolution required for virus adaptation to selection pressures in their environment. Exploiting recent advances in genomic sequencing, this project will address a series of common themes to define the mechanisms that drive the evolution of the diverse range of pathogenic mammalian and avian viruses that are studied at Pirbright. These represent viruses with RNA (positive-sense, negative-sense and segmented) and DNA genomes. At the finest scales, we will exploit the latest techniques for sequencing viral genomes to characterise RNA viral swarms as they are transmitted within and between susceptible hosts. At a broad scale, studies will be undertaken to provide valuable insights into the factors that are responsible for the natural extent of viral sequence variation that is generated by the circulation of the viruses in endemic settings. Building upon our international expertise in this area, these studies will provide crucial information that underpins our knowledge of the global epidemiology of these diseases and is essential for disease-prediction models and the development of successful vaccines and antivirals. These data also have tremendous practical application as demonstrated by the development of sensitive molecular tests for foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) that allow for more rapid testing of infected animals and reliable diagnosis of pre-clinically infected animals, resulting in improved disease control with culling of fewer animals. The work in this project will be made possible by close interaction with the diagnostic facilities at Pirbright which act as UK, European and World Reference Laboratories with unrivalled access to physical samples and sequence databases. Anticipated outcomes of this project are: improved fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of virus evolution and the relationships between evolution, pathogenesis and epidemiology; knowledge of how virus evolution is shaped by natural and vaccine derived immune responses will inform future vaccination strategies; provision of web based tools for rapid and open dissemination of viral sequence data and tools for rapid characterisation of novel/unexpected disease syndromes; information to inform forecasting models for disease severity, prevalence, transmission and spread.
Virus genomes are continuously reshaped by mutation, recombination and re-assortment. These processes facilitate the diversity and rapid evolution required for virus adaptation to selection pressures in their environment. Exploiting recent advances in genomic sequencing, this project will address a series of common themes to define the mechanisms that drive the evolution of the diverse range of pathogenic mammalian and avian viruses that are studied at Pirbright. These represent viruses with RNA (positive-sense, negative-sense and segmented) and DNA genomes. At the finest scales, we will exploit the latest techniques for sequencing viral genomes to characterise RNA viral swarms as they are transmitted within and between susceptible hosts. At a broad scale, studies will be undertaken to provide valuable insights into the factors that are responsible for the natural extent of viral sequence variation that is generated by the circulation of the viruses in endemic settings. Building upon our international expertise in this area, these studies will provide crucial information that underpins our knowledge of the global epidemiology of these diseases and is essential for disease-prediction models and the development of successful vaccines and antivirals. These data also have tremendous practical application as demonstrated by the development of sensitive molecular tests for foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) that allow for more rapid testing of infected animals and reliable diagnosis of pre-clinically infected animals, resulting in improved disease control with culling of fewer animals. The work in this project will be made possible by close interaction with the diagnostic facilities at Pirbright which act as UK, European and World Reference Laboratories with unrivalled access to physical samples and sequence databases. Anticipated outcomes of this project are: improved fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of virus evolution and the relationships between evolution, pathogenesis and epidemiology; knowledge of how virus evolution is shaped by natural and vaccine derived immune responses will inform future vaccination strategies; provision of web based tools for rapid and open dissemination of viral sequence data and tools for rapid characterisation of novel/unexpected disease syndromes; information to inform forecasting models for disease severity, prevalence, transmission and spread.
Planned Impact
unavailable
Organisations
- THE PIRBRIGHT INSTITUTE (Lead Research Organisation)
- University of Glasgow (Collaboration)
- Animal and Plant Health Agency (Collaboration)
- National Agricultural Research Centre (Collaboration)
- Agricultural Research Centre (Collaboration)
- Friedrich Loeffler Institute (Collaboration)
- University of Surrey (Collaboration)
- University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences (Collaboration)
- China Agricultural University (CAU) (Collaboration)
- University of Oxford (Collaboration)
- Mayo Clinic (Collaboration)
- Suez Canal University (Collaboration)
- Veterinary Hospital - National Institute of Veterinary Research, Vietnam (Collaboration)
- Royal Veterinary College (RVC) (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF BATH (Collaboration)
- Distributed Bio. (Collaboration)
- THE PIRBRIGHT INSTITUTE (Collaboration)
- Kimron Veterinary Institute (Collaboration)
- International Atomic Energy Agency (Collaboration)
- University of York (Collaboration)
- Francis Crick Institute (Collaboration)
- University of Leeds (Collaboration)
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (Collaboration)
- PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND (Collaboration)
- Penn State University (Collaboration)
- University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (Collaboration)
- Zagazig University (Collaboration)
- National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) (Collaboration)
- Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (Collaboration)
- IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON (Collaboration)
- LIVERPOOL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE (Collaboration)
- National Taiwan University (Collaboration)
- French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (Collaboration)
- Claude Bernard University Lyon 1 (UCBL) (Collaboration)
- University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover (Collaboration)
- University of Tokyo (Collaboration)
- University of Queensland (Collaboration)
- Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF KENT (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH (Collaboration)
Publications
Bayraktar E
(2018)
First Molecular Characterization of Avian Metapneumovirus (aMPV) in Turkish Broiler Flocks
in Avian Diseases
Bayraktar E.
(2018)
First Molecular Characterization of Avian Metapneumovirus (aMPV) in Turkish Broiler Flocks
in AVIAN DISEASES
Bayraktara E
(2018)
First molecular characterisation of avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) in Turkish broiler flocks
in Avian Diseases
Bhat S
(2019)
Replicative fitness and transmission of G57 lineage and UDL01 like H9N2 viruses in chickens
in Access Microbiology
Bickerton E
(2018)
The S2 Subunit of Infectious Bronchitis Virus Beaudette Is a Determinant of Cellular Tropism.
in Journal of virology
Bickerton E
(2018)
Recombinant infectious bronchitis viruses expressing heterologous S1 subunits: potential for a new generation of vaccines that replicate in Vero cells.
in The Journal of general virology
| Description | This project is part of the BBSRC Institute Strategic Programme "Understanding and preventing viral diseases". Progress towards the five objectives is described below: [1] Development of cost-effective NGS protocols We have developed full genome sequencing protocols to better understand the genetic diversity of livestock viruses such as avian influenza virus (AIV), African swine fever virus (ASFV), infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCV) and foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), including a novel SISPR-based pipeline that has been applied to generate full genomic sequences for SARS-Cov-2. [2] Understanding the role of error rates/swarms in determining viral phenotype We have developed faster and more sensitive analytical tools to detect variants in viral quasispecies. Our simplified Bayesian approach can be applied to deep-sequencing data (even at very high coverage) computes the posterior probability that a variant is not generated by sequencing errors or PCR artefacts. For IBV, we have identified sgmRNAs produced from non-canonical transcription regulatory sequences and have evidence that some of these genes introduce premature stop codons, truncating the putative accessory proteins, during virus passage in ovo. We have also shown that genetic diversity is required by FMDV to overcome cellular antiviral responses by engineering viruses with increased polymerase fidelity. Previous studies by others have shown such 'high fidelity' viruses are attenuated in vivo with the assumption that pathogenicity requires 'adaptability' but with little mechanistic understanding. We have now shown that attenuation of high-fidelity virus in innate competent primary cells is dependent on interferon signalling, suggesting that viral genetic diversity is required to overcome cellular antiviral responses to initiate infection at the cellular level. Work to characterize the intra-sample genetic diversity of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) has identified different patterns of genomic divergence and diversity among viral genotypes, as well as differences in the genomic distribution of intra-host variants among in vitro and in vivo infections of the same strain. The frequency spectrum showed clear signatures of intra-host purifying selection in vivo on the matrix (M) coding gene and positive selection on nucleocapsid (NP) and haemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN). [3] Defining the influence of recombination/re-assortment on virus evolution Analysis of the full genomic sequences for recombinant IBVs has been used to understand the role of different mutations in virus replication and recombination. For FMDV, we have established new approaches to detect recombination events between closely related viral sequences. Recombination rates for samples collected from African Buffalo infected with a serotype SAT-1 virus containing two sub-populations (differing in their capsid-coding sequences) were much higher than expected. Although these intra-host results are not immediately translatable to global phylogenetics, they indicate that recombination and epistasis play an important yet underappreciated role in the evolution of FMDV. For AIV, we have evaluated the consequences of genetic reassortment between the two H7N9 viruses (that are prevalent in China with potential to infect both poultry and humans) and contemporary strains of H9N2 viruses of the G1 lineage that are enzootic in poultry across the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East. Coinfection of chickens resulted in the emergence of novel reassortant H9N9 viruses with genes derived from both H9N2 and H7N9 viruses. This novel H9N9 virus showed significantly increased replication fitness in human cells, as well as increased receptor binding for both human and avian cell receptors and also has the potential to transmit via contact among ferrets. These data help to identify the types of AIVs that may pose a greater threat to both poultry and humans. We have also generated preliminary evidence for recombination events within the ASFV genome. [4] Understanding transmission bottlenecks and host immune pressure on viruses We have investigated the process of attenuation for infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) in eggs, where large genetic bottlenecks can severely restrict viral diversity, from which viral populations do not always recover. This information has relevance to the development of novel vaccines to newly emerging coronaviruses e.g. SARS-CoV-2. We have also applied new tools to show that FMDV inter-host bottlenecks are a similar size to intra-host bottlenecks. Immune-mediated evolutionary drivers of FMDV and infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) are being studied using in vitro models that use sub-neutralising antibody concentrations to drive amino acid substitutions that confer different antigenic phenotypes. Furthermore, our work with H9N2 AIV virus suggests that some viruses are pre-disposed to rapid adaptation in mammalian hosts via changes in the viral polymerase. Other research has defined underlying mechanisms that drive vaccine induced immunity of AIV H7 and H9 in poultry. These results provide baseline data for future vaccine development and seed strain assessment by providing quantitative molecular markers that can help explain vaccine breakdown in the field and predict levels of antigenic drift during virus surveillance. In particular, our work has shown that H7N9 AIV strains collected in 2020-21 can escape from vaccine-induced immunity and differ from the earlier (2013-2016) strains in terms of receptor binding, plaque morphology, thermal stability, acid stability, and antigenic cross-reactivity with human monoclonal antibodies and ferret antisera. [5] Exploiting viral sequence data from our unique sample archive Linking to Objective 3, we have identified two novel genotypes of FMDV which may represent isolates which have been subjected to geographical isolation within Africa by the Great African Rinderpest Pandemic (1887-1897). These findings provide insights into the un-sampled genetic variability that may exist within buffalo, which are natural reservoirs for FMDV in Africa. We have also established that the AIV accessory protein, PB1-F2 can exist as a N-terminally truncated protein that persists in avian hosts, suggesting that the C-terminus is important for viral fitness. Furthermore, we have generated full genome sequences for ASFV isolates in the Pirbright reference collection, where novel differences have been observed in strains circulating in Cameroon which feed into the work undertaken in BBS/E/I/00007036. Our expertise to generate full genome viral sequences was used to characterise 54 rinderpest virus isolates prior to their destruction as part of the RPV sequence and destroy project. |
| Exploitation Route | Understanding the processes that drive genetic and antigenic viability for RNA viruses have broad impacts upon the implementation of disease control policies as well as specific activities to develop tailored tools (such as vaccines) to control these diseases. For AIV, these research outcomes are being disseminated to wider scientific community and poultry vaccine industry to provide an evidence base for the selection and matching of vaccine seed strains. The research outcomes have opened up new research collaborations with researchers in Egypt, where both H9N2 and H5Nx viruses are enzootic in poultry. The follow-on work will help to compare differences between old and currently circulating viruses in birds. This enables us to define the impact of identified molecular markers in the field. Furthermore, our work with AIV provides important insights into the zoonotic threats posed by different viral lineages - which has direct impacts on the strain composition of vaccines. Findings from the discovery of increasing diversity in the Meq gene of Marek's disease viruses in pathogenic strains both internationally and in the backyard poultry in the UK, and the possible association with increasing virulence, will be taken forward in further studies through molecular and structural biology approaches at Pirbright and by collaborators. For coronaviruses, we have investigated the function of a genetic motif named s2m which is shared between infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), and SARS-CoV-2, as well as other pathogens, including human astrovirus. Our findings may be applicable to the human pathogens SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, for which the s2m has been suggested as a target for anti-viral development. Refined methods for generating high quality ASFV genome sequences could be beneficial to researchers in the field who are currently restricted to using short Sanger sequencing reads to characterise a 180,000 kb virus. Our data supports the hypothesis that full genome sequencing is required to understand the full genetic diversity and evolution of ASFV. |
| Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Education Environment Healthcare Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Description | Our research underscores the significant challenges posed by the evolutionary changes in emerging new strains of H7N9 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) to public health and the global poultry industry. Since the first human case in China in 2013, H7N9 has resulted in over 1500 human infections with a mortality rate of approximately 40%, and has inflicted losses exceeding 5 billion US dollars on the poultry sector. The genetic markers identified will aid in the risk assessment of infection and pathogenic potential of H9N2 and H5Nx AIVs affecting poultry and humans. The data will be used as a baseline for assessing new and emerging AIV strains, enabling national and international agencies to design and execute contingencies as part of risk mitigation and disease control. The reduced disease prevalence will benefit the UK and global economy, food security, animal welfare, environment, public health and wellbeing. New molecular diagnostic tests developed in the project will be used by the poultry industry to monitor MDV-2 in the field. We will also plan to use these test to support work to understand the impacts of MDV-2 infection on flock productivity, immune responses, and disease. When rinderpest virus (RPV) was declared eradicated in 2011, the only remaining samples of this virus were those held in laboratories. Sequencing rinderpest isolates undertaken in this project contributes to a database of genetic sequences that be useful in tracing the origin of any potential future outbreak of RP, and enable viruses to be recreated should they ever be required in the future, without the requirement to maintain the virus stocks. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Education,Healthcare,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Impact Types | Societal Economic Policy & public services |
| Description | Contributing to the chapter on Marek's disease for the OIE Terrestrial Manual |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| Impact | The contribution to the Terrestrial Manual on the recent advances in the diagnosis and control of Marek's disease will impact on improved and better control of the disease to reduce losses and improved food security |
| URL | http://www.oie.int/ |
| Description | Development and Evaluation of PPR DIVA vaccines |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
| Impact | Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a highly contagious disease, severely affects small ruminants in almost 70 countries in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia. It causes USD 1.5 to 2 billion in losses each year in regions that are home to over 80% of the world's sheep and goats and to more than 330 million of the world's poorest people, many of whom depend on them for their livelihoods. The estimated current expenditure on PPR vaccination ranges between USD 270 and 380 million. The annual impact of PPR alone may be valued at between USD 1.45 and 2.1 billion per year. Approximately a third of the global financial burden of PPR is borne by Africa, with a further quarter borne by South Asia. This burden will be removed with the successful eradication of PPR. The undiscounted costs for a fifteen-year Global control Strategy of FAO and OIE are between USD 7.6 and 9.1 billion, with the first five years costing between USD 2.5 and 3.1 billion. (http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4460e.pdf). PPR is currently controlled by vaccination using mainly two live attenuated PPRV vaccines (Nigeria 75/1 and Sungri 96). However, the current vaccines and serological tests are unable to enable Differentiation between naturally Infected and Vaccinated Animals (DIVA). This factor precludes meaningful assessment of vaccine coverage and epidemiological surveillance based on serology, in turn reducing the efficiency of control programmes. Therefore, it is almost impossible to assess the quality and efficacy of existing PPR vaccines without knowing whether positive animals are vaccinated or naturally infected. Unlike rinderpest, where cattle and buffalo were primary hosts, in PPR, new crops (about 30-40%) of lambs and kids are produced every year and are the most susceptible population to bring back new PPR outbreaks6&7. Therefore, it is likely that the cycle of vaccinations and PPR outbreaks will continue until and unless we reach the stage of 80-90% herd immunity. Therefore, development of a marker vaccine and associated DIVA diagnostics will enable the assessment of vaccine efficacy which is essential for any successful vaccination campaign. https://www.pirbright.ac.uk/news/2018/09/pirbright-scientists-run-vaccination-campaign-eradicate-peste-des-petits-ruminant The availability of a recombinant PPRV vaccine with a proven functionality is a prerequisite for the development of novel vaccines that may enable the development of DIVA tools for PPRV diagnostics. In the DBT-BBSRC FADH BB/L004801/1 grant we have rescued Sungri 96 and Nigeria 75/1 vaccine strains. Both the vaccine strains were rescued from respective synthetic c-DNA clones with mutations in the variable part of C terminus of the nucleocapsid (N) gene similar to Dolphin Morbillivirus (DMV) to enable negative marker DIVA vaccines. These two DIVA vaccines along with parental vaccines have been recently tested in a pilot studies in goats. Both the DIVA and parent vaccines provided safety, stability and protection for vaccinated goats whereas the control animals were clinically infected. Patent applications have been made to protect these DIVA vaccines. Agreements are being done with vaccine industries for the licensing and commercialisation. |
| URL | https://www.pirbright.ac.uk/press-releases/2018/09/pirbright-collaboration-provides-tools-peste-des-... |
| Description | Drafted resolution that was endorsed by the World Assembly of Delegates (for the World Oganisation of Animal Health - OIE) |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
| Impact | This policy document relates to one of the FMDV serotypes (called serotype C) which has disappeared for >10 years from the surveillance activities of the global OIE/FAO FMD Reference Laboratories (led by the Pirbright Institute). These laboratories now consider that the production of FMDV serotype C vaccines and their use in vaccine challenge experiments represent a risk of virus escape. Based on this evidence and concerns, this resolution urges that OIE Member Countries and vaccine manufacturers to stop the use of FMDV serotype C in vaccine challenge experiments and to consider halting the production of FMDV serotype C vaccines and inclusion in multivalent FMD vaccines except for holding in vaccine banks. |
| URL | http://www.oie.int/fileadmin/Home/eng/About_us/docs/pdf/Session/2017/A_RESO_2017_Public.pdf |
| Description | FMD: Republic of Korea |
| Geographic Reach | Asia |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| Description | Facilitated the transfer of molecular technology for the capacity building of the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) Southern African Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance (SACIDS) peste des petits ruminants (PPR) laboratory.19-25.01.2020 |
| Geographic Reach | Africa |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Facilitated the transfer of molecular technology for the capacity building of the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) Southern African Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance (SACIDS) peste des petits ruminants (PPR) laboratory.19-25.01.2020. The PPR virus infected samples can be diagnosed now at SUA, Tanzania without sending to Pirbright or CIRAD reference laboratories. This will enhance the capacity building of SUA and help immensely in the ongoing PPR eradication. |
| Description | Organised seminar series on Sequencing, Virus Evolution and Molecular Biology at Pirbright (with Luca Ferretti and Graham Freimanis) |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Participation in the Management of the Oxford DTP |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | As part of the Management committee of the Oxford-Pirbright-Oxford Brookes-Diamond doctorate Training Partnership, contributed to the success of the DTP in meeting the objectives, recruitment and review |
| URL | http://www.biodtp.ox.ac.uk/ |
| Description | Press release on threat of PPR to Europe |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| Impact | We have press released in May 2018 and the PPR out break, first in Europe main land, Happened in June-July 2018 |
| URL | https://www.pirbright.ac.uk/press-releases/2017/05/peste-des-petits-ruminants-neglected-disease-whic... |
| Description | Taught course on introductory bioinformatics to PhD students at Pirbright |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Training MSc students |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Delivered a new training session to MSc students teaching viral quantification assays. This lead to a greater understanding of laboratory techniques and academic research. |
| Description | A One Health approach to pan-valent morbillivirus vaccines |
| Amount | £773,237 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/R019843/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2018 |
| End | 03/2021 |
| Description | African swine fever control tools |
| Amount | £1,077,663 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | SE1520 |
| Organisation | Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (DEFRA) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2023 |
| End | 09/2026 |
| Description | BBSRC Industrial CASE (iCASE) |
| Amount | £100,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2019 |
| End | 09/2022 |
| Description | British Egg Marketing Board PhD studentship |
| Amount | £76,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | British Egg Marketing Board |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2018 |
| End | 09/2022 |
| Description | China UK One Health research for epidemic preparedness and AMR initiative |
| Amount | £900,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | MR/Y015061/1 |
| Organisation | The Pirbright Institute |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2025 |
| End | 02/2028 |
| Description | Commonwealth Scholarship. Molecular determinants impacting avian influenza H9N2 virus evolution, replication fitness and virulence |
| Amount | £200,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | LKCS-2019- 665 |
| Organisation | British Council |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2019 |
| End | 10/2022 |
| Description | Development of next generation vaccine technology inducing rapid and strong immunity through targeted delivery of antigens to chicken immune cells |
| Amount | £473,080 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/T013087/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2021 |
| End | 05/2024 |
| Description | Enhancing protective efficacy of avian influenza vaccines through targeted delivery of protective antigens to chicken immune cells |
| Amount | £98,212 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/R50595X/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2017 |
| End | 09/2021 |
| Description | Identification of interaction sites between the genomic segments of influenza virus as putative novel anti-viral targets |
| Amount | £100,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | The Pirbright Institute |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2019 |
| End | 09/2024 |
| Description | Investigation of Canonical and Noncanonical Transcription during Coronavirus Replication |
| Amount | £122,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | STUD312000 |
| Organisation | The Pirbright Institute |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2022 |
| End | 12/2025 |
| Description | Japan Partnering Award |
| Amount | £49,500 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/P025803/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2017 |
| End | 08/2021 |
| Description | Newton Fund: UK-China-Philippines-Thailand Swine and Poultry Research Initiative |
| Amount | £841,995 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/R012679/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2018 |
| End | 12/2020 |
| Description | Newton Fund: UK-China-Philippines-Thailand Swine and Poultry Research Initiative. Understanding antigenic diversity, zoonotic potential and immunological prevention of avian influenza viruses affecting poultry. |
| Amount | £497,995 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/R012679/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2018 |
| End | 12/2020 |
| Description | OIE Twinning: Development of capacity for independent assessment of FMDV vaccines in Africa |
| Amount | $1,466,186 (USD) |
| Organisation | World Organisation for Animal Health, France |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 03/2019 |
| End | 03/2021 |
| Description | Pirbright Institute Flexible Talent Mobility Account |
| Amount | £255,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/S507945/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2018 |
| End | 03/2022 |
| Description | Reducing the Economic and Zoonotic Impact of Avian Influenza (REZIAI): delivering novel vaccines and diagnostics from laboratory to the field. |
| Amount | £400,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/S013792/1 |
| Organisation | The Pirbright Institute |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2019 |
| End | 01/2021 |
| Description | Responsive mode: Rapid acquisition of mammalian characteristics by avian influenza virus in single host infections. |
| Amount | £535,337 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/R007292/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2018 |
| End | 01/2021 |
| Description | Taiwan Partnering Award |
| Amount | £40,700 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/S020624/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | |
| Description | The Global Challenges Research Fund |
| Amount | £640,473 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Research Councils UK (RCUK) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2019 |
| End | 03/2024 |
| Description | The Pirbright Institute - University of Surrey PhD studentship |
| Amount | £100,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | The Pirbright Institute |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2019 |
| End | 03/2023 |
| Description | UK International coronavirus network (UK-ICN) |
| Amount | £510,207 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/W003287/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2021 |
| End | 09/2025 |
| Description | US-UK-China Collab-Understanding the Impact of Poultry Vaccination on H5Nx Avian Influenza Virus Evolution and Ecosystem Dynamics |
| Amount | £3,000,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | APP18977: 3291 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2024 |
| End | 10/2029 |
| Description | Use of FMDV sequence data to trace outbreaks and monitor disease incursion risks to the UK |
| Amount | £1,326,558 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | SE2944 |
| Organisation | Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (DEFRA) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2019 |
| End | 03/2022 |
| Description | Viral entry at the human-animal interface; dissecting the pan-tropic nature of zoonotic viruses. |
| Amount | £393,707 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/W006162/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2022 |
| End | 03/2025 |
| Description | iCASE studentship: Production and assessment of antiviral prophylactic properties of natural biomolecules against avian influenza and Newcastle disease viruses affecting poultry |
| Amount | £100,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2019 |
| End | 09/2023 |
| Title | A ligation and restriction enzyme independent cloning technique: an alternative to conventional methods for cloning hard-to-clone gene segments in the influenza reverse genetics system |
| Description | we developed an easy and efficient ligation and restriction enzyme independent (LREI) cloning method for cloning influenza gene segments into pHW2000 vector. The method involves amplification of megaprimers followed by PCR amplification of megaprimers using a bait plasmid, DpnI digestion and transformation. ligation and restriction enzyme independent (LREI) cloning method represents an alternative strategy for cloning influenza gene segments that have internal restriction sites for the enzymes used in reverse genetics. Further, the problem of genetic instability in bacteria can be alleviated by growing recombinant bacterial cultures at a lower temperature. This technique can be applied to clone any influenza gene segment using universal primers, which would help in the rapid generation of influenza viruses and facilitate influenza research and vaccine development. |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The method will help in the rapid generation of reverse genetic base influenza viruses and facilitate influenza research and vaccine development. |
| URL | https://virologyj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12985-020-01358-2 |
| Title | Deep sequencing to identify RNA packaging signals |
| Description | A novel and simple approach to identify predicted RNA secondary structures involved in genome packaging in positive sense RNA viruses (e.g. the picornavirus foot-and-mouth disease virus [FMDV]). By interrogating deep sequencing data generated from both packaged and unpackaged populations of RNA, we have determined multiple regions of the genome with constrained variation in the packaged population. Predicted secondary structures of these regions revealed stem-loops with conservation of structure and a common motif at the loop. Disruption of these features resulted in attenuation of virus growth in cell culture due to a reduction in assembly of mature virions. This study provides evidence for the involvement of predicted RNA structures in picornavirus packaging and offers a readily transferable methodology for identifying packaging requirements in many other viruses. |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Impact so far is fundamental knowledge but with several potential avenues for future impact in for example improved vaccines. |
| Title | Detection of HA antigens of avian influenza viruses |
| Description | Assay for detection of recombinant HVT expressing HA antigens of avian influenza viruses |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | This new method will help to detect recombinant HVT vaccine expressing HA antigen in infected cell. |
| Title | Development of CLEM techniques for RSV |
| Description | We have developed the technical expertise to perform correlative light electron microscopy on respiratory syncytial virus infected cells. This allows us to directly compare immunofluorescent images with transmission EM of the same cell. |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | We have recently submitted a paper and grant building on this expertise, as well as forging new collaborations with Diamond light source. |
| Title | Development of SARS-CoV-2 pseudotypes |
| Description | Method to allow assessment of SARS-CoV-2 entry, which can be used in various experiments including VNTs to assess humoral immune response (in convalescent or vaccinated individuals) |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Application in the establishment of the SARS-CoV-2 international reference standard by NIBSC |
| Title | Development of a serological standard for Nipah virus in collaboration with NIBSC |
| Description | We have helped to test and characterise a serological standard for NIBSC. |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | None to date - the reagent has yet to be released. |
| Title | Library of Arenavirus and alphacoronavirus receptors and attachment proteins |
| Description | We have developed a wide database of attachment proteins and receptors for two different virus groups to help better understand virus host range. This was developed in collaboration with a bioinformatician to help select a representative database. |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | None to date - project still ongoing. |
| Title | Method for sequencing of ASFV (African Swine Fever Virus) based on long reads |
| Description | The ASFV genome is repetitive, due to the presence of families of genes that are present in multiple copies (>10). As a result, sequencing based on short reads only would not be able to reconstruct the genome in its entirety. In addition, good quality full genome sequencing of ASFV is complicated by persistence contamination with fragments of host DNA. We are developing a novel protocol that will allow the sequencing of the virus using long-read technologies (PacBio or Oxford Nanopore). Probe-capture libraries have been designed to mitigate the problem of host contamination by selectively purifying viral DNA from a wide range of different ASFV genotypes. Protocols are being developed to prepare high quality high molecular weight viral DNA from different sample types suitable for generating sequencing libraries for long-read sequencing. |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | More than 100 samples from 18 different LMIC countries have been identified and collated for sequencing with the new protocol. They will be added to the web-portal for transboundary pathogens which is currently being developed thanks to BBSRC funding. |
| Title | NGS for PPR virus whole genome sequencing |
| Description | We have finalised a protocol to sequence the whole genome of PPR virus |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The method has been described and shard with project partners and a draft has been written for publishing the methods |
| Title | Optimisation of chicken kidney cell culture preparation |
| Description | We have optimised the method of extracting kidneys and preparing chicken kidney (CK) cell cultures from chickens. CK cells are used for in vitro assays to study avian viruses, in particular infectious bronchitis virus. |
| Type Of Material | Cell line |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This has increased the yield of viable cells and the quality of the cell cultures. We can now obtain the number of cells we require using fewer chicken kidneys, therefore requiring fewer chickens to be culled. This is an important development for the 3Rs. We hope to publish this method for others' information. |
| Title | Optimisation of preparation of TOCs from adult chickens |
| Description | Tracheal organ cultures (TOCs) are prepared from chicken embryos and used to assess growth of avian viruses that are not able to be propagated in cell culture. We have optimised the method of TOCs preparation from 3-week old chickens and are using these to assess viral genetic stability and phenotype in organ cultures that are a similar environment to the site of replication in whole chickens. |
| Type Of Material | Cell line |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | We hope that this technique will reduce the number of chickens required for in vivo experiments, in line with the 3Rs, and plan to publish the method in due course. |
| Title | Panel of ACE2 proteins for screening SARS-CoV-2 host range |
| Description | A biological library of ACE2 expression constructs representing receptors from 22 different human and animal species. In 2022 we extended this to over 60 proteins to widen our understanding of sarbecovirus host range. |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Establishment of surveillance tools to examine the potential reverse zoonotic spillover of SARS-CoV-2 into anima species |
| Title | Reverse genetics system for Rift Valley fever virus and other bunyaviruses |
| Description | We developed a T7-based reverse genetics system for RVFV including for the rescue of a panel of novel reporter viruses. Using this system, virus will be rescued by transfection of cells with three plasmids encoding the three genome segments, driven by T7 polymerase which needs to be provided (e.g. stably or transiently expressed). Helper plasmids are no longer needed. RVFV-specific sequences can be easily replaced by those of other bunyaviruses of interest. |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | This research tool is used by my team and by collaborators and will be made available to the research community on request without MTA. The development of this system has reduced our reliance on other systems with restricted use (by MTA) and thus increases the UK's preparedness for bunyaviruses emergences as well as provides opportunities for commercial use. |
| Title | porcine TOCs |
| Description | We have developed the method of preparing and infecting tracheal organ cultures (TOCs) from pigs with porcine coronaviruses. |
| Type Of Material | Cell line |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The development of the porcine TOCs will allow us to study the replication, tropism and evolution of porcine coronaviruses in biologically relevant tissues, without the requirement for an in vivo study. Porcine coronaviruses can be used as a model for SARS-CoV-2 infection of humans. |
| Title | Characterization of the haemagglutinin properties of the H5N1 avian influenza virus that caused human infections in Cambodia |
| Description | High pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 is a subtype of the influenza A virus primarily found in birds. The subtype emerged in China in 1996 and has spread globally, causing significant morbidity and mortality in birds and humans. In Cambodia, a lethal case was reported in February 2023 involving an 11-year-old girl, marking the first human HPAI H5N1 infection in the country since 2014. This research examined the zoonotic potential of the human H5N1 isolate, A/Cambodia/NPH230032/2023 (KHM/23), by assessing its receptor binding, fusion pH, HA thermal stability, and antigenicity. Results showed that KHM/23 exhibits similar receptor binding and antigenicity as the early clade 2.3.2.1c HPAI H5N1 strain, and it does not bind to human-like receptors. Despite showing limited zoonotic risk, the increased thermal stability and reduced pH of fusion in KHM/23 indicate a potential threat to poultry, emphasizing the need for vigilant monitoring. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Characterization_of_the_haemagglutinin_properties_of_the... |
| Title | Characterization of the haemagglutinin properties of the H5N1 avian influenza virus that caused human infections in Cambodia |
| Description | High pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 is a subtype of the influenza A virus primarily found in birds. The subtype emerged in China in 1996 and has spread globally, causing significant morbidity and mortality in birds and humans. In Cambodia, a lethal case was reported in February 2023 involving an 11-year-old girl, marking the first human HPAI H5N1 infection in the country since 2014. This research examined the zoonotic potential of the human H5N1 isolate, A/Cambodia/NPH230032/2023 (KHM/23), by assessing its receptor binding, fusion pH, HA thermal stability, and antigenicity. Results showed that KHM/23 exhibits similar receptor binding and antigenicity as the early clade 2.3.2.1c HPAI H5N1 strain, and it does not bind to human-like receptors. Despite showing limited zoonotic risk, the increased thermal stability and reduced pH of fusion in KHM/23 indicate a potential threat to poultry, emphasizing the need for vigilant monitoring. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Characterization_of_the_haemagglutinin_properties_of_the... |
| Title | Data from: The history of foot-and-mouth disease virus serotype C: the first known extinct serotype? |
| Description | Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious animal disease caused by an RNA virus subdivided into seven serotypes that are unevenly distributed in Asia, Africa and South America. Despite the challenges of controlling FMD, since 1996 there have been only two outbreaks attributed to serotype C, in Brazil and in Kenya, in 2004. This review describes the historical distribution and origins of serotype C and its disappearance. The serotype was first described in Europe in the 1920s, where it mainly affected pigs and cattle but as a less common cause of outbreaks than serotypes O and A. No serotype C outbreaks have been reported in Europe since vaccination stopped in 1990. FMD virus is presumed to have been introduced into South America from Europe in the 19th century, although whether serotype C evolved there or in Europe is not known. As in Europe, this serotype was less widely distributed and caused fewer outbreaks than serotypes O and A. Since 1994, serotype C had not been reported from South America until four small outbreaks were detected in the Amazon region in 2004. Elsewhere, serotype C was introduced to Asia, in the 1950s to the 1970s, persisting and evolving for several decades in the Indian subcontinent and for eighteen years in the Philippines. Serotype C virus also circulated in East Africa between 1957 and 2004. Many serotype C viruses from European and Kenyan outbreaks were closely related to vaccine strains, including the most recently recovered Kenyan isolate from 2004. International surveillance has not confirmed any serotype C cases, worldwide, for over 15 years, despite more than 2000 clinical submissions per year to reference laboratories. Serology provides limited evidence for absence of this serotype, as unequivocal interpretation is hampered by incomplete intra-serotype specificity of immunoassays and the continued use of this serotype in vaccines. It is recommended to continue strengthening surveillance in regions of FMD endemicity, to stop vaccination against serotype C and to reduce working with the virus in laboratories, since inadvertent escape of virus during such activities is now the biggest risk for its reappearance in the field. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | http://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.v6wwpzgv6 |
| Title | FMDV LIMS and webtools |
| Description | The Integrative Biology and Bioinformatics (IBB) group has been supplying state-of-the-art bioinformatics tools to the World Reference Labs for the Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus. All tools revolve around a database of genomic sequences and metadata for FMDV samples. Some tools allow members of the lab to enter, process and annotate new data into the database, generating several kinds of reports. Other web-based tools (the "FMDV Toolbox") allow external users to query the database in several ways. Bioinformatics workflows are hosted on the IBB cluster, and have been implemented as REST web services so as to be decoupled from the web interface. The web interface is currently being redeveloped with the help of a specialised company. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2016 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The reports generated by our system are used to inform FMDV policy-makers both within the UK and in the rest of the world. External users can compare their sequences to those contained in the database, and get useful biological insights. |
| URL | https://mallorn.pirbright.ac.uk/FMDVToolbox |
| Title | FMDV sequence database (FMDbase) |
| Description | Pirbright has recently developed a database (FMDbase) for FMDV sequences that is open-access and available to FMD researchers. The database uses MySQL (using a MariaDB relational database) and currently includes >15,000 records which have been annotated by an FMDV expert. The database current adopts a Drupal platform front-end to allow users to filter, search and retrieve FMDV sequences (in FASTA or .csv format). We anticipate that the database will provide a foundation for the further development of phylogenetic and epidemiological modules |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Pirbright is working in partnership with EuFMD to develop dynamic dashboards to display FMD data. Current tools on the OIE/FAO FMD Laboratory Network website (https://foot-and-mouth.org/) are static in nature and the aim is to provide tools that will allow our international partners (such as researchers, disease control and risk assessment managers) to use the available data to tailor outputs to more closely meet their requirements. In order to better understand the priorities for these tools, we have circulated a survey to request feedback from the likely users of such a system. We have recently established a collaboration with Epi-interactive in New Zealand (https://www.epi-interactive.com/) to develop an FMDV genotyping model that will allow external users to prepare customised phylogenetic trees and reports. It is planned that the new system will be ready for demonstration in March 2022. |
| URL | https://www.fmdbase.org/ |
| Title | GCRF portal on transboudary diseases |
| Description | The Integrative Biology and Bioinformatics group is developing a GCRF-funded Portal on Transboundary Diseases. It will be an easy way for all scientists, and those from LMI countries in particular, to access data about several viral diseases generated at Pirbright. The portal will be country-based, presenting the user with a map and dispatching them to the information relevant to the selected region. From that information the user will be able to reach specialised websites for diseases present in the country, and data generated at Pirbright (such as sequences for FMDV, several Capripox viruses, and ASFV). Sequences relevant to the portal are currently being generated. Bioinformatics workflows are hosted on the IBB cluster, and have been implemented as REST web services so as to be decoupled from the web interface. The web interface is currently being developed with the help of a specialised company. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The portal will benefit scientists from LMI countries, and all scientist, allowing them to access/download genetic and other data relevant to animal diseases present in a country of choice and studied and Pirbright. Some of the data (for instance the FMDV data generated by the World Reference Lab) is already use to inform policy at international level. Being able to access information in a systematic way will increase the potential for it to be put to good use. |
| Title | Molecular epidemiology and pathogenicity of H5N1 and H9N2 avian influenza viruses in clinically affected chickens on farms in Bangladesh |
| Description | Avian influenza virus (AIV) subtypes H5N1 and H9N2 co-circulate in poultry in Bangladesh, causing significant bird morbidity and mortality. Despite their importance to the poultry value chain, the role of farms in spreading and maintaining AIV infections remains poorly understood in most disease-endemic settings. To address this crucial gap, we conducted a cross-sectional study between 2017 and 2019 in the Chattogram Division of Bangladesh in clinically affected and dead chickens in farms with suspected AIV infection. Viral prevalence of each subtype was approximately 10% among farms for which veterinary advice was sought, indicating high levels of virus circulation in chicken farms despite the low number of reported outbreaks. Co-circulation of both subtypes was common in farms, with our findings suggest that in the field, the co-circulation of H5N1 and H9N2 can modulate disease severity, which could facilitate an underestimated level of AIV transmission in the poultry value chain. Finally, using newly generated whole-genome sequences, we investigate the evolutionary history of a small subset of H5N1 and H9N2 viruses. Our analyses revealed that for both subtypes, the sampled viruses were genetically most closely related to other viruses isolated in Bangladesh and represented multiple independent incursions. However, due to lack of longitudinal surveillance in this region, it is difficult to ascertain whether these viruses emerged from endemic strains circulating in Bangladesh or from neighbouring countries. We also show that amino acids at putative antigenic residues underwent a distinct replacement during 2012 which coincides with the use of H5N1 vaccines. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Molecular_epidemiology_and_pathogenicity_of_H5N1_and_H9N... |
| Title | Molecular epidemiology and pathogenicity of H5N1 and H9N2 avian influenza viruses in clinically affected chickens on farms in Bangladesh |
| Description | Avian influenza virus (AIV) subtypes H5N1 and H9N2 co-circulate in poultry in Bangladesh, causing significant bird morbidity and mortality. Despite their importance to the poultry value chain, the role of farms in spreading and maintaining AIV infections remains poorly understood in most disease-endemic settings. To address this crucial gap, we conducted a cross-sectional study between 2017 and 2019 in the Chattogram Division of Bangladesh in clinically affected and dead chickens in farms with suspected AIV infection. Viral prevalence of each subtype was approximately 10% among farms for which veterinary advice was sought, indicating high levels of virus circulation in chicken farms despite the low number of reported outbreaks. Co-circulation of both subtypes was common in farms, with our findings suggest that in the field, the co-circulation of H5N1 and H9N2 can modulate disease severity, which could facilitate an underestimated level of AIV transmission in the poultry value chain. Finally, using newly generated whole-genome sequences, we investigate the evolutionary history of a small subset of H5N1 and H9N2 viruses. Our analyses revealed that for both subtypes, the sampled viruses were genetically most closely related to other viruses isolated in Bangladesh and represented multiple independent incursions. However, due to lack of longitudinal surveillance in this region, it is difficult to ascertain whether these viruses emerged from endemic strains circulating in Bangladesh or from neighbouring countries. We also show that amino acids at putative antigenic residues underwent a distinct replacement during 2012 which coincides with the use of H5N1 vaccines. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Molecular_epidemiology_and_pathogenicity_of_H5N1_and_H9N... |
| Title | South-African buffalo FMDV sequences |
| Description | We have sequenced FMDV buffalo samples originated from a EEID project entitled: Persistence of a Highly Contagious Pathogen: Ecological and Evolutionary Mechanisms in Foot-And-Mouth Disease Virus. This project aims to understand why a highly contagious pathogen such as FMDV, which induces a rapid host immunity and depletes the supply of susceptible host, is able to persist in isolated buffalo populations and thus avoid auto-extinction. The centre piece of the project is a cohort study which involves an established FMDV-positive breeding herd of ca. 70 buffalo in a 900-hectare enclosure surrounded by double game fencing housing buffalo in isolation from other herds in the Kruger National Park (South Africa). The entire herd is being monitored for three years (animals are sampled every 2 months (serum, tonsil swabs, probang) to trace FMDV transmission events, allowing us to define FMD infection dynamics across the susceptible calf cohorts and amongst adults. So far, FMDV genomes from 101 samples have been deep sequenced by illumina. Samples from the last year captures are currently being analysed and virus is currently being isolated. The second experiment is an experimental study, which involves a group of naïve buffalo experimentally infected with either a SAT-1, SAT-2 or SAT-3 virus. The infected buffalo were then allowed to mingle with susceptible animals and transmission of FMDV to naïve animals was monitored during the acute infection but also from persistently infected animals. So far, FMDV genomes from 48 samples obtained at days 2, 30 and 160 of the experiment have been deep sequenced. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The samples sequenced come from South Africa, which is an LMIC, While FMDV infection in cattle is very well studied, the mechanisms of persistence in buffalo, which is thought to be the natural reservoir of the infection, are not well understood. Such understanding would be essential to inform better policies to understand and manage FMDV, which is an economically important scourge of cloven hooved animals in LMICs. All the sequences will be made available on the Transboundary Portal which is being developed at Pirbright. |
| Title | Supporting data for "De novo assembly of the cattle reference genome with single-molecule sequencing" |
| Description | Major advances in selection progress for cattle have been made following the introduction of genomic tools over the past 10-12 years. These tools depend upon the Bos taurus reference genome (UMD3.1.1), which was created using now-outdated technologies and suffers from a variety of deficiencies and inaccuracies. We present the new reference genome for cattle, ARS-UCD1.2, based on the same animal as the original to facilitate transfer and interpretation of results obtained from the earlier version, but applying a combination of modern technologies in a de novo assembly to increase continuity, accuracy, and completeness. The assembly includes 2.7 Gb, and is >250x more continuous than the original assembly, with contig N50 >25 Mb and L50 of 32. We also greatly expanded supporting RNA-based data for annotation that identifies 30,396 total genes (21,039 protein coding). The new reference assembly is accessible in annotated form for public use. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | http://gigadb.org/dataset/100669 |
| Title | The molecular basis of antigenic variation among A(H9N2) avian influenza viruses |
| Description | Avian influenza A(H9N2) viruses are an increasing threat to global poultry production and, through zoonotic infection, to human health where they are considered viruses with pandemic potential. Vaccination of poultry is a key element of disease control in endemic countries, but vaccine effectiveness is persistently challenged by the emergence of antigenic variants. Here we employed a combination of techniques to investigate the genetic basis of H9N2 antigenic variability and evaluate the role of different molecular mechanisms of immune escape. We systematically tested the influence of published H9N2 monoclonal antibody escape mutants on chicken antisera binding, determining that many have no significant effect. Substitutions introducing additional glycosylation sites were a notable exception, though these are relatively rare among circulating viruses. To identify substitutions responsible for antigenic variation in circulating viruses, we performed an integrated meta-analysis of all published H9 haemagglutinin sequences and antigenic data. We validated this statistical analysis experimentally and allocated several new residues to H9N2 antigenic sites, providing molecular markers that will help explain vaccine breakdown in the field and inform vaccine selection decisions. We find evidence for the importance of alternative mechanisms of immune escape, beyond simple modulation of epitope structure, with substitutions increasing glycosylation or receptor-binding avidity, exhibiting the largest impacts on chicken antisera binding. Of these, meta-analysis indicates avidity regulation to be more relevant to the evolution of circulating viruses, suggesting that a specific focus on avidity regulation is required to fully understand the molecular basis of immune escape by influenza, and potentially other viruses. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/dataset/The_molecular_basis_of_antigenic_variation_among_A_H9N2_... |
| Title | The molecular basis of antigenic variation among A(H9N2) avian influenza viruses |
| Description | Avian influenza A(H9N2) viruses are an increasing threat to global poultry production and, through zoonotic infection, to human health where they are considered viruses with pandemic potential. Vaccination of poultry is a key element of disease control in endemic countries, but vaccine effectiveness is persistently challenged by the emergence of antigenic variants. Here we employed a combination of techniques to investigate the genetic basis of H9N2 antigenic variability and evaluate the role of different molecular mechanisms of immune escape. We systematically tested the influence of published H9N2 monoclonal antibody escape mutants on chicken antisera binding, determining that many have no significant effect. Substitutions introducing additional glycosylation sites were a notable exception, though these are relatively rare among circulating viruses. To identify substitutions responsible for antigenic variation in circulating viruses, we performed an integrated meta-analysis of all published H9 haemagglutinin sequences and antigenic data. We validated this statistical analysis experimentally and allocated several new residues to H9N2 antigenic sites, providing molecular markers that will help explain vaccine breakdown in the field and inform vaccine selection decisions. We find evidence for the importance of alternative mechanisms of immune escape, beyond simple modulation of epitope structure, with substitutions increasing glycosylation or receptor-binding avidity, exhibiting the largest impacts on chicken antisera binding. Of these, meta-analysis indicates avidity regulation to be more relevant to the evolution of circulating viruses, suggesting that a specific focus on avidity regulation is required to fully understand the molecular basis of immune escape by influenza, and potentially other viruses. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/dataset/The_molecular_basis_of_antigenic_variation_among_A_H9N2_... |
| Title | Viral assembly pipeline |
| Description | The Integrative Biology and Bioinformatics group has developed a data analysis pipeline to obtain sensitive and robust viral assemblies out of high-throughput sequencing data. In spite of the relatively short genomic length of most viruses, assembling of viral sequences can be challenging due to several reasons, such as: low amount of material in the sample, which might require amplification, introducing biases, and/or generates low-quality sequences; uneven coverage due to low-quality material or the genomic material of the virus being RNA; the viral nucleic acid being almost lost in the background of nucleic acid of the host. Our pipeline overcomes most of those problems, and is even able to detect different viral strains being present together in the same sample. It can also be used on metagenomic environmental samples. |
| Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The pipeline is being deployed as the tool of choice for the nascent sequencing facility at Pirbright. It has been used by several groups at Pirbright, and the FMDV World Reference Lab, in order to assemble very different kinds of viruses. |
| Title | Viral variant calling pipeline |
| Description | The Integrative Biology and Bioinformatics group has developed a data analysis pipeline to obtain sensitive and robust variant calling for viral sequences out of high-throughput sequencing data. In spite of the relatively short genomic length of most viruses, calling variant for viral sequences can be challenging due to several reasons, such as: low amount of material in the sample, which might require amplification, introducing biases, and/or generates low-quality sequences; very high genome coverage, which slows down most existing variant callers; the presence of a potentially very high number of different haplotypes for RNA viruses, which is an unusual scenario in variant calling. Our fast and sensitive Bayesian pipeline overcomes most of those problems. |
| Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The pipeline is being deployed as the tool of choice for the nascent sequencing facility at Pirbright. It has been used by several groups at Pirbright, and the FMDV World Reference Lab, in order to assemble very different kinds of viruses. |
| Title | WRL FMDV sequences for transboundary portal |
| Description | We have generated a collection of sequences of FMDV (foot-and-mouth disease virus) from samples collected by the FMDV World Reference Laboratory at Pirbright. Those full-genome sequences sample a number of recent exotic strains across different regions/countries of the world, focusing mainly on LMICs in North Africa, Middle East and South East Asia. The main represented FMDV types are O and A. Part of the sequences have already been made available through GenBank -- all will be soon downloadable from the Transboundary Portal which is being developed at Pirbright. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Knowledge of the sequenced strains is essential to inform policy for FMDV control in the LMIC countries where the samples were collected. That chimes very well with the GCRF focus of the project. At a more global scale, knowledge of the features and sequence evolution of the virus in time and across different countries is essential in order to accurately model its behaviour. In general FMDV is a scourge of cloven-hoofed animals, and controlling it better is essential in order to alleviate the huge economic toll claimed by the virus in LMICs. |
| Title | Zimbabwe FMDV sequences |
| Description | Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) causes an acute vesicular disease in domestic cloven-hooved animals. However, in the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) clinical disease is rarely observed and following infection virus is persistently carried in the oesophageal-pharyngeal area of the upper respiratory tract. During the 1990s oesophageal-pharyngeal scrapings were collected from free-living African buffalo in multiple herds in six different geographic areas of Zimbabwe. We sequenced over 140 FMD viruses each belonging to one of the Southern African Territories (SAT) serotypes (SAT 1, SAT 2 and SAT 3) from primary bovine thyroid cells. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This dataset has been generated from samples collected in Zimbabwe, which is a low-income country. Those viral sequences will be essential to help elucidating the nature of persistent FMDV infection in African buffalo, which is supposed to be the main virus reservoir in vivo. As the samples track viral infection and evolution over several years and across a number of different herds in different national parks and conservatories, the dataset will also inform better animal management and conservation. A better understanding of FMDV persistence would also be essential to mitigate the economic burden generated by the disease, which is a scourge of cloven-hoofed animals in LMICs. All the sequences will be made available through the Transboundary Pathogen portal that is being developed at Pirbright. |
| Description | Anihwa Call 1 |
| Organisation | French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Developed PCR to detect PPR viral genome in faecal samples for experimentally infected animals. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Developed PCR and antigen ELISA to detect PPR viral genome in faecal samples for field animals including wild life. |
| Impact | Please see publications |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | Anihwa Call 1 |
| Organisation | Friedrich Loeffler Institute |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | 1. Conducted challenge experiments in goats to study pathogenicity. 2. Developed NGS technology to sequence PPR whole genome. |
| Collaborator Contribution | FLI has conducted transmission study between different species ( Goats, pig, camel). For the first time they showed that pigs are clinically infected by PPR virus. |
| Impact | Joint Publications |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | Anihwa Call 1 |
| Organisation | International Atomic Energy Agency |
| Country | Austria |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | 1. Phylogenetic analysis and whole genome sequencing |
| Collaborator Contribution | 1.Phylogenetic analysis and whole genome sequencing |
| Impact | Joint publications |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | Anihwa Call 1 |
| Organisation | Kimron Veterinary Institute |
| Country | Israel |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | 1.Analysed evolution of PPR viruses from 1993 to 2017 circulating in Israel by conducting whole genome sequencing and Bayesian analysis . |
| Collaborator Contribution | Submitted virus to Pirbright |
| Impact | Joint publications |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | Annika Posautz; University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna. Morbillivirus host-diversity analysis. |
| Organisation | University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna |
| Country | Austria |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Sharing of research data regarding morbillivirus host-range and technical support to the project. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of tissue samples from potential morbillivirus hosts, e.g. carnivores. |
| Impact | No outcomes as yet. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Avian influenza H7N9 virus evolution: defining the impact of internal genes on virus infection in avian and mammalian species |
| Organisation | Animal and Plant Health Agency |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Provision of samples and reagents for research |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of samples, reagents for research and research facilities |
| Impact | Research output entitled "A restriction digestion and ligation independent technique for cloning influenza gene segments into pHW2000" was presented at January 17th to 19th 2018. Fortuna Hotel, Lang Ha Street, Hanoi, VietNam (Presented by postdoctoral scientist Dr Sushant Bhat |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Avian influenza H7N9 virus evolution: defining the impact of internal genes on virus infection in avian and mammalian species |
| Organisation | Francis Crick Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | (1) Exchange of research methods and reagents |
| Collaborator Contribution | (1) Exchange of research methods and reagents. (2) Provision of training to PhD students and postdoctoral Scientist (3) Critical review of experimental data and manuscripts. |
| Impact | (1) Joint funding: BBSRC Newton Fund: UK-China-Philippines-Thailand Swine and Poultry Research Initiative (2018-2021). Understanding antigenic diversity, zoonotic potential and immunological prevention of avian influenza viruses affecting poultry. Value: £497,995.93. UK Co-Is: Prof John McCauley (Crick Institute), Dr Richard Reeve (University of Glasgow). Collaborators from China: Dr Yipeng Sun, Prof Jinhua Liu and Dr Juan Pu (China Agricultural University), Prof Yongqing Li (Beijing Academy of Agriculture and forestry Sciences), Dr Wenfei Zhu (National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC). |
| Start Year | 2007 |
| Description | BBSRC - Oxford University iCASE Studentship (October 2019- September 2023). Production and assessment of antiviral prophylactic properties of natural biomolecules against avian influenza and Newcastle disease viruses affecting poultry production |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This collaboration between The Pirbright Institute (UK), Oxford University (UK) and industrial partners in Italy. This project will conceived and developed bu MI. The PhD student (Holly Everest) in my group is investigating the antiviral prophylactic properties of natural biomolecules against avian influenza and Newcastle disease viruses affecting poultry production. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partners in Italy will produce and purify natural antiviral molecules effective against avian influenza and other poultry viruses. |
| Impact | This project started in January 2020. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Characterisation of ASFV isolates |
| Organisation | Friedrich Loeffler Institute |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Full genome sequencing of uncharacterised ASFV isolates |
| Collaborator Contribution | Biological characterisation of ASFV isolates |
| Impact | Non as yet. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Characterisation of ASFV isolates (2) |
| Organisation | Veterinary Hospital - National Institute of Veterinary Research, Vietnam |
| Country | Viet Nam |
| Sector | Hospitals |
| PI Contribution | Analyse genomes of selected African swine fever virus isolates. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Generate raw data and in vitro analysis |
| Impact | One scientific paper. Not multi-disciplinary. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Collaboration with Dan Horton, Surrey Uni on antigenic cartography |
| Organisation | University of Surrey |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Provision of data for analysis, specifically antigenic titres on SARS-CoV-2 neutralisation Provision of data for analysis, specifically data on virus receptor usage |
| Collaborator Contribution | Assessment of antigenic relatedness in neutralisation datasets by antigenic cartography Assessment of receptor usage data by cartography |
| Impact | Funding awarded by UKRI, BBSRC grant BB/W006162/1 Viral entry at the human-animal interface; dissecting the pan-tropic nature of zoonotic viruses. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Collaboration with Keith Chappell on virus neutralisation |
| Organisation | University of Queensland |
| Country | Australia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Assessment of neutralisation to a range of viral immunogens by VNT using pseudotyping technology Assessment of neutralisation to a range of viral immunogens by microfusion inhibition test |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of sera from vaccination studies Provision of constructs for pseudotyping and cell-cell fusion |
| Impact | None yet, publications in preparation |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Collaboration with NIBSC: Establishment of the First WHO International Standard for anti-Rift Valley fever virus antibody |
| Organisation | National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| PI Contribution | We have tested a set of antibodies provided by NIBSC for their neutralization efficiency against RVFV using viral neutralization assays. We reported results to NIBSC and edited a manuscript. |
| Collaborator Contribution | NIBSC project managed, provided reagents, analysed data and prepared a manuscript for publication. |
| Impact | Generation of research reagents. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Collaboration with Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1 on bunyavirus-host interactions |
| Organisation | Claude Bernard University Lyon 1 (UCBL) |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We undertake research studies on bunyavirus-host interactions. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Our partners undertake research studies on bunyavirus-host interactions and provide reagents to us. |
| Impact | Exchange of technologies and reagents. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Collaboration with University of Cambridge |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We have performed in vitro experiments with infectious bronchitis virus, contributed to data analysis, preparation of manuscripts and discussed further funding opportunities. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Our partners have analysed viral transcription and translation, and host gene expression after infection of host cells with infectious bronchitis virus, prepared manuscripts and discussed further funding opportunities. |
| Impact | Dinan, A., Keep, S., Bickerton, E., Britton, P., Firth, A. and Brierley, I. (2019) Comparative analysis of gene expression in virulent and attenuated strains of infectious bronchitis virus at sub-codon resolution. J. Virol. 93(18) e00714-19. PhD studentship funding from The Pirbright Institute "Investigation of Canonical and Noncanonical Transcription during Coronavirus Replication" which commenced in 2021. |
| Start Year | 2012 |
| Description | Commonwealth Scholarship. Molecular determinants impacting avian influenza H9N2 virus evolution, replication fitness and virulence |
| Organisation | Royal Veterinary College (RVC) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I develop a research project proposal in which we are investigating how evolutionary changes in the H9N2 avian influenza virus modulate virus fitness and virulence in chickens. This PhD studentship project was funded by Commonwealth scholarship commission for 3 years. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The collaborating Partner Dr Nicola Lewis at Royal Veterinary College is a co-supervisor of the PhD student Thusitha Karunarathna. she provide necessary guidance to achieve prescribed objectives of this project. |
| Impact | The project is at its initial stage. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Development of novel diagnostic tools and vaccines |
| Organisation | Francis Crick Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The outcomes of research led to incite new collaborations with following partners in UK, Vietnam and Pakistan. Together with partners we apply for the collaborative research grant to BBSRC entitled "Combating avian influenza through systematic analysis of antigenic drift, genetic variation, and development of novel diagnostic tools and vaccines". That led to further improvement avian influenza virus vaccines and diagnostics and a number of research publication. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partners are evaluating the potency and efficacy of vaccines in countries where the disease is enzootic in poultry. |
| Impact | 1. Peacock TP, Benton DJ, Sadeyen J-R, Chang P, Sealy JE.,d, Bryant JE, Martin SR., Shelton H, McCauley JW, Barclay WS, Iqbal M (2017) Variability in H9N2 haemagglutinin receptor binding preference and pH of fusion. Emerging Microbes & Infections 6, e11 2. Peacock T, Reddy K, James J, Adamiak B, Barclay W, Shelton H, Iqbal M (2016). Antigenic mapping of an H9N2 avian influenza virus reveals two discrete antigenic sites and a novel mechanism of immune escape. Scientific Reports 5: 18745. doi: 10.1038/srep18745. 3. Thuy DM, Peacock TP., Bich VTN, . Iqbal M, Juliet E. Bryant (2016). Prevalence and diversity of H9N2 avian influenza in chickens of Northern Vietnam, 2014. Infection, Genetics and Evolution 44: 530-540 |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Development of novel diagnostic tools and vaccines |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Department | School of Public Health |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The outcomes of research led to incite new collaborations with following partners in UK, Vietnam and Pakistan. Together with partners we apply for the collaborative research grant to BBSRC entitled "Combating avian influenza through systematic analysis of antigenic drift, genetic variation, and development of novel diagnostic tools and vaccines". That led to further improvement avian influenza virus vaccines and diagnostics and a number of research publication. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partners are evaluating the potency and efficacy of vaccines in countries where the disease is enzootic in poultry. |
| Impact | 1. Peacock TP, Benton DJ, Sadeyen J-R, Chang P, Sealy JE.,d, Bryant JE, Martin SR., Shelton H, McCauley JW, Barclay WS, Iqbal M (2017) Variability in H9N2 haemagglutinin receptor binding preference and pH of fusion. Emerging Microbes & Infections 6, e11 2. Peacock T, Reddy K, James J, Adamiak B, Barclay W, Shelton H, Iqbal M (2016). Antigenic mapping of an H9N2 avian influenza virus reveals two discrete antigenic sites and a novel mechanism of immune escape. Scientific Reports 5: 18745. doi: 10.1038/srep18745. 3. Thuy DM, Peacock TP., Bich VTN, . Iqbal M, Juliet E. Bryant (2016). Prevalence and diversity of H9N2 avian influenza in chickens of Northern Vietnam, 2014. Infection, Genetics and Evolution 44: 530-540 |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Development of novel diagnostic tools and vaccines |
| Organisation | National Agricultural Research Centre |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The outcomes of research led to incite new collaborations with following partners in UK, Vietnam and Pakistan. Together with partners we apply for the collaborative research grant to BBSRC entitled "Combating avian influenza through systematic analysis of antigenic drift, genetic variation, and development of novel diagnostic tools and vaccines". That led to further improvement avian influenza virus vaccines and diagnostics and a number of research publication. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partners are evaluating the potency and efficacy of vaccines in countries where the disease is enzootic in poultry. |
| Impact | 1. Peacock TP, Benton DJ, Sadeyen J-R, Chang P, Sealy JE.,d, Bryant JE, Martin SR., Shelton H, McCauley JW, Barclay WS, Iqbal M (2017) Variability in H9N2 haemagglutinin receptor binding preference and pH of fusion. Emerging Microbes & Infections 6, e11 2. Peacock T, Reddy K, James J, Adamiak B, Barclay W, Shelton H, Iqbal M (2016). Antigenic mapping of an H9N2 avian influenza virus reveals two discrete antigenic sites and a novel mechanism of immune escape. Scientific Reports 5: 18745. doi: 10.1038/srep18745. 3. Thuy DM, Peacock TP., Bich VTN, . Iqbal M, Juliet E. Bryant (2016). Prevalence and diversity of H9N2 avian influenza in chickens of Northern Vietnam, 2014. Infection, Genetics and Evolution 44: 530-540 |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Development of novel diagnostic tools and vaccines |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Department | Oxford University Clinical Research Unit Vietnam (OUCRU) |
| Country | Viet Nam |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The outcomes of research led to incite new collaborations with following partners in UK, Vietnam and Pakistan. Together with partners we apply for the collaborative research grant to BBSRC entitled "Combating avian influenza through systematic analysis of antigenic drift, genetic variation, and development of novel diagnostic tools and vaccines". That led to further improvement avian influenza virus vaccines and diagnostics and a number of research publication. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partners are evaluating the potency and efficacy of vaccines in countries where the disease is enzootic in poultry. |
| Impact | 1. Peacock TP, Benton DJ, Sadeyen J-R, Chang P, Sealy JE.,d, Bryant JE, Martin SR., Shelton H, McCauley JW, Barclay WS, Iqbal M (2017) Variability in H9N2 haemagglutinin receptor binding preference and pH of fusion. Emerging Microbes & Infections 6, e11 2. Peacock T, Reddy K, James J, Adamiak B, Barclay W, Shelton H, Iqbal M (2016). Antigenic mapping of an H9N2 avian influenza virus reveals two discrete antigenic sites and a novel mechanism of immune escape. Scientific Reports 5: 18745. doi: 10.1038/srep18745. 3. Thuy DM, Peacock TP., Bich VTN, . Iqbal M, Juliet E. Bryant (2016). Prevalence and diversity of H9N2 avian influenza in chickens of Northern Vietnam, 2014. Infection, Genetics and Evolution 44: 530-540 |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Development of novel diagnostic tools and vaccines |
| Organisation | University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The outcomes of research led to incite new collaborations with following partners in UK, Vietnam and Pakistan. Together with partners we apply for the collaborative research grant to BBSRC entitled "Combating avian influenza through systematic analysis of antigenic drift, genetic variation, and development of novel diagnostic tools and vaccines". That led to further improvement avian influenza virus vaccines and diagnostics and a number of research publication. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partners are evaluating the potency and efficacy of vaccines in countries where the disease is enzootic in poultry. |
| Impact | 1. Peacock TP, Benton DJ, Sadeyen J-R, Chang P, Sealy JE.,d, Bryant JE, Martin SR., Shelton H, McCauley JW, Barclay WS, Iqbal M (2017) Variability in H9N2 haemagglutinin receptor binding preference and pH of fusion. Emerging Microbes & Infections 6, e11 2. Peacock T, Reddy K, James J, Adamiak B, Barclay W, Shelton H, Iqbal M (2016). Antigenic mapping of an H9N2 avian influenza virus reveals two discrete antigenic sites and a novel mechanism of immune escape. Scientific Reports 5: 18745. doi: 10.1038/srep18745. 3. Thuy DM, Peacock TP., Bich VTN, . Iqbal M, Juliet E. Bryant (2016). Prevalence and diversity of H9N2 avian influenza in chickens of Northern Vietnam, 2014. Infection, Genetics and Evolution 44: 530-540 |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Distributed Bio - Gates foundation funding - universal influenza vaccine |
| Organisation | Distributed Bio. |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Pirbright has provided expert advice to the design of adjuvant and challenge studies in appropriate animal models for human influenza vaccine trials. Pirbright is facilitating these studies in line with UK home office requirements and good scientific practice. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Distributed Bio have developed a novel vaccine that is hoped to be a candidate for a human universal influenza virus vaccine. |
| Impact | Funding from Bill and Melinda Gates foundation as part of the Grand challenges - Universal vaccine for influenza for the animal studies involving Pirbright and Distributed Bio |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Enhancing protective efficacy of avian influenza vaccines through targeted delivery of protective antigens to chicken immune cells |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Department | Department of Zoology |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Enhancing protective efficacy of avian influenza vaccines through targeted delivery of protective antigens to chicken immune cells ( PhD student training. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Training of next generation of Scientists (PhD student training). |
| Impact | Training of next generation of Scientists (PhD student training). |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Evaluate the potential of AstraZeneca's sialic acid tag technology for treating influenza viruses with Fc molecules |
| Organisation | Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine |
| Department | Parasite Immunology Liverpool |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Established partnership to investigate the antiviral properties of novel antiviral ( fragment-crystallisable (Fc) molecules) compounds that potentially block influenza virus infection. These compounds will be used to test their antiviral activity against avian influenza and Newcastle Disease virus that are causing sever economic looses to the poultry industry. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Partners have developed these antiviral compounds and showed that these compounds bids to specific cell surface receptors that are required by the virus to bind to and enter into the cell to cause infection. |
| Impact | Project is just started |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | FLU-Trailmap: Transmission and risk of avian influenza: learning more to advance preparedness |
| Organisation | Animal and Plant Health Agency |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | This project brought together eight leading scientific organizations in the UK to develop strategies for mitigating bird flu. Its main objective is to devise tools that bridge significant knowledge gaps concerning the virus's prevalence in wild birds and the factors leading to its emergence in poultry. We are exploring molecular determinants potentially related to changes in virus virulence, antigenicity, cross-species transmission, and the capacity to infect humans. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partners provided field samples and sequence data of viruses isolated from disease outbreaks. This data was used to identify molecular determinants linked to virus phenotype changes. |
| Impact | At the frontline, ethnographic surveys were designed and implemented to understand farmers perceptions of farm biosecurity. Studies highlighted the need for an improved understanding of key biosecurity risk points and the implementation of effective biosecurity practices. Outputs showed that high quality facilities and management systems can be undermined by weaknesses in procedural compliance. As such, targeted farm worker education could help mitigate against future incursions which will be addressed in the follow-on research programme, FLUTRAILMAP. Recent work indicates that farm-to-farm spread is rare and that the virus is not spread long distances as an aerosol. Linked to biosecurity, virulence for poultry and the potential role of airborne spread of the virus was evaluated. Active sampling on infected premises across different hosts supported the experimental evaluation of pathogenesis and transmission (FLUMAP: Pathogenesis) by demonstrating that this virus is not spread long distances by the aerosol route (FLUMAP: Aerosol). Further, studies demonstrated that different bird species represent different risk levels for excretion of infectious material and potential transmission routes (FLUMAP: Gannets; FLUMAP: Environment; Pheasants). Ultimately, experimental, field and genetic data supported a lack of aerosol spread between premises. In support of this, genetic analysis of over 800 full bird flu virus genomes demonstrated that farm-to-farm spread was very rare with independent incursions from wild birds driving infection in poultry (FLUMAP: Genetics; Phylodynamics). Several genetic characteristics were identified that expanded our knowledge, explaining the explosive success of the current H5N1 bird flu viruses to spread fast and infect a greater range of bird species including a shift of infection dynamics to affect seabirds (FLUMAP: Infection dynamics) and via long distance and transatlantic spread (Transatlantic). These traits have contributed to the current H5N1 viruses having increased fitness across multiple species. Contemporary H5N1 viruses have enhanced fitness to infect, transmit and persist in birds, but remain of low risk to humans (FLUMAP: Characterization; Human Case). This project has defined a role for multiple virus genes which have switched and evolved over time to act together in a highly efficient manner. To better understand key species that may tolerate infection with this virus in the absence of clinical disease, sampling of hunter harvested wild birds was undertaken. Virus positive birds were detected in a small subset of Teal, Wigeon, and Pink-Footed Geese although carcasses were not available to evaluate the distribution of virus in these birds (Healthy birds). Further assessment of different avian species using this approach are planned. Gannet populations around the UK have been severely impacted by High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI), at Bass Rock the number of occupied nest sites decreased by over 70%. Linked to the detection of the virus in apparently healthy birds, interrogating survival from infection, and in particular the role of antibodies in birds that may have been infected, but survived infection was a key interest (FLUMAP: Gannets). FLUMAP has enabled the development of a suite of laboratory tools that will enable us to dissect the immune response in birds that may have been exposed to multiple and different influenza viruses in their lifetime. Tools are now available to dissect antibody responses to each of the two different viral surface proteins (both individually and in tandem). How these two different viral coat proteins interact with each other and what optimal protein combinations mean with respect to stability of interaction has also been assessed. These tools will enable a better understanding of how different key surface proteins drive immune responses and what that means where viruses emerge containing different coat proteins. The periodic switching of the neuraminidase (NA) protein (i.e., N8 to N1) is an important factor in influencing the emergence of new strains and the tools developed in FLUMAP will enable the impact of these genetic reassortment events to be assessed. Whilst further outputs are realised from the FLUMAP project, the follow-on project, FLUTRAILMAP, will enable the application of these data to this continually emerging global situation and will enable better prevention and mitigation approaches to be defined. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Glasgow DH |
| Organisation | University of Glasgow |
| Department | Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Joint supervision of PhD student |
| Collaborator Contribution | Joint supervision of PhD student |
| Impact | PhD completed. Papers published or in preparation. |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | Identification of conserved B-cell epitopes of highly pathogenic coronaviruses for broadspectrum immunotherapy and vaccine design. |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We have performed experiments to generate preliminary data for a collaborative grant application, contributed to the writing of the grant proposal and responded to reviewers comments. |
| Collaborator Contribution | My collaborators have performed experiments to generate preliminary data for a collaborative grant application, contributed to the writing of the grant proposal and responded to reviewers comments. |
| Impact | Submission of proposal entitled "Identification of conserved B-cell epitopes of highly pathogenic coronaviruses for broadspectrum immunotherapy and vaccine design" to the "One Health Approaches to Accelerate Vaccine Development" call that forms part of the UK government's commitment to Official Development Assistance (ODA) in October 2017. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Identification of conserved B-cell epitopes of highly pathogenic coronaviruses for broadspectrum immunotherapy and vaccine design. |
| Organisation | University of Kent |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| PI Contribution | We have performed experiments to generate preliminary data for a collaborative grant application, contributed to the writing of the grant proposal and responded to reviewers comments. |
| Collaborator Contribution | My collaborators have performed experiments to generate preliminary data for a collaborative grant application, contributed to the writing of the grant proposal and responded to reviewers comments. |
| Impact | Submission of proposal entitled "Identification of conserved B-cell epitopes of highly pathogenic coronaviruses for broadspectrum immunotherapy and vaccine design" to the "One Health Approaches to Accelerate Vaccine Development" call that forms part of the UK government's commitment to Official Development Assistance (ODA) in October 2017. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Identification of genetic markers in the haemagglutinin glycoprotein critical for antigenic activity of H9N2 avian influenza viruses. |
| Organisation | Francis Crick Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | d provision of reagents and virus samples. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Technical training to PhD students and use of research facilities |
| Impact | (1) Talk: Avian influenza virus evolution: immune escape, increase in zoonotic potential and fitness in poultry. Presented at "Prevention and Control Techniques for Infectious Diseases in Livestock and Poultry", 27th 29th August 2017, Beijing, China. (2) Impact of avian influenza virus evolution on antigenicity and zoonotic infection potential. Presented at University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore, Pakistan on 23rd August 2017. (3). Molecular determinants of H9N2 avian influenza virus influencing antigenicity and receptor binding. Presented at CERAD (Centre of Excellence for Research on Avian Diseases), 3rd Symposium Recent Advances in Avian Disease Research. 31st August - 1st September 2017 at the Harbour Hotel, Alexandra Terrace, Guildford, Surrey, UK. (4) Overview of ongoing research on Poultry diseases in United Kingdom. Presented as at International poultry Stakeholders work on poultry biosecurity in Sri Lanka from 26th February to 3rd March 2017. (5). Evolutionary fitness of avian influenza viruses and development of improved vaccines and diagnostics. Presented as invited seminar speaker at RVC (Hawkshead Campus), UK. 19th October 2016. |
| Start Year | 2012 |
| Description | Identification of genetic markers in the haemagglutinin glycoprotein critical for antigenic activity of H9N2 avian influenza viruses. |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Department | Section of Virology |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | d provision of reagents and virus samples. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Technical training to PhD students and use of research facilities |
| Impact | (1) Talk: Avian influenza virus evolution: immune escape, increase in zoonotic potential and fitness in poultry. Presented at "Prevention and Control Techniques for Infectious Diseases in Livestock and Poultry", 27th 29th August 2017, Beijing, China. (2) Impact of avian influenza virus evolution on antigenicity and zoonotic infection potential. Presented at University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore, Pakistan on 23rd August 2017. (3). Molecular determinants of H9N2 avian influenza virus influencing antigenicity and receptor binding. Presented at CERAD (Centre of Excellence for Research on Avian Diseases), 3rd Symposium Recent Advances in Avian Disease Research. 31st August - 1st September 2017 at the Harbour Hotel, Alexandra Terrace, Guildford, Surrey, UK. (4) Overview of ongoing research on Poultry diseases in United Kingdom. Presented as at International poultry Stakeholders work on poultry biosecurity in Sri Lanka from 26th February to 3rd March 2017. (5). Evolutionary fitness of avian influenza viruses and development of improved vaccines and diagnostics. Presented as invited seminar speaker at RVC (Hawkshead Campus), UK. 19th October 2016. |
| Start Year | 2012 |
| Description | Improving vaccines and diagnostics for avian influenza viruses |
| Organisation | Zagazig University |
| Country | Egypt |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Provision of Research training, analysis of field samples |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of Field data and samples |
| Impact | Characterisation of Avian Influenza Virus Hemagglutinin from Egyptian Chicken Flocks during 2016 Outbreaks. Presented at Global Alliance for Research on Avian Diseases conference. Hanoi, VietNam17-19 January 2018. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Investigating antigenic determinants inducing stronger and broader cross-protective immunity among H5 avian influenza viruses |
| Organisation | Royal Veterinary College (RVC) |
| Department | Veterinary Basic Sciences |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The overarching aims of the proposed research are to improve controls against H5 subtype of avian influenza viruses infecting poultry by investigating underlying mechanisms that define how vaccines renders effectiveness and develop novel approaches enhancing the effectiveness of H5 avian influenza vaccines. We recently generated a panel of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that recognise a variety of different clades of H5 viruses. Propagation of AIV in eggs or cultured cells together with mAbs drives virus to escape from mAbs neutralisation activity. These classical virus neutralization assays (VN) followed by HA gene sequence analysis allowed us to defined the role of amino acid substitutions that are associated with evasion of antibody neutralization through emergence of antigenic variants and failure of vaccine efficacy. |
| Collaborator Contribution | provided intellectual input for achieving prescribed objectives of this work. |
| Impact | Talk entitled "Molecular determinants for antigenicity and vaccine efficacy of avian influenza viruses" was presented at Newton Agham Researcher Links Workshop " Novel Vaccines and Diagnostic Technologies against Emerging and re-emerging Veterinary Pathogens" at Rizal Park Hotel, Manila, Philippines, 4-7 February 2019. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Investigating antigenic determinants inducing stronger and broader cross-protective immunity among H5 avian influenza viruses. |
| Organisation | Royal Veterinary College (RVC) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We developed research programme to characterise diversity of antigenic epitopes induce protective immunity in chickens against H5 subtypes of avian influenza viruses. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Collaborating partner Dr Nicola Lewis at Royal Veterinary College provide advise to on cartography programme to visualize the antigenic similarity or difference among different strains of influenza viruses. |
| Impact | The work under this collaborative determined the antigenic differences among different clades of H5 avian influenza viruses circulating in birds. This project is multi-disciplinary. our laboratory mainly work on virology and immunology part of the project and we seek help on computer modeling part from the collaborating partner Dr Nicola Lewis. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Leeds FBS |
| Organisation | University of Leeds |
| Department | Faculty of Biological Sciences |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Research |
| Collaborator Contribution | Research and student supervision |
| Impact | Research |
| Start Year | 2009 |
| Description | Martin Ludlow - University of Veterinary Medicine, Hanover. Morbillivirus collaboration. |
| Organisation | University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Provision of technical information and advice about the host-range of morbilliviruses. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of reagents to support our research project, e.g. plasmid clones of viral attachment proteins and receptors. |
| Impact | No outcomes as yet, only preliminary data. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Miguel Ángel Muñoz Alía - Mayo clinic, USA. Measles population diversity. |
| Organisation | Mayo Clinic |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Technical support and sharing of research data on the host-range of morbilliviruses. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of plasmid clones representing the broad genetic diversity of measles attachment and fusion proteins. Technical support. |
| Impact | No outcomes as yet. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Miles Carroll PHE collaboration on pseudotyping |
| Organisation | Public Health England |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Provision of reagents to perform pseudotyping of Ebola G protein Hosting of visiting students to attempt sarbecovirus pseudotyping |
| Collaborator Contribution | Discussion of preliminary data Provision of sarbecovirus constructs |
| Impact | None to date, publications in preparation. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Molecular epidemiology of H9N2 avian influenza viruses in Vietnam and Pakistan. |
| Organisation | Royal Veterinary College (RVC) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Exchange of technical ideas, reagents and samples. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of field samples and data on avian influenza infection in poultry. This diseases is endemic in poultry in Pakistan. |
| Impact | (1) Increased receptor binding avidity of H9N2 avian influenza viruses is associated with escape from antibody based immunity and enhanced zoonotic potential. presented by Joshua Sealy at GARAD and ZELS conferences in Haneoi, Vietnam from 17-27 January 2018. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | Molecular epidemiology of H9N2 avian influenza viruses in Vietnam and Pakistan. |
| Organisation | University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences |
| Department | Department of Microbiology |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Exchange of technical ideas, reagents and samples. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of field samples and data on avian influenza infection in poultry. This diseases is endemic in poultry in Pakistan. |
| Impact | (1) Increased receptor binding avidity of H9N2 avian influenza viruses is associated with escape from antibody based immunity and enhanced zoonotic potential. presented by Joshua Sealy at GARAD and ZELS conferences in Haneoi, Vietnam from 17-27 January 2018. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | Morphological differences of Influenza A viruses |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Department | The Roslin Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Exchange of research methods and reagents |
| Collaborator Contribution | (1) Exchange of reagents and Research methods.(2) training of PhD students and Postdoctoral Scientists (3) use of research facilities |
| Impact | Research output were presented at Avian Influenza A virus budding morphology: spherical or filamentous? presented at The European Scientific Working group on Influenza (ESWI) Riga, Latvia. 10 to 13 September 2017 (2) .Budding morphology of avian influenza A viruses. Microbiology Society, annual Conference 2017, 306 April, EICC, Edinburggh, UK |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | PARTNERSHIP: Nanoparticle Vaccines Against Emerging Poultry Infections |
| Organisation | University of Wisconsin-Madison |
| Department | Department of Pathobiological Sciences |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We established a joint project with School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. My team will contribute in the development of Novel Target antigen delivery vaccines that selectively delivers antigens to the chicken immune cells and induces faster and stronger immune responses in vaccinated chickens. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partner developed a novel DNA nano-vaccine platform. This partnership will merge both technologies to enhance both the potency and delivery systems for poultry vaccines. |
| Impact | The partnership submitted a joint research grant proposal to USDA-NIFA-AFRI (Program A1181 Agricultural Biosecurity) entitled "Partnership: Nanoparticle Vaccines Against Emerging Poultry Infections". This grant proposal has been approved by the funders. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | PPRV collaboration with Catherine Herzog at Penn State |
| Organisation | Penn State University |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Advice on design of animal experiments |
| Collaborator Contribution | Leading project on examination of PPRV infection in cattle. |
| Impact | No outputs to date |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Partnering with National Taiwan University |
| Organisation | National Taiwan University |
| Country | Taiwan, Province of China |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We have prepared and submitted an application for a BBSRC-Taiwan Partnering Award to study "Assembly of Recombinant Infectious Bronchitis Virus and Determination of Antigenic Sites that Confer Hemagglutination Activity". |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partners conceived the project and got in contact about submitting an application for funding together. |
| Impact | An application has been made for a BBSRC-Taiwan Partnering Award in November 2018. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Paul Digard & Reidun Twarock - Packaging signals |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Department | The Roslin Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Supply of reverse genetic avian influenza viruses for the successful award of a PhD studentship based at The Roslin Institute entitled "Identification of interaction sites between the genomic segments of influenza virus as putative novel anti-viral targets". |
| Collaborator Contribution | University of York is providing mathematical modelling algorithms of viral packaging. Paul Digard- Roslin Institute is providing influenza virology expertise and hosting the student. |
| Impact | Studentship commenced in October 2019 |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Paul Digard & Reidun Twarock - Packaging signals |
| Organisation | University of York |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Supply of reverse genetic avian influenza viruses for the successful award of a PhD studentship based at The Roslin Institute entitled "Identification of interaction sites between the genomic segments of influenza virus as putative novel anti-viral targets". |
| Collaborator Contribution | University of York is providing mathematical modelling algorithms of viral packaging. Paul Digard- Roslin Institute is providing influenza virology expertise and hosting the student. |
| Impact | Studentship commenced in October 2019 |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Placement Studentship: Production and characterisation of nanobodies recognising avian influenza and Newcastle disease virus surface glycoproteins using phage display technology |
| Organisation | University of Bath |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Studentship allocated to Roddy Brookes producing and characterising llama nanobodies which recognise avian influenza and Newcastle disease virus surface glycoproteins, using our established methods of phage display technology. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Supervisory contributions, expertise and research guidance for undergraduate placement, attributed to the Bachelor of Science award. |
| Impact | On-going. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Rapid acquisition of mammalian characteristics by avian influenza virus in single host infections. |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Provided reagents and day to day technical help for undertaking this project and supervising postdoctoral researcher working on this project. Reagents include influenza reverse genetic plasmids and H9N2 and H7N9-specific antibodies. |
| Collaborator Contribution | this project will aim to understand AIV genetics that facilitate the rapid acquisition of mammalian adaptation characteristics in a single host infection. The partners with our collaborations determined adaptive genetic changes in the H9N2 avian influenza virus following infection in mice (mammalian hosts). Different strains of avian influenza Viruses generated by reverse gentic techniques were inoculated into mice and lungs sampled daily. RNA recovered from lung homogenates were deep sequenced and mutations arising were characterised for adaptation. Relative viral fitness and the rapidity of the accumulation of mutations was measured and compared amongst the viral strains. |
| Impact | The results of the our experimental studies showed the avian-origin viruses rapidly acquired mutations that increase virus fitness in mammalian species. Therefore, these viruses pose zoonotic and pandemic threat to public health. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Rapid acquisition of mammalian characteristics by avian influenza virus in single host infections. |
| Organisation | The Pirbright Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Provided reagents and day to day technical help for undertaking this project and supervising postdoctoral researcher working on this project. Reagents include influenza reverse genetic plasmids and H9N2 and H7N9-specific antibodies. |
| Collaborator Contribution | this project will aim to understand AIV genetics that facilitate the rapid acquisition of mammalian adaptation characteristics in a single host infection. The partners with our collaborations determined adaptive genetic changes in the H9N2 avian influenza virus following infection in mice (mammalian hosts). Different strains of avian influenza Viruses generated by reverse gentic techniques were inoculated into mice and lungs sampled daily. RNA recovered from lung homogenates were deep sequenced and mutations arising were characterised for adaptation. Relative viral fitness and the rapidity of the accumulation of mutations was measured and compared amongst the viral strains. |
| Impact | The results of the our experimental studies showed the avian-origin viruses rapidly acquired mutations that increase virus fitness in mammalian species. Therefore, these viruses pose zoonotic and pandemic threat to public health. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Stephen Graham collaboration on structural biology with University of Cambridge |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Provision of data and sharing of experimental ideas regarding viral host range and techniques for simulating virus evolution |
| Collaborator Contribution | Structural analysis of mutants to viral glycoproteins |
| Impact | Journal of Virology paper on potential PPRV emergence in human populations (Abdullah et al, 2018) Application of error-prone PCR to functionally probe the morbillivirus Haemagglutinin protein. Gallo G, Conceicao C, Tsirigoti C, Willett B, Graham S and Bailey D. Journal of General Virology. J Gen Virol 2021 Apr;102(4). doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001580. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33739251/ The SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein has a broad tropism for mammalian ACE2 proteins. Conceicao C, Thakur N, Human S, Kelly JT, Logan L, Bialy D, Bhat S, Stevenson-Leggett P, Zagrajek AK, Hollinghurst P, Varga M, Tsirigoti C, Tully M, Chiu C, Moffat K, Silesian AP, Hammond JA, Maier HJ, Bickerton E, Shelton H, Dietrich I, Graham SC, Bailey D. PLoS Biology. 2020 Dec 21;18(12):e3001016. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001016. eCollection 2020 Dec. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33347434/ |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | The GCRF One Health Poultry Hub |
| Organisation | Royal Veterinary College (RVC) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The focus of the research is to achieve sustainable global intensification of poultry meat and egg production whilst reducing risks to human and animal health and welfare. We are undertaking research to investigate the diversity of avian influenza viruses prevalent in poultry and wild birds in south east Asia. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Royal Veterinary College, London is leading this GCRF One Health Poultry Hub. The project will address the need to meet rising demand for poultry meat and eggs in developing countries, while minimising risk to international public health. Population growth is driving global demand for poultry, meat and egg production; this unfortunately creates conditions in which animal diseases can spread to humans ('zoonoses'). These include bacterial food poisoning and strains with avian influenza with epidemic or pandemic potential. The GCRF One Health Poultry Hub will adopt a 'One Health' approach to the issue of combatting animal-to-human diseases by bringing together a team of laboratory, clinical, veterinary and social scientists. This team will test and evaluate novel interventions. The need for safe poultry production is most urgent in South and South East Asia, so the RVC and its partners will then use their local networks in these regions to put its positive research to immediate use. |
| Impact | Development of international interdisciplinary partnership of 55 investigators from 13 countries to address the emerging global challenges of food security and public health associated with intensification of poultry production. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | The Pirbright "Livestock Antibody Hub" funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation |
| Organisation | The Pirbright Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Me and my team established collaboration in the "Livestock Antibody Hub" funded ($5.5 million) by the from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Focus of our partnership is to develop techniques and capacity to analyse immune cells (B cells) of cattle, poultry and pigs that produce virus neutralizing antibodies. This research will support rational development of next generation of vaccines and to explore antibody-based passive immunization approaches for treatment and prophylaxis of infectious viral diseases affecting livestock and humans. Our initial focus is to target major animal viral pathogens that cause severe losses within Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) animal production systems including avian influenza virus (AIV), Newcastle disease virus (NDV), infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) and foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). |
| Collaborator Contribution | This is a collaborative project and partners are providing help in provision of reagents and techniques for analysis of diversity of B cells repertoire that produce infleunza virus-specific antibodies, single cell sequencing and bioinformatic analysis. This project will further strengthen our on-going research collaborations with many research groups in academia as well as with animal health industry (Zoetis, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, Merck, CEVA, Jovac, YeBio, ILRI, Galvmed, The Roslin Institute, HuMabs, AbCellera and Distributed Bio) to take the research outputs from laboratory to the field. The outputs of research will be improved vaccines and diagnostics enabling to reduce the impact of infectious diseases on farm animals, which offer substantial direct and indirect economic, public health, environmental and social benefits to the UK and rest of the world. |
| Impact | Development of passive immunization approaches against avian influenza viruses affecting poultry (project incited in January 2020). |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | The role of segment 3 in H9N2 avian influenza virus pathogenicity |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Department | The Roslin Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This is a Joint studentship project funded by The Pirbright Institute and The Roslin Institute. We identiifed molecular markers that are responsible for increase in virus pathogenicity and transmission. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Roslin Institute contributed both intellectually and by proving research training, samples and regents to achieve the prescribed objectives this project. |
| Impact | 1. Oral Presentation Title: Identification of segment 3 sequence polymorphisms which alter shut off activity and pathogenicity of H9N2 avian influenza viruses in vivo. Anabel Clements, Saira Hussain, Holly Shelton, Paul Digard and Munir Iqbal. Global Alliance for Research Into Avian Diseases (GARAD). January 17th to 19th 2018. Fortuna Hotel, Lang Ha Street, Hanoi, VietNam 2. Poster title: What is the role of H9N2 avian influenza virus PA-X within an avian model?. Anabel Clements, Saira Hussain, Holly Shelton, Paul Digard & Munir Iqbal. UK- China CERAD (Centre of Excellence for Research on Avian Diseases), 3rd Symposium Recent Advances in Avian Disease Research. August 31st - 1st September 2017. The Harbour Hotel, Alexandra Terrace, Guildford, Surrey, UK. 3. Poster title: What is the role of H9N2 avian influenza virus PA-X within an avian model?. Anabel Clements, Saira Hussain, Holly Shelton, Paul Digard & Munir Iqbal. Microbiology Society Annual Conference. April 3rd-6th 2017. Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC), Edinburgh, UK. 4. Oral Presentation title: Identification of sequence polymorphisms in segment 3 of H9N2 avian influenza viruses that affect PA-X activity. Anabel Clements, Saira Hussain, Holly Shelton, Paul Digard & Munir Iqbal. Focused Meeting 2016: Molecular Biology and Pathogenesis of Avian Viruses. September 27th-29th 2016. Charles Darwin House, London, UK. 5. Oral Presentation title: The role of segment 3 in H9N2 avian influenza virus pathogenicity. Anabel Clements, Saira Hussain, Holly Shelton, Munir Iqbal & Paul Digard. UK -Taiwan BBSRC Partnering Award workshop: Improving Control of influenza viruses. 26th-27th April 2016. Taipei, Taiwan. 6. Oral Presentation title: Identification of sequence polymorphisms in segment 3 of H9N2 avian influenza viruses that affect PA-X activity. Anabel Clements, Saira Hussain, Holly Shelton, Munir Iqbal & Paul Digard. Microbiology Society Annual Conference 2016; virus Workshop: Negative strand RNA Viruses. 21st-24th March 2016. Arena and Convention Centre, Liverpool, UK. 7. Poster title: The role of segment 3 in H9N2 influenza virus pathogenicity. Anabel Clements, Saira Hussain, Holly Shelton, Munir Iqbal & Paul Digard. 7th Orthomyxovirus research conference. 16th-18th September 2015. Ecole Nationale Veterinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France. 8. Poster title: The role of segment 3 in H9N2 influenza virus pathogenicity. Anabel Clements, Saira Hussain, Holly Shelton, Munir Iqbal & Paul Digard. Edinburgh Infectious Diseases Annual Symposium. 20th May 2015. Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, UK. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Thomas Bowden - STRUBI - University of Oxford - Glycoprotein structure collaboration |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Provision of data and advice about the biological properties of viral glycoproteins, e.g. their fusion capacity with various receptors, their role in determining host-range |
| Collaborator Contribution | Advice and technical support at the structural level supporting future project development and design |
| Impact | No outcomes as yet |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | TrailMap-One Health |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b is panzootic in birds. Its widespread geographical distribution, sheer numbers of infections and frequent incursions in mammals indicate it to be a virus with pandemic potential. We are working as a consortium to achieve a coordinated in-depth risk assessment of clade 2.3.4.4b viruses particularly zoonotic potential of the current clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 viruses. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The collaborating partners are jointly providing data and samples necessary for evaluating the threat posed by H5N1 Clade 2.3.4.4b highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIV) to human health. This effort aims to understand the risks, potential spillover routes into humans, the virus's capacity to adapt for human transmission, and the probable severity of human infections should they occur. We will meet these objectives through three interconnected work packages: (1) assessing the infection likelihood in non-human mammals that could serve as bridging species, (2) evaluating the risk of direct or adapted virus spillover infections in humans, and (3) examining the potential for Clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 viruses to become transmissible among humans. |
| Impact | The work is currently in its initial stages, with anticipated outcomes expected by the end of this current year, 2024/2025. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Understanding animal health threats from emerging H5 high pathogenicity avian influenza viruses |
| Organisation | Animal and Plant Health Agency |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | This is a collaborative research project funded by the UKRI-BBSRC to understand how the high pathogenicity Avian Influenza virus (H5N1) persisting in different species of wild birds and transmits from wild birds to farmed poultry, the gaps in biosecurity that allow the virus to penetrate premises, and how this could be addressed. My team contributing by by generating research reagents (such as viruses generated using reverse genetic technique) that allows the identification of molecular markers in the virus genes responsible for virus virulence, transmission and/or antigenic change. The data generated helped the partners to utilise the viruses and reagents for testing their biological behaviors ( such as infectivity and transmission parameters) via animal infection studies. The outcome of this collaborative work will provide insights for assessing threats from new and emerging strains, enabling national and international agencies to design and execute contingencies as part of risk mitigation and disease control. This will provide vital information when considering how to invest scarce resources for surveillance design aimed at early warning of the threat. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The collaboration enhance both the capacity of my team by providing field data ( such as sequences of viruses isolated from the field) and reagents such as post-infection antiserum containing antibodies specific to the field virus. This allowed the investigation of field virus antigenic profiles that can be used for selection of candidate vaccine seeds for the production of effective vaccines. |
| Impact | The data generated provided a risk assessment of contemporary H5Nx HPAIVs that are acquiring adaptive changes to increase fitness within domestic and wild avian populations. This partnership identified viral and host factors that potentially contribute to increased transmissibility, persistence, and pathogenicity in wild birds and those that enhance their potential to disseminate and manifest disease in poultry. We identified genetic changes that drive the virological, immunological, and zoonotic infection potential of these H5N1 viruses. The data generated allowed us an establishment of current and future risks from these viruses to both animals and humans if they continue to remain prevalent in wild bird populations. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Understanding antigenic diversity, zoonotic potential and immunological prevention of avian influenza viruses affecting poultry |
| Organisation | Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences |
| Country | China |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Undertake joint research work to investigate to identify the molecular determinants that are critical for enhancing potency and efficacy of vaccines, as well as those that are associated with heightened zoonotic risk. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of samples, reagents and research facilities |
| Impact | Published joint paper (1)ian Xu, Xixi Zhang, Shuanghai Zhou, Junjun Shen,Dawei Yang, Jing Wu, Xiaoyang Li, Meiling Li, Xiufen Huang, Joshua E. Sealy, Munir Iqbal&Yongqing Li (2017). A DNA aptamer efficiently inhibits the infectivity of Bovine herpesvirus 1 by blocking viral entry. Scientific Reports. 7: 11796. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-10070-1. (2) Jian Xu, Jing Wu, Houjun He, Junjun Shena, Dawei Yang, Xixi Zhang, Xiaoyang Li, Meiling Li, Xiufen Huang, Joshua Sealy, Munir Iqbal & Yongqing Li (2017). Bovine single chain Fv antibody inhibits bovine herpesvirus-1 infectivity by targeting viral glycoprotein D. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8566-0. (2) |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Understanding antigenic diversity, zoonotic potential and immunological prevention of avian influenza viruses affecting poultry |
| Organisation | China Agricultural University (CAU) |
| Department | College of Veterinary Medicine |
| Country | China |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Undertake joint research work to investigate to identify the molecular determinants that are critical for enhancing potency and efficacy of vaccines, as well as those that are associated with heightened zoonotic risk. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of samples, reagents and research facilities |
| Impact | Published joint paper (1)ian Xu, Xixi Zhang, Shuanghai Zhou, Junjun Shen,Dawei Yang, Jing Wu, Xiaoyang Li, Meiling Li, Xiufen Huang, Joshua E. Sealy, Munir Iqbal&Yongqing Li (2017). A DNA aptamer efficiently inhibits the infectivity of Bovine herpesvirus 1 by blocking viral entry. Scientific Reports. 7: 11796. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-10070-1. (2) Jian Xu, Jing Wu, Houjun He, Junjun Shena, Dawei Yang, Xixi Zhang, Xiaoyang Li, Meiling Li, Xiufen Huang, Joshua Sealy, Munir Iqbal & Yongqing Li (2017). Bovine single chain Fv antibody inhibits bovine herpesvirus-1 infectivity by targeting viral glycoprotein D. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8566-0. (2) |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Understanding antigenic diversity, zoonotic potential and immunological prevention of avian influenza viruses affecting poultry |
| Organisation | Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) |
| Country | China |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Undertake joint research work to investigate to identify the molecular determinants that are critical for enhancing potency and efficacy of vaccines, as well as those that are associated with heightened zoonotic risk. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of samples, reagents and research facilities |
| Impact | Published joint paper (1)ian Xu, Xixi Zhang, Shuanghai Zhou, Junjun Shen,Dawei Yang, Jing Wu, Xiaoyang Li, Meiling Li, Xiufen Huang, Joshua E. Sealy, Munir Iqbal&Yongqing Li (2017). A DNA aptamer efficiently inhibits the infectivity of Bovine herpesvirus 1 by blocking viral entry. Scientific Reports. 7: 11796. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-10070-1. (2) Jian Xu, Jing Wu, Houjun He, Junjun Shena, Dawei Yang, Xixi Zhang, Xiaoyang Li, Meiling Li, Xiufen Huang, Joshua Sealy, Munir Iqbal & Yongqing Li (2017). Bovine single chain Fv antibody inhibits bovine herpesvirus-1 infectivity by targeting viral glycoprotein D. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8566-0. (2) |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Understanding antigenic diversity, zoonotic potential and immunological prevention of avian influenza viruses affecting poultry |
| Organisation | Francis Crick Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Undertake joint research work to investigate to identify the molecular determinants that are critical for enhancing potency and efficacy of vaccines, as well as those that are associated with heightened zoonotic risk. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of samples, reagents and research facilities |
| Impact | Published joint paper (1)ian Xu, Xixi Zhang, Shuanghai Zhou, Junjun Shen,Dawei Yang, Jing Wu, Xiaoyang Li, Meiling Li, Xiufen Huang, Joshua E. Sealy, Munir Iqbal&Yongqing Li (2017). A DNA aptamer efficiently inhibits the infectivity of Bovine herpesvirus 1 by blocking viral entry. Scientific Reports. 7: 11796. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-10070-1. (2) Jian Xu, Jing Wu, Houjun He, Junjun Shena, Dawei Yang, Xixi Zhang, Xiaoyang Li, Meiling Li, Xiufen Huang, Joshua Sealy, Munir Iqbal & Yongqing Li (2017). Bovine single chain Fv antibody inhibits bovine herpesvirus-1 infectivity by targeting viral glycoprotein D. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8566-0. (2) |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Understanding antigenic diversity, zoonotic potential and immunological prevention of avian influenza viruses affecting poultry |
| Organisation | University of Glasgow |
| Department | Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Undertake joint research work to investigate to identify the molecular determinants that are critical for enhancing potency and efficacy of vaccines, as well as those that are associated with heightened zoonotic risk. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of samples, reagents and research facilities |
| Impact | Published joint paper (1)ian Xu, Xixi Zhang, Shuanghai Zhou, Junjun Shen,Dawei Yang, Jing Wu, Xiaoyang Li, Meiling Li, Xiufen Huang, Joshua E. Sealy, Munir Iqbal&Yongqing Li (2017). A DNA aptamer efficiently inhibits the infectivity of Bovine herpesvirus 1 by blocking viral entry. Scientific Reports. 7: 11796. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-10070-1. (2) Jian Xu, Jing Wu, Houjun He, Junjun Shena, Dawei Yang, Xixi Zhang, Xiaoyang Li, Meiling Li, Xiufen Huang, Joshua Sealy, Munir Iqbal & Yongqing Li (2017). Bovine single chain Fv antibody inhibits bovine herpesvirus-1 infectivity by targeting viral glycoprotein D. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8566-0. (2) |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Understanding diversity of avian influenza viruses and improvement disease control in poultry and humans |
| Organisation | Agricultural Research Centre |
| Department | Veterinary Serum and Vaccine Research Institute |
| Country | Egypt |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | This project helped my research group to establish research collboration between the Pirbright Institute and the scientists at the collaborating laboratories listed above and an excellent opportunity for building a joint "ONE HEALTH" platfor. I am sharing knowledge, reagents and techniques to improve efficacious vaccines and diagnostic tools against avian influenza viruses. The easy availability of better control tools against avian influenza viruses will aid in the reduction of poultry production losses and thus be important for global food security and improved animal welfare whilst also reducing zoonotic transmission to humans. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Each collaborating institute and team member has specific expertise and facilities in areas relevant to this research programme. Collaborators in different institutions have extensive experience collecting field samples and implementing vaccination and large scale surveillance programmes. Each partner institutions have unique experience in monitoring the endemic prevalence of many animal diseases including avian influenza in both domestic and wild birds from which UK is under constant threat. The partners are sharing knowledge, expertise and facilities to investigate fundamental biology of influenza viruses and predict their epidemiological relevance, to assess potential risks and to devise appropriate intervention strategies. The knowledge, reagents and field samples will be available through this partnership. which will be essential for development of informed control policies and tools(vaccines and diagnostics) that may contribute to reducing the ever increasing threat from endemic, emerging and re-emerging influenza virus variants posing risk to animals and humans. Also, All researchers involved will benefit through ongoing professional development and advanced training in new technologies and new systems-level approaches to disease management. Exchange visits of researchers from collaborating laboratories to undertake training in a number of disciplines including disease surveillance, molecular virology, epidemiology, immunology, vaccinology and diagnostics will have a tangible impact on capacity building and training of next generation researchers in control of infectious animal and zoonotic diseases. |
| Impact | The ultimate aims of this collaboration are to reduce the impact of influenza virus on poultry production and reduce their zoonotic transmission to humans. The collaboration will improve resources and capacity for disease control systems. Achieving these specific goals will prove a step-change in AIV disease management and increase in poultry productivity directly drives economic prosperity of farmers and allied communities. The will directly impact on socio-economic well-being of partner countries. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Understanding diversity of avian influenza viruses and improvement disease control in poultry and humans |
| Organisation | Francis Crick Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This project helped my research group to establish research collboration between the Pirbright Institute and the scientists at the collaborating laboratories listed above and an excellent opportunity for building a joint "ONE HEALTH" platfor. I am sharing knowledge, reagents and techniques to improve efficacious vaccines and diagnostic tools against avian influenza viruses. The easy availability of better control tools against avian influenza viruses will aid in the reduction of poultry production losses and thus be important for global food security and improved animal welfare whilst also reducing zoonotic transmission to humans. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Each collaborating institute and team member has specific expertise and facilities in areas relevant to this research programme. Collaborators in different institutions have extensive experience collecting field samples and implementing vaccination and large scale surveillance programmes. Each partner institutions have unique experience in monitoring the endemic prevalence of many animal diseases including avian influenza in both domestic and wild birds from which UK is under constant threat. The partners are sharing knowledge, expertise and facilities to investigate fundamental biology of influenza viruses and predict their epidemiological relevance, to assess potential risks and to devise appropriate intervention strategies. The knowledge, reagents and field samples will be available through this partnership. which will be essential for development of informed control policies and tools(vaccines and diagnostics) that may contribute to reducing the ever increasing threat from endemic, emerging and re-emerging influenza virus variants posing risk to animals and humans. Also, All researchers involved will benefit through ongoing professional development and advanced training in new technologies and new systems-level approaches to disease management. Exchange visits of researchers from collaborating laboratories to undertake training in a number of disciplines including disease surveillance, molecular virology, epidemiology, immunology, vaccinology and diagnostics will have a tangible impact on capacity building and training of next generation researchers in control of infectious animal and zoonotic diseases. |
| Impact | The ultimate aims of this collaboration are to reduce the impact of influenza virus on poultry production and reduce their zoonotic transmission to humans. The collaboration will improve resources and capacity for disease control systems. Achieving these specific goals will prove a step-change in AIV disease management and increase in poultry productivity directly drives economic prosperity of farmers and allied communities. The will directly impact on socio-economic well-being of partner countries. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Understanding diversity of avian influenza viruses and improvement disease control in poultry and humans |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Department | MSk Lab |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This project helped my research group to establish research collboration between the Pirbright Institute and the scientists at the collaborating laboratories listed above and an excellent opportunity for building a joint "ONE HEALTH" platfor. I am sharing knowledge, reagents and techniques to improve efficacious vaccines and diagnostic tools against avian influenza viruses. The easy availability of better control tools against avian influenza viruses will aid in the reduction of poultry production losses and thus be important for global food security and improved animal welfare whilst also reducing zoonotic transmission to humans. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Each collaborating institute and team member has specific expertise and facilities in areas relevant to this research programme. Collaborators in different institutions have extensive experience collecting field samples and implementing vaccination and large scale surveillance programmes. Each partner institutions have unique experience in monitoring the endemic prevalence of many animal diseases including avian influenza in both domestic and wild birds from which UK is under constant threat. The partners are sharing knowledge, expertise and facilities to investigate fundamental biology of influenza viruses and predict their epidemiological relevance, to assess potential risks and to devise appropriate intervention strategies. The knowledge, reagents and field samples will be available through this partnership. which will be essential for development of informed control policies and tools(vaccines and diagnostics) that may contribute to reducing the ever increasing threat from endemic, emerging and re-emerging influenza virus variants posing risk to animals and humans. Also, All researchers involved will benefit through ongoing professional development and advanced training in new technologies and new systems-level approaches to disease management. Exchange visits of researchers from collaborating laboratories to undertake training in a number of disciplines including disease surveillance, molecular virology, epidemiology, immunology, vaccinology and diagnostics will have a tangible impact on capacity building and training of next generation researchers in control of infectious animal and zoonotic diseases. |
| Impact | The ultimate aims of this collaboration are to reduce the impact of influenza virus on poultry production and reduce their zoonotic transmission to humans. The collaboration will improve resources and capacity for disease control systems. Achieving these specific goals will prove a step-change in AIV disease management and increase in poultry productivity directly drives economic prosperity of farmers and allied communities. The will directly impact on socio-economic well-being of partner countries. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Understanding diversity of avian influenza viruses and improvement disease control in poultry and humans |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This project helped my research group to establish research collboration between the Pirbright Institute and the scientists at the collaborating laboratories listed above and an excellent opportunity for building a joint "ONE HEALTH" platfor. I am sharing knowledge, reagents and techniques to improve efficacious vaccines and diagnostic tools against avian influenza viruses. The easy availability of better control tools against avian influenza viruses will aid in the reduction of poultry production losses and thus be important for global food security and improved animal welfare whilst also reducing zoonotic transmission to humans. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Each collaborating institute and team member has specific expertise and facilities in areas relevant to this research programme. Collaborators in different institutions have extensive experience collecting field samples and implementing vaccination and large scale surveillance programmes. Each partner institutions have unique experience in monitoring the endemic prevalence of many animal diseases including avian influenza in both domestic and wild birds from which UK is under constant threat. The partners are sharing knowledge, expertise and facilities to investigate fundamental biology of influenza viruses and predict their epidemiological relevance, to assess potential risks and to devise appropriate intervention strategies. The knowledge, reagents and field samples will be available through this partnership. which will be essential for development of informed control policies and tools(vaccines and diagnostics) that may contribute to reducing the ever increasing threat from endemic, emerging and re-emerging influenza virus variants posing risk to animals and humans. Also, All researchers involved will benefit through ongoing professional development and advanced training in new technologies and new systems-level approaches to disease management. Exchange visits of researchers from collaborating laboratories to undertake training in a number of disciplines including disease surveillance, molecular virology, epidemiology, immunology, vaccinology and diagnostics will have a tangible impact on capacity building and training of next generation researchers in control of infectious animal and zoonotic diseases. |
| Impact | The ultimate aims of this collaboration are to reduce the impact of influenza virus on poultry production and reduce their zoonotic transmission to humans. The collaboration will improve resources and capacity for disease control systems. Achieving these specific goals will prove a step-change in AIV disease management and increase in poultry productivity directly drives economic prosperity of farmers and allied communities. The will directly impact on socio-economic well-being of partner countries. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Understanding diversity of avian influenza viruses and improvement disease control in poultry and humans |
| Organisation | Suez Canal University |
| Country | Egypt |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This project helped my research group to establish research collboration between the Pirbright Institute and the scientists at the collaborating laboratories listed above and an excellent opportunity for building a joint "ONE HEALTH" platfor. I am sharing knowledge, reagents and techniques to improve efficacious vaccines and diagnostic tools against avian influenza viruses. The easy availability of better control tools against avian influenza viruses will aid in the reduction of poultry production losses and thus be important for global food security and improved animal welfare whilst also reducing zoonotic transmission to humans. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Each collaborating institute and team member has specific expertise and facilities in areas relevant to this research programme. Collaborators in different institutions have extensive experience collecting field samples and implementing vaccination and large scale surveillance programmes. Each partner institutions have unique experience in monitoring the endemic prevalence of many animal diseases including avian influenza in both domestic and wild birds from which UK is under constant threat. The partners are sharing knowledge, expertise and facilities to investigate fundamental biology of influenza viruses and predict their epidemiological relevance, to assess potential risks and to devise appropriate intervention strategies. The knowledge, reagents and field samples will be available through this partnership. which will be essential for development of informed control policies and tools(vaccines and diagnostics) that may contribute to reducing the ever increasing threat from endemic, emerging and re-emerging influenza virus variants posing risk to animals and humans. Also, All researchers involved will benefit through ongoing professional development and advanced training in new technologies and new systems-level approaches to disease management. Exchange visits of researchers from collaborating laboratories to undertake training in a number of disciplines including disease surveillance, molecular virology, epidemiology, immunology, vaccinology and diagnostics will have a tangible impact on capacity building and training of next generation researchers in control of infectious animal and zoonotic diseases. |
| Impact | The ultimate aims of this collaboration are to reduce the impact of influenza virus on poultry production and reduce their zoonotic transmission to humans. The collaboration will improve resources and capacity for disease control systems. Achieving these specific goals will prove a step-change in AIV disease management and increase in poultry productivity directly drives economic prosperity of farmers and allied communities. The will directly impact on socio-economic well-being of partner countries. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Understanding diversity of avian influenza viruses and improvement disease control in poultry and humans |
| Organisation | University of Tokyo |
| Department | International Research Center for Infectious Diseases |
| Country | Japan |
| Sector | Hospitals |
| PI Contribution | This project helped my research group to establish research collboration between the Pirbright Institute and the scientists at the collaborating laboratories listed above and an excellent opportunity for building a joint "ONE HEALTH" platfor. I am sharing knowledge, reagents and techniques to improve efficacious vaccines and diagnostic tools against avian influenza viruses. The easy availability of better control tools against avian influenza viruses will aid in the reduction of poultry production losses and thus be important for global food security and improved animal welfare whilst also reducing zoonotic transmission to humans. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Each collaborating institute and team member has specific expertise and facilities in areas relevant to this research programme. Collaborators in different institutions have extensive experience collecting field samples and implementing vaccination and large scale surveillance programmes. Each partner institutions have unique experience in monitoring the endemic prevalence of many animal diseases including avian influenza in both domestic and wild birds from which UK is under constant threat. The partners are sharing knowledge, expertise and facilities to investigate fundamental biology of influenza viruses and predict their epidemiological relevance, to assess potential risks and to devise appropriate intervention strategies. The knowledge, reagents and field samples will be available through this partnership. which will be essential for development of informed control policies and tools(vaccines and diagnostics) that may contribute to reducing the ever increasing threat from endemic, emerging and re-emerging influenza virus variants posing risk to animals and humans. Also, All researchers involved will benefit through ongoing professional development and advanced training in new technologies and new systems-level approaches to disease management. Exchange visits of researchers from collaborating laboratories to undertake training in a number of disciplines including disease surveillance, molecular virology, epidemiology, immunology, vaccinology and diagnostics will have a tangible impact on capacity building and training of next generation researchers in control of infectious animal and zoonotic diseases. |
| Impact | The ultimate aims of this collaboration are to reduce the impact of influenza virus on poultry production and reduce their zoonotic transmission to humans. The collaboration will improve resources and capacity for disease control systems. Achieving these specific goals will prove a step-change in AIV disease management and increase in poultry productivity directly drives economic prosperity of farmers and allied communities. The will directly impact on socio-economic well-being of partner countries. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Understanding diversity of avian influenza viruses and improvement disease control in poultry and humans |
| Organisation | Zagazig University |
| Country | Egypt |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This project helped my research group to establish research collboration between the Pirbright Institute and the scientists at the collaborating laboratories listed above and an excellent opportunity for building a joint "ONE HEALTH" platfor. I am sharing knowledge, reagents and techniques to improve efficacious vaccines and diagnostic tools against avian influenza viruses. The easy availability of better control tools against avian influenza viruses will aid in the reduction of poultry production losses and thus be important for global food security and improved animal welfare whilst also reducing zoonotic transmission to humans. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Each collaborating institute and team member has specific expertise and facilities in areas relevant to this research programme. Collaborators in different institutions have extensive experience collecting field samples and implementing vaccination and large scale surveillance programmes. Each partner institutions have unique experience in monitoring the endemic prevalence of many animal diseases including avian influenza in both domestic and wild birds from which UK is under constant threat. The partners are sharing knowledge, expertise and facilities to investigate fundamental biology of influenza viruses and predict their epidemiological relevance, to assess potential risks and to devise appropriate intervention strategies. The knowledge, reagents and field samples will be available through this partnership. which will be essential for development of informed control policies and tools(vaccines and diagnostics) that may contribute to reducing the ever increasing threat from endemic, emerging and re-emerging influenza virus variants posing risk to animals and humans. Also, All researchers involved will benefit through ongoing professional development and advanced training in new technologies and new systems-level approaches to disease management. Exchange visits of researchers from collaborating laboratories to undertake training in a number of disciplines including disease surveillance, molecular virology, epidemiology, immunology, vaccinology and diagnostics will have a tangible impact on capacity building and training of next generation researchers in control of infectious animal and zoonotic diseases. |
| Impact | The ultimate aims of this collaboration are to reduce the impact of influenza virus on poultry production and reduce their zoonotic transmission to humans. The collaboration will improve resources and capacity for disease control systems. Achieving these specific goals will prove a step-change in AIV disease management and increase in poultry productivity directly drives economic prosperity of farmers and allied communities. The will directly impact on socio-economic well-being of partner countries. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | York |
| Organisation | University of York |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Collaboration |
| Collaborator Contribution | Collaboration |
| Impact | Collaboration |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Title | PPR DIVA vaccine |
| Description | We ahve developed two PPR live attenuated DIVA vaccines that can differentiate between vaccinated and infected animals. |
| IP Reference | PCT/GB2019/053641,WO2020128496 |
| Protection | Patent application published |
| Year Protection Granted | 2020 |
| Licensed | Commercial In Confidence |
| Impact | Till date there is no PPR vaccine avalable that can differentiate between vaccination and infection. This causes a huge issue on eradication of the didease and declare freedom from the disease. Therefore our newly develped chimeric live attenauted PPR vaccine and DIVA tests can differentiate between vaccination and infection which is a great achievement for ongoing PPR eradication. Please see detail from the below web. https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2020128496 |
| Description | "Challenges for Poultry Industry". Organised by Fakieh Poultry at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 2nd -3rd December 2018, |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Conference discussed prevention and control of infectious diseases affecting poultry production. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | "Interactive session with poultry stakeholders". Title: Overview of Avian Influenza group Research at The Pirbright Institute. Presented at University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore, Pakistan, 3rd August 2018. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The workshop discussed the economic impacts and prevention strategies against avian influenza viruses affecting poultry production and zoonotic infections. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | 1st JSPS Core-to-Core Program Joint Seminar and the 7th CADIC International Symposium "Livestock Revolution in ASEAN for the Kitchen of the World" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Don King provided an invited Keynote presentation to 1st JSPS Core-to-Core Program Joint Seminar and the 7th CADIC International Symposium "Livestock Revolution in ASEAN for the Kitchen of the World", Bangkok, Thailand, October 2017 on work undertaken at Pirbright to monitor the evolution of FMDV and threats posed for transbounadary spread. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | 2. Overview of Avian Influenza group Research at The Pirbright Institute. Presented at "Interactive session with poultry stakeholders" at University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore, Pakistan, 3rd August 2018. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Dissemination of research Project outcomes These include presenting research data for vaccine seed strains with emergent field avian influenza variants; The zoonotic risk posed by emerging avian influenza viruses circulating in the wild birds and poultry. Impact of virus evolution on vaccine efficacy and persistence in poultry. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | 33rd World Veterinary Congress, Incheon, South Korea, August 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Don King was an invited speaker at the 33rd World Veterinary Congress, Incheon, South Korea, August 2017. He presented a talk entitled: New tools for the detection and characterisation of transboundary diseases. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://wvc2017korea.com/ |
| Description | AN INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR VENUGOPAL NAIR |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Professor Venugopal Nair is a Research Group Leader at The Pirbright Institute, a visiting Professor of Avian Virology at the Department of Zoology, and a Jenner Investigator at the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford. He is also a member of the Microbiology Society, and in this interview, he tells us more about his research into viral diseases of livestock. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://microbiologysociety.org/membership/meet-our-members/focus-area-viruses/an-interview-with-pro... |
| Description | ASF Genotypes Study Interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Interview to discuss recent publication on a hybrid virus discovered in China |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Ash Manor School challenge week workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | For this event, 60 students were rotating around a series of science workshops as part of their challenge week based on a selected theme of their choice. Giulia and Phoebe contributed together with other people from our Institute in delivering the workshop about microbiology, hence student were actively interested in the topic. They organised activities that could be performed in small groups such as teaching pupils about the importance of hand hygiene using our UV Equipment, seeing live mosquitoes through a microscope, learning about flu using our Flu Fighters- H&N Selector and trying to take swabs from a model chicken using Flu Fighters- Henrietta the Chicken. The students were very interested in all the activities and actively participating, and they were asking many questions related to viruses, animal diseases, zoonotic diseases and microbiology in general. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Avian Influenza Evolution: Impact on Virulence, Vaccines and Diagnostics. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Munir Iqbal presented a keynote talk at the International Seminar 2024 "Poultry Health Challenges in Pakistan on 21 November 2024 at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Avian Influenza H9N2 and H7N9 evolution, fitness in poultry and zoonotic potential presented by Munir Iqbal at UC DAVIS EDUCATION CONFERENCE ON ONE HEALTH FOR FOOD SAFETY, AGRICULTURE, AND ANIMAL HEALTH |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The research was discussed with academic and non-academic participants the risks of avian influenza viruses currently circulating in poultry and carry potential to cause zoonotic infections. Since avian influenzas viruses (AIVs) exist in many subtypes and co-infection of two or more different AIV subtypes in an individual bird can lead to the generation of novel reassortant viruses. The emergent reassortant viruses may carry differential phenotypic characteristics (virulence, host-transmission and host-range) compared to their parental viruses. Our studies revealed that experimental co-infection of chickens with two different subtypes of avian influenza viruses (H9N2 and H7N9) led to the emergence of novel reassortant H9N9 viruses which carry greater virulence for poultry and an increased zoonotic and pandemic potential. Our results also provided evidence that both H9N2 and H7N9 viruses can rapidly acquire antigenic changes in vaccinated birds causing vaccine failure and cocirculation of these viruses can also rapidly lead to rapid generation of novel reassortment viruses with increased virulence and host-range posing threat to both animals and humans. This presentation increased awareness among the audience risk posed by co-circulation of different subtypes of avian influenza viruses in poultry and wild birds and how best we can detect emerging threats and develop the disease risks and disease mitigation strategies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.wifss.ucdavis.edu/onehealthsummer21/ |
| Description | Avian Influenza Research at Pirbright |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented a talk as an invited speaker to the Animal Diseases Surveillance and Control Team at The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), London, UK sharing the research goals and achievements performed at the Pirbright Institute. The topics focused on (i) understanding the genetic and antigenic evolution of avian influenza viruses, (ii) drivers of zoonotic potential, (iii) improvement of poultry vaccine potency, (iv) investigating molecular markers of antigenic variants, (v) improving avian influenza detection and diagnostic approaches, e.g. lateral flow devices and (vi) development of novel vaccine candidates to improve protective efficacy including vector- and multivalent-based vaccines and targeted delivery of antigens. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Avian Influenza Vaccines Research at Pirbright |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Delivered a presentation to key research grant funders and stakeholders in the UK, including BBSRC and DEFRA, associated with animal welfare, disease control, and the research goals and achievements performed at the Pirbright Institute. The topics focused on (i) understanding the genetic and antigenic evolution of avian influenza viruses, (ii) drivers of zoonotic potential, (iii) improvement of poultry vaccine potency, (iv) investigating molecular markers of antigenic variants, (v) improving avian influenza detection and diagnostic approaches, e.g. lateral flow devices and (vi) development of novel vaccine candidates to improve protective efficacy including vector- and multivalent-based vaccines and targeted delivery of antigens. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Avian Influenza Viruses: Potential Threats and Disease Mitigation Strategies |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Munir Iqbal presented a talk (as an invited keynote speaker) at the 8th Scientific Conference on Transboundary Animal Diseases on 10 October 2024, Tunis, Tunesia |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Avian Influenza and One Health |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Munir Iqbal presented Talk at the Infectious Diseases seminar for senior medical practitioners on 25 September 2024, at the Gordon Museum of Pathology, Hodgkin Building, Guy's Campus, London. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Avian Influenza: Global Situation & Control Strategies |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented a talk as an invited speaker at the International Symposium on Poultry Health Challenges in Pakistan. Organized by the World Veterinary Poultry Association (WVPA-Pakistan Branch) at Serena Hotel Faisalabad, Pakistan. Poultry production continues to face several challenges caused by avian influenza, including: (1) virus evolution & antigenic diversity, (2) emergence of new virus variants, (3) co-circulation of multiple variants of same pathogen, (4) mixed infection of different viruses (immunosuppression), (5) maternally derived antibody interference, and (6) poor quality vaccines and sub-optimal vaccination practices. From these challenges, the topic of discussion and research drives optimal vaccination strategies to improve: (1) potency: a single dose to induce faster, stronger and durable immunity against multiple pathogens, (2) effectiveness: protect from clinical disease, reduced shedding and transmission, (3) affordability: cheap to produce and easy to deliver, (4) safety: no adverse impact to host or environment, (5) stability: retain efficacy for at least 1 year at indicated temperature, (6) DIVA: to allow differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals. Implementing new emerging vaccine approaches can: (1) enhance the efficacy, duration, and breadth of immunity, (2) reduce production losses, (3) improve cost-effectiveness, (4) improve productivity and economy, (5) improve animal welfare, and (6) reduce prevalence of viruses and protect public health (reduced virus prevalence = reduced zoonosis). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Avian flu: our food chain is in crisis. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | The New paper "Telegraph" correspondent Sarah Newey (GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY CORRESPONDENT) Interviewed Professor munir Iqbal regarding the impacts and threats of current wave if high pathogenicity avian influenza virus causing disease widespread losses to poultry production, mortality of wild birds and mammalian species (otters, foxes, minks sealions), The discussion focus on the impacts of avian influenza infections on the livelihood of farming comunities and threat of zoonotic infection to wider public. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/what-bird-flu-pandemic-killedmillions-... |
| Description | Avian influenza virus evolution impacts on virulence and antigenicity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A talk was presented at Royal Veterinary College, London, by Thusitha Karunarathna (a PhD student in the Avian Influenza group at The Pirbright Institute). The Talk described the mechanisms used by the avian influenza viruses to evade host immunity to cause disease outbreaks and persists in poultry. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Avian influenza viruses can combine two techniques to evade vaccine immunity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | A study by researchers at The Pirbright Institute reveals more clues about how avian influenza viruses can evade vaccine immunity, aiding their spread in the field. The findings are published in Emerging Microbes and Infections. Influenza viruses are able to mutate, which can enable them to evade immunity generated by natural infection or vaccination. Influenza viruses have four main ways of duping the immune system so that they can continue to infect and spread between birds. Pirbright scientists investigated two of these to further understand how the H9N2 avian influenza virus can change its genetic makeup to overcome poultry vaccines. One of the methods the virus can use is to alter one of its surface proteins, haemagglutinin (HA), which enables the virus to enter the cell and replicate. HA is also a common target for the immune system's antibodies, which block the virus from binding to cell receptors. By changing just one or two protein components, HA can latch on far more tightly to the cell, preventing antibodies from stopping the virus. However, this can come at a cost, as particularly strong binding can prevent effective replication. The other method scientists investigated is how H9N2 viruses disguise themselves by adding sugar chains to the surface of their HA proteins. This can block antibodies from binding, but also has varying fitness outcomes for the influenza virus. The researchers found that the location of the sugar chain on HA could determine how effectively the virus replicated. They also demonstrated that the two evasive techniques could either compliment or act against each other - if an influenza virus had gained mutations that enable it to bind more strongly to cells, a sugar chain in the right position could restore its ability to replicate effectively. In contrast, weakly binding influenza viruses do not benefit from HA sugar additions, which instead reduce the virus's ability to replicate. Professor Munir Iqbal, head of the Avian Influenza Group at Pirbright said, "We can use this knowledge to develop new vaccines that will help antibodies to recognise how the flu virus can change. This will provide protection to birds even as the virus evolves. We can also use this information to understand how viruses survive in poultry despite vaccination and monitor new adaptions that may appear in the field." This research was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the British Council with support from the Newton Fund. Article: Sealy, J. E., Peacock, T. P., Sadeyen, J. R., Chang, P., Everest, H. J., Bhat, S., Iqbal, M. (2020). Adsorptive mutation and N-linked glycosylation modulate influenza virus antigenicity and fitness. Emerging Microbes & Infections, advance online publication, 12 November 2020, doi: 10.1080/22221751.2020.1850180 [SOURCE: The Pirbright Institute] |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.star-idaz.net/2020/12/avian-influenza-viruses-can-combine-two-techniques-to-evade-vaccin... |
| Description | Avian influenza viruses in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka: investigating genotype to phenotype (antigenicity, virulence, host-range). Webinar on 28th March 2021. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented talk by Munir iqbal describing ongoing research outcomes. We identified genetic determined that modules avian influenza H5 and H9 antigenicity virulence and transmission fitness in different host species. The role of identified markers that change the virus binding to host cells and impact on virus-host interaction leading to mild or severe disease manifestation in chickens and mammalian species (humans). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Avian influenza: tackling large numbers of outbreaks this winter in the UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Nearly two years on, the COVID-19 pandemic is still dominating the news and continues to cause concern for populations across the globe. However, UK poultry and wild bird populations are currently facing their own health threat. We are not the only ones that have faced lockdowns because of spreading viruses, UK poultry and captive birds have also faced a similar situation to protect them from avian influenza. Scientists at The Pirbright Institute are working to increase understanding of how genetic changes in influenza A viruses can impact disease spread, host responses to infection and the pathology associated with the disease. What is the avian influenza virus? Avian influenza viruses are Influenza A viruses that circulate and transmit amongst birds. The disease is what we commonly know as 'bird flu'. Influenza A viruses can infect a range of hosts, including humans and two subtypes H1N1 and H3N2 circulate as seasonal flu each winter in the UK. Avian influenza viruses are different to those that can infect humans in that they cannot easily infect humans and must change and adapt to do so. Aquatic birds are a natural reservoir for avian influenza viruses, these birds typically experience fewer clinical symptoms but can spread disease to domestic birds, particularly in the migratory season, between October and March. Avian influenza viruses are categorised as either highly pathogenic (HPAI) or low pathogenic (LPAI) and this categorisation is linked to the severity of disease in chickens. HPAI has a high mortality rate which can be up to 100%, other symptoms can include swelling of the head, death of cells in the comb and wattle, red discolouration of legs and feet and diarrhoea. HPAI causes disease in more organs than just those in the respiratory or gastrointestinal tracts like LPAI, which mostly presents as respiratory symptoms such as a snick (like a sneeze), a rattle in the chest (known as rales) and discharge from the eyes and nose. What is causing bird flu outbreaks in domestic birds now? We are currently in the normal migratory season of wild birds. In the spring and summer months, these birds spend their time breeding and raising their young in North-eastern Asia where they mix with other bird species which enables virus transmission and mutation. Then, when they migrate for the autumn and winter months, they shed virus in their faeces along the way. One of the migratory paths is across Northern Europe and this includes the UK. This year, in the UK, the first avian influenza outbreak was on 15 October and was discovered in captive aquatic birds. To date (17 December 2021) there have been 50 outbreaks in England, 1 in Wales and 2 in Scotland, this has resulted in over half a million birds being destroyed to control the spread of disease. Are there more outbreaks this year compared to other years? The number of outbreaks this year has been the most extensive ever. There have been over 50 outbreaks in the UK, compared to 26 outbreaks last year. Although it is hard to pin down the reason for this high number, we know it is not linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK's response to the spread of avian influenza has been rapid, and from 29 November birds were required to be housed inside with additional biosecurity measures put in place such as foot dips and disinfecting clothing. Testing and surveillance of wild birds have shown that there is a high prevalence of the virus in these birds currently, and this is contributing to the spread of disease to farm and domestic bird populations. A more detailed look at the genetic make-up of these viruses shows that they are different to those from previous years. This is predicted to be as a result of the virus infecting multiple birds across a range of species, and this provides the perfect opportunity for the virus to evolve. Analysis of these genetic changes does not raise any alarm bells for increased transmission to humans, but they are likely impacting the spread and severity of disease in birds. What should we do if we find a dead bird or are concerned about bird health? If the public finds dead waterfowl birds they are encouraged not to touch them but to report them to Defra using the appropriate phone number that can be found on the website, also any other wild birds found dead in numbers of five or greater should be reported. What is Pirbright doing to tackle this virus? Researchers at Pirbright are attempting to enhance the control and detection of avian influenza in poultry populations as well as extend our basic knowledge about the virus in avian and mammalian hosts. The research groups led by Professor Munir Iqbal and Dr Holy Shelton are investigating how avian influenza virus strains originated from wild birds can rapidly adapt to cause disease outbreaks in poultry and gain the potential to infect humans. In addition, Professor Munir Iqbal is developing improved poultry vaccines that prevent virus replication and spread. These vaccines are particularly useful in countries where avian influenza is regularly found in the domestic poultry and the control and prevention of spread isn't easy, such as in the UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.pirbright.ac.uk/news/2021/12/avian-influenza-tackling-large-numbers-outbreaks-winter-uk |
| Description | BBSRC Partnering Seminar, University of Liverpool, Tamilnadu Veterinary and Animal Science University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk presented entitled " Molecular determinants of antigenicity of H7 and H9 avian Influenza viruses". The research data shared with the colleagues working to reduce the impact of avian infectious diseases on poultry production. The discussion led to more collaboration and work together, acquiring reagents and protocols for further research and development activities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | BSI webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I presented a webinar hosted by the British Society for Immunology entitled "BSI Coronavirus webinar: What can we learn from the animal coronaviruses?", which sparked questions and discussions afterwards. I have since been contacted to establish new collaborations with people in the audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Bird flu genetic make-up different from previous years |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Research outputs were mass comminated for the general public via a news story. Lockdowns due to spreading viruses are continuing to affect UK poultry and captive bird owners and scientists say the latest research into this year's avian influenzas shows a different genetic make-up. The number of outbreaks this year has been the most extensive ever across the UK with more than 50 cases, compared to just 26 last year. Testing and surveillance of wild birds have shown that there is a high prevalence of the virus currently in birds, and this is contributing to the spread of disease to farm and domestic bird populations. Dr Holly Shelton, head of Pirbright's Influenza Viruses group, is looking at understanding how genetic changes in influenza A viruses can impact disease spread, host responses to infection and the pathology associated with the disease. Shelton said avian influenza viruses are different to those that can infect humans in that they cannot easily infect and must change and adapt to do so. Aquatic birds are a natural reservoir for avian influenza viruses but typically experience fewer clinical symptoms despite spreading the disease to domestic birds in the migratory season between October and March. Bird migration Responding to questions on what was causing bird flu outbreaks in domestic birds, she said: "In the spring and summer months these birds spend their time breeding and raising their young in north-eastern Asia where they mix with other bird species. This enables virus transmission and mutation. Then, when they migrate for the autumn and winter months, they shed viruses in their faeces along the way. "One of the migratory paths is across northern Europe and this includes the UK. This year in the UK, avian influenza was first discovered on 15 October in captive aquatic birds. To date (17 December), there have been 50 outbreaks in England, 1 in Wales and 2 in Scotland. This has resulted in over half a million birds being destroyed to control the spread of the disease." Testing and surveillance Government testing and surveillance of wild birds have shown a high prevalence of the virus in these birds which was contributing to the spread of the disease to farm and other domestic bird populations. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said this week that avian influenza had already killed more than 850 barnacle geese at its Mersehead reserve near Dumfries. "We are probably approaching 4,000 - certainly over 3,000 - mostly barnacle geese. It is pretty large scale and likely to get worse. It is unprecedented. I have worked in the area for 25 years and I don't ever remember us seeing this many birds dying," said the charity's area manager, Andrew Bielinski. "A more detailed look at the genetic make-up of these viruses shows that they are different to those from previous years. This is predicted to be a result of the virus infecting multiple birds across a range of species, and this provides the perfect opportunity for the virus to evolve. "Analysis of these genetic changes does not raise any alarm bells for increased transmission to humans, but they likely impact the spread and severity of disease in birds." Enhancing control Research at Pirbright is looking at enhancing control and detection of avian influenza as well as extending knowledge about the virus in avian and mammalian hosts. The Influenza Viruses group is involved in the assessment of which avian influenza virus strains can rapidly adapt to cause potential infections of humans. In addition, Shelton's group is mapping the changes in the chicken respiratory and gastrointestinal microbiome following virus infection and assessing whether the application of probiotics can be useful in controlling virus shedding or transmission in birds. The Influenza Group, led by Professor Munir Iqbal, is developing improved poultry vaccines that can prevent virus replication and spread. These vaccines are particularly useful in countries where avian influenza is regularly found in the domestic poultry and the control of prevention of spread isn't easy, such as the UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.poultryworld.net/health-nutrition/bird-flu-genetic-make-up-different-from-previous-years... |
| Description | Bird flu: What is it and what's behind the outbreak? ( BBC New) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Discussion with BBC News Editors (Helen Briggs & Jeremy Howell). As the The world is going through its worst-ever outbreak of bird flu which led the deaths of hundreds of thousands of wild birds and millions of domestic ones. It is also being found in mammals, so what are the threats from this virus to economy, food security, animal welfare and public health. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-63464065 |
| Description | Blenheim High School Fair - DB |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Team members attended sessions at a local high school with secondary school children and those in the 6th form to talk about paths into scientific careers, sharing their experiences of working at The Pirbright Institute. Approximately 300 students attended and it stimulated increased interest in science and research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Centre of excellence for research on avian diseases (CERAD) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to present my work at the UK-China Centre of excellence for research on avian diseases (CERAD) meeting attended by researchers from UK, China and Thailand. There was lots of discussion about the research and future directions, including potential collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Challenges and Innovations in Avian Influenza Vaccines |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Munir Iqbal presented Avian Pathology Lecture at the 6th WVPA Asia Meeting, 17-18 October 2024, Manila, Philippines. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Cheltenham Science Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Panel discussion at the Cheltenham Science Festival in 2018 One of the biggest threats to our food security is disease of our livestock and crops. Disease affects our economy and the availability of food in our shops. Don King, Head of the World Reference Lab for Foot-and-Mouth Disease, chemical ecologist John Pickett and food systems researcher John Ingram join climate scientist Tamsin Edwards to explore the risks to the UK's food supply and how preventing and controlling these diseases keeps our store cupboards well-stocked. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/science/whats-on/2018/how-safe-is-our-food-supply/ |
| Description | Cheltenham Science festival - LB |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | National science festival which Team members attended to demonstrate to the public how scientists at The Pirbright Institute can work to contain and control viral outbreaks. Over 500 people accessed the information and this stimulated increased interest in science and research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Combating avian influenza through systematic analysis of antigenic drift, genetic variation, and development of novel diagnostic tools and vaccines. Presented at as PI of the ZELS project at ZELS grant holders and Stakeholders meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam 23th-24th January 2017. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Engagement and dissemination of research outcome to representatives of research funding bodies such as Department for International Development (DFID), Medical Research Council (MRC) and the researchers working on different research projects funded by BBSRC under Zoonoses and Emerging Livestock Systems (ZELS). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Commentary on bird flu outbreaks for poultry world |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Commentary on extensive outbreaks of H5N1 this year in birds. Published online at Poultry world, read by farmers and poultry keepers. https://www.poultryworld.net/Health/Articles/2022/1/Bird-flu-genetic-make-up-different-from-previous-years-837779E/ |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Conference presentation at RSV 2022 meeting in Belfast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Two group members (Dr. Jobe and Miss Emily Lacey) travelled to Belfast for RSV 2022 conference. We presented one poster on RSV inclusion bodies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Conference presentations at Negative Strand Virus meeting 2022 in Braga, Portugal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Four members of the research group (Drs Bailey, Jobe and Newman as well as Miss Thakur) travelled to Portugal to present our work on SARS-CoV-2 host range, immunity and also RSV inclusion bodies. We had 2 talks and a poster. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Conor Haydon participated in the STEM Day - Speed interviews and Careers Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | STEM day engagement and careers |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Controlling and monitoring Avian Influenza in poultry |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Engagement with veterinarian and farmers involved in poultry production. The discussion focused was new strategies (vaccines and diagnostics) for reducing the the impacts of high pathogenicity of avian influenza viruses. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Could Bird Flu become a pandemic? (Aljazeera TV) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | The discussion ( Inside Story) has been impacts of high pathogenicity avian influenza on poultry and whether bird flu become a pandemic?. The inside story was presented by Al Jazeera English corresponded "Mohammed Jamjoom" the discussion focus remains as the world is experiencing its largest recorded outbreak of bird flu, populations of poultry and wild birds are becoming infected. So what are threats of these viruses on food supplies, economy and public health. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spp2Cg-jqoc |
| Description | Deimante Lukosaityte: Microbiology Society conference 2019. Poster presentation: Chicken protection against H9N2 virus by passive immunization |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Described techniques for development of next generation of vaccines against viral diseases affecting animals and humans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Delivered a lead talk and chaired a session at VIROCON international conference, New Delhi on Early events on PPRV pathogenesis- February 18-20, 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Delivered a lead talk at VIROCON international conference, New Delhi on Early events on PPRV pathogenesis- February 18-20, 2020. This parks questions and discussions after the talk. The scientists working on other morbilliviruses, example on Measles were keen to know the new fact I delivered that PPRV primarily infect immune cells in pharyngeal tonsil, but not in the epithelium of respiratory tract as believed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Delivered a lead talk at Indian Association of Vetrinary Microbiology and Immunology ( IAVMI) at IVRI, Bareilly on PPR and FMD control by vaccination- February 6-7th, 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Delivered a lead talk at Indian Association of Vetrinary Microbiology and Immunology ( IAVMI) at IVRI, Bareilly on PPR and FMD control by vaccination- February 6-7th, 2020. Further attended the panel meeting with FMD vaccine producers and FMD scientists at PDFMD and IVRI Bangalore to recommend Govt of India for the future control of FMD. Suggested boosting of the first dose FMDV vaccinated animals which will stimulate the immunity up to the second biannual vaccination to avoid any window for infection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Delivered a lead talk on FMD vaccine and chaired a scientific session at Indian Veterinary Association at New Delhi ( 25.7.19-28.07.19) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Delivered a lead talk on FMD vaccine and chaired a scientific session at Indian Veterinary Association at New Delhi ( 25.7.19-28.07.19). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.indianveterinaryassociation.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/... |
| Description | Delivered a talk on PPR DIVA vaccine at EU Epizone meeting in Berlin-25.8.19-28-08.19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Delivered a talk on PPR DIVA vaccine at EU Epizone meeting in Berlin-25.8.19-28-08.19 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Delivered an invited talk on Epidemiology of PPR at wildlife Arusha, Tanzania - 22.10.10-26.10.19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Delivered an invited talk on PPR epidemiology at wildlife Arusha, Tanzania - 22.10.10-26.10.19 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Demonstrating Mathematics (Angita Shrestha) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Angita Shrestha (PhD student within Avian Influenza group) provided help in a Maths session to the new Oxford Doctoral Training Porgramme (DTP) cohort. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Designed a poster for presentation at the EuFMD conference - Title: Using high throughput sequencing to characterise low-frequency diversity of foot-and-mouth disease virus during vaccine strain adaptation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I prepared a poster presentation for the EuFMDV conference (Presentated by Boehringer Ingelheim) in regards to the research activity between the Pirbright Institute and Boehringer Ingelheim. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Determinants of antigenicity of H9 Avian Influenza Viruses. UK-China Swine and Poultry Workshop.17-18 June 2019, The Pirbright Institute, UK. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The talk and the discussion on the improvement of disease control systems (vaccines and diagnostics) to prevent avian influenza viruses infection in poultry and zoonotic infections in humans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Developing Novel Multivalent Vaccines for Poultry Viral Diseases |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Munir Iqbal present talk Presented at the Oxford University Human and Veterinary Vaccinology Course on 30th October 2024, Pirbright, UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Developing novel multivalent vaccines for poultry viral diseases |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presented a talk at the Oxford University training Course on Human & Veterinary Vaccinology, UK. This talk was directed to students at the University of Oxford to teach and describe the research and challenges to overcome to enhance the efficacy of poultry-based vaccines performed at the Pirbright Institute. From these challenges, the topic of discussion and research drives optimal vaccination strategies to improve: (1) potency: a single dose to induce faster, stronger and durable immunity against multiple pathogens, (2) effectiveness: protect from clinical disease, reduced shedding and transmission, (3) affordability: cheap to produce and easy to deliver, (4) safety: no adverse impact to host or environment, (5) stability: retain efficacy for at least 1 year at indicated temperature, (6) DIVA: to allow differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals. Implementing new emerging vaccine approaches can: (1) enhance the efficacy, duration, and breadth of immunity, (2) reduce production losses, (3) improve cost-effectiveness, (4) improve productivity and economy, (5) improve animal welfare, and (6) reduce prevalence of viruses and protect public health (reduced virus prevalence = reduced zoonosis). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Developing novel multivalent vaccines for poultry viral diseases |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A talk entitled "Developing novel multivalent vaccines for poultry viral diseases" was presented to post-graduate students from Univerity of Oxford. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Diamond (TT) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Diamond Light Source Open Day - explaining to general public the importance of structural biology and microscopy for understanding viruses and designing improved vaccines. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | EG International Women's Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Attended a series of talks for International Women's Day 2021 to celebrate the progress made towards achieving gender equality and women's empowerment but also to reflect on those accomplishments. It is a day to recognize the extraordinary acts of women and to stand together, to advance gender equality around the world. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | EUFMD 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | During the EuFMDV conference taking place from 26 to 28 October 2016, Paolo Ribeca gave a talk on "VIBAsys and FMDV-Tools: Practical resources for FMDV sequence analysis". The conference, organised by the EU, gathers most of the important actors in FMD control. The talk explained how the new resources being developed by the Integrative Biology and Bioinformatics on behalf of the FMDV World Reference Lab can be useful to the community |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Emergence and Fitness of H5N1 Clade 2.3.4.4b Viruses Currently Infecting Poultry, Wild Birds, Mammals, and Humans |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Munir Iqbal presented a talk at the International Pandemic Sciences Conference, 1-2 July 2024, Oxford, UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Emerging Animal Infectious Disease Conference, Co-hosted by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and Penn State's Center for Security Research and Education |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited speaker - provided a presentation on FMD |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Emerging Threats: The Evolution and Persistence of Avian Influenza Viruses in Poultry |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented a talk as an Invited speaker at the 2023 International Symposium on Important Animal Diseases and Zoonoses of Yangzhou University, China. Poultry production continues to face several challenges caused by avian influenza, including: (1) virus evolution & antigenic diversity, (2) emergence of new virus variants, (3) co-circulation of multiple variants of same pathogen, (4) mixed infection of different viruses (immunosuppression), (5) maternally derived antibody interference, and (6) poor quality vaccines and sub-optimal vaccination practices. From these challenges, the topic of discussion and research drives optimal vaccination strategies to improve: (1) potency: a single dose to induce faster, stronger and durable immunity against multiple pathogens, (2) effectiveness: protect from clinical disease, reduced shedding and transmission, (3) affordability: cheap to produce and easy to deliver, (4) safety: no adverse impact to host or environment, (5) stability: retain efficacy for at least 1 year at indicated temperature, (6) DIVA: to allow differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals. Implementing new emerging vaccine approaches can: (1) enhance the efficacy, duration, and breadth of immunity, (2) reduce production losses, (3) improve cost-effectiveness, (4) improve productivity and economy, (5) improve animal welfare, and (6) reduce prevalence of viruses and protect public health (reduced virus prevalence = reduced zoonosis). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Engagement with poultry stakeholders (farmers and veterinarians at "Morocco Poultry Day"). |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk was presented to poultry stakeholders including farmers describing the new emerging technologies that increase the efficacy of poultry vaccines, in particular vaccines against Avian influenzas and Newcastel disease virus,.The meetings was attended over 80 participates. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Enhancing the Potency of Poultry Vaccines by Selectively Targeting Antigens to Chicken Antigen-Presenting Cells |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented a talk as an invited speaker at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Munich, Germany. Poultry production continues to face several challenges caused by avian influenza, including: (1) virus evolution & antigenic diversity, (2) emergence of new virus variants, (3) co-circulation of multiple variants of same pathogen, (4) mixed infection of different viruses (immunosuppression), (5) maternally derived antibody interference, and (6) poor quality vaccines and sub-optimal vaccination practices. Our research on our newly developed targeted-delivery vaccine platform addresses these challenges by improving: (1) potency: a single dose to induce faster, stronger and durable immunity against multiple pathogens, (2) effectiveness: protect from clinical disease, reduced shedding and transmission, (3) affordability: cheap to produce and easy to deliver, (4) safety: no adverse impact to host or environment, (5) stability: retain efficacy for at least 1 year at indicated temperature, and (6) overcome maternally derived antibodies. This platform therefore (1) enhances the efficacy, duration, and breadth of immunity, (2) reduces production losses, (3) improves cost-effectiveness, (4) improves productivity and economy, (5) improves animal welfare, and (6) reduces prevalence of viruses and protect public health (reduced virus prevalence = reduced zoonosis). Additionally, collaborations with industrial partners can integrate this research to adapt to new antigenic variants and/or hosts. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Enhancing the potency of poultry vaccines and overcoming maternally derived antibody interference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented a talk as keynote speaker at the GARAD-2023 conference at Harbour Hotel Guildford, UK. Poultry production continues to face several challenges caused by avian influenza, including: (1) virus evolution & antigenic diversity, (2) emergence of new virus variants, (3) co-circulation of multiple variants of same pathogen, (4) mixed infection of different viruses (immunosuppression), (5) maternally derived antibody interference, and (6) poor quality vaccines and sub-optimal vaccination practices. Our research on our newly developed targeted-delivery vaccine platform addresses these challenges by improving: (1) potency: a single dose to induce faster, stronger and durable immunity against multiple pathogens, (2) effectiveness: protect from clinical disease, reduced shedding and transmission, (3) affordability: cheap to produce and easy to deliver, (4) safety: no adverse impact to host or environment, (5) stability: retain efficacy for at least 1 year at indicated temperature, and (6) overcome maternally derived antibodies. This ensures early vaccination is possible and this vaccine platform can aid control of avian influenza in early poultry populations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Enhancing the potency of poultry vaccines by targeted delivery of antigens to chicken antigen-presenting cells |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented a talk as an invited speaker at the 12th Asian Pacific Poultry Conference (APPC2023) at Nanjing, China. Poultry production continues to face several challenges caused by avian influenza, including: (1) virus evolution & antigenic diversity, (2) emergence of new virus variants, (3) co-circulation of multiple variants of same pathogen, (4) mixed infection of different viruses (immunosuppression), (5) maternally derived antibody interference, and (6) poor quality vaccines and sub-optimal vaccination practices. Our research on our newly developed targeted-delivery vaccine platform addresses these challenges by improving: (1) potency: a single dose to induce faster, stronger and durable immunity against multiple pathogens, (2) effectiveness: protect from clinical disease, reduced shedding and transmission, (3) affordability: cheap to produce and easy to deliver, (4) safety: no adverse impact to host or environment, (5) stability: retain efficacy for at least 1 year at indicated temperature, and (6) overcome maternally derived antibodies. This platform therefore (1) enhances the efficacy, duration, and breadth of immunity, (2) reduces production losses, (3) improves cost-effectiveness, (4) improves productivity and economy, (5) improves animal welfare, and (6) reduces prevalence of viruses and protect public health (reduced virus prevalence = reduced zoonosis). Additionally, collaborations with industrial partners can integrate this research to adapt to new antigenic variants and/or hosts. This ensures early vaccination is possible and this vaccine platform can aid control of avian influenza in early poultry populations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Evolution of H9N2 avian influenza virus under immune pressure. Presented at 10th International Symposium on Avian Influenza, 15th - 18th April 2018, The Grand Hotel, Brighton, UK. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The primary aim of the workshop was to forge long-term research partnerships between early-career researchers, livestock industry and national disease control authorities in the UK and the Philippines. In addition, the activity hopes provide information about the emerging and next generation diagnostic and vaccine strategies and their utilization to reduce the impact of viral diseases on livestock and poultry. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.slideshare.net/zerep_cire/2019-newton-agham-researcher-links-workshop-vaccines-and-diagn... |
| Description | Evolutionary Dynamics of Avian Influenza (H5/H7/H9) in Asia and Its Risks |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Munir Iqbal presented a talk at the 6th WVPA Asia Meeting, 17-18 October 2024, Manila, Philippines. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://wvpa-asia2024.com/ |
| Description | Expert group meeting for PPR eradication at head quarters of WHO, Vienna, Austria, 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | In the FAO/PPR eradication meeting satya has presented work on PPR epidemiology and diagnosis. The talk was designed for the stakeholders and policy make to make aware on important points that are required for eradication of PPR |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | FAO and Nanjing Agricultural University One Health Global Experts Symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited key note presentation - entitled "Global and regional risks of foot-and-mouth disease" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Farnborough College of Technology Career day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The aim of this event was to give Y13 students direct access to local potential employers who are prepared to invest in training and developing their employees via recognised apprenticeships, formal additional qualifications or in-house training, together with information on when and how they can apply. Additionally the exhibition was open for all the 3,700 college students to attend throughout the day with their families. Giulia was in charge of The Pirbright Institute stand with various activities for visitors to take part in and she was explaining our science to the students and the general public, career opportunities and training options. During the day working on the stand Giulia could speak with many children and adults about her work at Pirbright and what The Pirbright Institute is, stimulating public interest in research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Genetic engineering speeds up poultry vaccine development |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Researchers report the rapid generation of a bivalent vaccine against Marek's disease and avian influenza Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have used genetic engineering to develop a vaccine that protects birds against both Marek's disease and avian influenza. They say the process is faster and more efficient compared to previous methods, which will allow poultry vaccine producers to rapidly update vaccine strains in order to keep up with virus evolution. In a study published in the journal Vaccines, the team used the gene editing tool CRISPR/Cas9 to insert an avian influenza gene into the turkey herpesvirus (HVT) that is used in Marek's disease vaccines. The gene codes for haemagglutinin (HA), an influenza protein that is key for virus entry into host cells and is therefore an important target of the host immune response to block infection. "HVT is already widely used in vaccines against Marek's disease and can be administered to eggs, enabling automated delivery and providing birds with protection from the day they hatch. The additional HA gene we have incorporated will be expressed by HVT when it replicates in host cells, meaning that a single dose of vaccine induces immunity against both viruses", explained Professor Munir Iqbal, Head of the Avian Influenza group at Pirbright. "The genetic engineering process we have developed using CRISPR/Cas9 is far quicker and more efficient than previous technologies, as well as being very consistent and accurate. These attributes are essential for providing fast and reliable vaccine production to protect poultry", Prof Iqbal added. Mutations can occur with high frequency in HA proteins, enabling influenza viruses to evade immunity generated by vaccines. Using CRISPR/Cas9 to create new vaccines will help tackle evolving viruses by reducing the time it takes manufacturing companies to adapt their vaccine strains to match these mutations, allowing faster responses to outbreaks and providing better protection. Although this gene editing method is very reliable, a small number of HVT viruses fail to incorporate the HA gene into their own genome effectively. To ensure HA is being expressed in the vaccine, the team exploited the HA protein's ability to bind to molecules on the surface of red blood cells. Chicken cells infected with the successfully modified HVT virus express HA on their surface which red blood cells attach to, forming a clump that can be visualised using microscopy. This simple test improves the speed at which suitable vaccine candidates can be identified and has a much broader application as it can also be used for other viruses that incorporate proteins which interact with red blood cells. "Improving how we make vaccines is critical for preventing avian influenza outbreaks. Our work could help reduce the spread of disease between birds and reduce the risk of infection for people who work closely with poultry", Prof Iqbal said. "Now that we have developed a rapid method for generating this modified vaccine, our next steps will be to study the vaccine's effectiveness in field trials." |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.cabi.org/vetmedresource/news/66612 |
| Description | Global epidemic trend of avian influenza virus and its harm to public health |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk as an invited speaker at The 2023 China-ASEAN Seminar on Prevention and Control of Cross-border Animal Diseases, Guangxi Veterinary Research Institute, Nanning, Guangxi, China. The persistence of avian influenza viruses in bird populations increases zoonotic and pandemic risks. Research focuses on reducing prevalence of viruses and protect public health (reduced virus prevalence = reduced zoonosis). To address this, topics discussed included research focuses in: (1) virus evolution & antigenic diversity, (2) emergence of new virus variants, (3) co-circulation of multiple variants of same pathogen, (4) mixed infection of different viruses (immunosuppression), (5) maternally derived antibody interference, and (6) poor quality vaccines and sub-optimal vaccination practices. From these challenges, the topic of discussion and research drives optimal vaccination strategies to improve: (1) potency: a single dose to induce faster, stronger and durable immunity against multiple pathogens, (2) effectiveness: protect from clinical disease, reduced shedding and transmission, (3) affordability: cheap to produce and easy to deliver, (4) safety: no adverse impact to host or environment, (5) stability: retain efficacy for at least 1 year at indicated temperature, (6) DIVA: to allow differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals. Implementing new emerging vaccine approaches can: (1) enhance the efficacy, duration, and breadth of immunity, (2) reduce production losses, (3) improve cost-effectiveness, (4) improve productivity and economy, (5) improve animal welfare, and (6) reduce prevalence of viruses and protect public health. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | H5Nx Clade 2.3.4.4b Avian Influenza Viruses: An Increasing Risk for Global Poultry, Livestock, and Humans |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Munir Iqbal presented a talk at the WVPA Regional Conference for Africa and the Middle East 3-6 September 2024, Cairo, Egypt. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | H9N2 avian influenza viruses: impact of evolutionary changes on virus antigenicity, receptor binding and zoonotic potential. Presented at "Conference on Animal Infectious Diseases and Human Health" held at The Veterinary Biotechnology Branch of Chinese Association of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine & the Veterinary Immunology Branch of Chinese Society for Immunology. August 7th-10th, 2018 Harbin, China. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Dissemination of research outcomes to prevent and control of infectious diseases of animals and humans. - Avian influenza virus evolution and efficacy. - |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | H9N2 avian influenza viruses: impact of evolutionary changes on virus antigenicity, receptor binding and zoonotic potential. Presented at "Conference on Animal Infectious Diseases and Human Health" held at The Veterinary Biotechnology Branch of Chinese Association of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine & the Veterinary Immunology Branch of Chinese Society for Immunology. August 7th-10th, 2018 Harbin, China. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Focus of the conference was to improve control against infectious diseases affecting poultry and livestock. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | HPAI Update: Global and Asian Situation and Control. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Munir Iqbal Presented talk et "Let's Speak Poultry" (ASKAN), on 16 October 2024 in Manila, Philippines. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Hands-on experiment for students at Gordon School, Woking, Surrey |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Three scientists from Pirbright (BA, DK, EH) ran a practical session at Gordon School in November 2018 to allow students to be able to trial new rapid diagnostics assays for transboundary diseases. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | High pathogenicity avian Influenza (HPAI) H5 in Europe -Epidemiology and Surveillance. Presented via Webinar, organized by Boehringer Ingelheim, 3rd July 2020. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk entitled; High pathogenicity avian Influenza (HPAI) H5 in Europe -Epidemiology and Surveillance. talk was organized by Boehringer Ingelheim, 3rd July 2020 and presented via Webinar. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | How virus tracking can help us prevent future pandemics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | UAR interviewed Professor Munir Iqbal, head of the Avian Influenza group at The Pirbright Institute, https://www.pirbright.ac.uk/users/prof-munir-iqbal. The Pirbright Institute specialises in the research and diagnosis of livestock viral diseases and viruses that spread from animals to humans. The Institute is part of an international network that tracks viruses and formulates ways to control and prevent outbreaks, such as creating new vaccines and better diagnostics. While the Covid-19 pandemic grabs the headlines there are other, potentially more deadly viruses, spreading through the animal kingdom, which may have the capacity to infect humans. Perhaps the most well-known pandemic agent - before Covid-19 - was the flu virus. The 1918 influenza pandemic, caused by an H1N1 virus of avian origin, was the most severe pandemic in recent history, infecting one-third of the world's population and killing at least 50 million worldwide. These viruses evolve, so every year the world is at risk of a new strain of flu. One related virus that caused the 2009 swine flu pandemic killed over 200,000 people worldwide. Professor Munir Iqbal heads up the Avian Influenza Virus group at The Pirbright Institute. This group is imitating natural selection and evolution of influenza viruses in the lab. They hope to identify how viruses might change - potentially to be more dangerous. By identifying those changes they can make informed decisions about how to create vaccines against these potential new strains. A new strain, H7N9, emerged in China in February 2013, infecting both poultry and humans. Since then, there have been over 1500 confirmed human infections from this strain with an estimated 40% fatality rate. By 2017 the Chinese government had, very rapidly for a new vaccine, implemented a mass vaccination programme against H7N9 in poultry. This was accompanied by a striking reduction in human infection from this virus. At first this seemed to be good news, but it turns out that suboptimal vaccine practices were creating an evolutionary pressure for the virus to change - to escape the effects of vaccination. As the virus evolved it didn't infect human populations so well, but it became more aggressive in the poultry, even if they had been vaccinated. Iqbal explains, "At The Pirbright Institute, we study how these viruses evolve to persist in poultry and overcome vaccines, and how mutations impact virus virulence, transmission and, pathogenicity. Ultimately this will give us information on bird-to-human transmission and help develop diagnostic tools and vaccines to better fight the virus." Disease transmission has to be studied in chickens but disease virulence can be quantified using chicken eggs. 14 day-old fertilised eggs are infected with the virus which then replicate. The faster the virus replicates in the embryo, the more virulent the strain. "The quantity of virus being produced often equates to the aggressiveness of the disease. Very often viral infection depends on the amount of virus that you come in contact with. One particle might not infect animals or humans, but thousands could. In the same way, a smaller amount of virus might be needed to infect poultry compared to humans. We live alongside loads of virus without getting sick until we come across an amount large enough to cause an infection," explains Iqbal. By imitating the natural selection process in the lab, the researchers identified the specific mutation that allowed the Chinese H7N9 virus to escape vaccine-induced immunity. They were also able to predict the evolution of influenza viruses. Three mutations that were observed in the lab have since been found in the field in 2019. "These changes can have a huge impact in terms of virus transmission, virus virulence and virus transfusion across species from avian-to-human, avian-to-avian, or even to different mammalian species," adds Iqbal. Fortunately for us, these three mutations prevent H7N9 viruses from binding to human cells, but increase their binding, replication and stability in chicken cells and embryos. This means that the strains that had evolved around the vaccination posed a lower threat to humans, but an increased risk to poultry. Mass vaccination of poultry against H7N9 strains in China might have been beneficial to humans, driving virus evolution away from a human pandemic, but it also meant that the evolved viruses posed an even greater threat to poultry. However, this might not be the case for all strains warns Iqbal. Not all mutations that arise due to vaccine induced evolution, push viral strains away from human infection. In the future, other mutations may have human pandemic potential or be even more deadly to poultry. Influenza viruses are a particular risk, as they infect a huge range of animals and mutate rapidly, which gives them the capacity to jump species and evade the immune system. They are particularly a cause for concern, because they circulate in livestock such as pigs and poultry which regularly come into close contact with humans. Using a method that can predict how vaccination may change influenza virus characteristics is potentially valuable for making new vaccines against these fast evolving viruses. These predictions could also provide advanced warning of mutations that could increase likelihood of human infection. Looking out for these viral mutations in the global health surveillance programme can help in the monitoring for potential threats. This might allow us to get ahead of them, by developing and using new vaccines, before new viral variants have a chance to spread and spiral out of control in a new pandemic. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.understandinganimalresearch.org.uk/news/research-medical-benefits/how-virus-tracking-can... |
| Description | Identification of antigenic epitopes to broaden and enhance the efficacy of avian influenza vaccines. Presented at 6th Animal Vaccines and immune Adjuvant Technologies Salon & Advanced seminar, Shandong-Binzhou Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine Academy, China, 18-20 October 2019. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The talk and the discussion was the best practices to improve control systems (vaccines and diagnostics) for prevention of avian influenza viruses infection in poultry and zoonotic infections in humans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Immuno-pathobiology of H9N2 avian influenza viruses: looking at how the viruses evolve and persist in poultry. Presented at "Techniques for Healthy Farming and Diseases Prevention & Control of Livestock and Poultry. Beijing, August 13th-15th, 2018. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Dissemination of research outputs. Improvement of vaccines and diagnostics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Improving Breadth and Duration of Immunity of Poultry Vaccines: Targeted Delivery of Antigens to Chicken Antigen Presenting Cells. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Talk entitled "Improving Breadth and Duration of Immunity of Poultry Vaccines: Targeted Delivery of Antigens to Chicken Antigen Presenting Cells" presented by Professor Iqbal at 2022 Yangzhou International Conference on Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety - Germplasm Innovation and Agri-Product Safety on 30th November 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Improving Detection Sensitivity of Lateral Flow-Based Rapid Diagnosis of Emerging Avian Influenza H5Nx Clade 2.3.4.4b Viruses |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Munir Iqbal presented a talk at the International Pandemic Sciences Conference, 1-2 July 2024, Oxford, UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Improving Potency of Poultry Vaccines |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A talk entitled "Improving Potency of Poultry Vaccines" presented by Munir Iqbal to post graduate students at meeting "The 2022 International Animal Husbandry High-Quality Development Conference" on On 19th November 2022 hosted by Shandong Vocational Animal Science and Veterinary College. More than 300 post graduate and university staff from Shandong Vocational Animal Science and Veterinary College attended the meeting and discussed the advanced in the strategies to reduce the impacts of avian influenza viruses. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Improving Potency of Poultry Vaccines |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Research outcomes were presented by Munir iqbal at the 2022 International Animal Husbandry: High quality development of animal health and animal husbandry- Virtual Scientific Conference, on 19-Nov-2022, hosted by Shandong Vocational Animal Science and Veterinary College. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Improving Vaccines against Avian Influenza and Newcastle Disease Viruses |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented a talk as an invited speaker at the Sino-European Modern Livestock and Poultry Industry Technical Innovation seminar and the launch of the Joint Laboratory of China and European Countries. Shandong Binzhou Animal Science & Veterinary Medicine Academy, Binzhou, China. Poultry production continues to face several challenges caused by avian influenza, including: (1) virus evolution & antigenic diversity, (2) emergence of new virus variants, (3) co-circulation of multiple variants of same pathogen, (4) mixed infection of different viruses (immunosuppression), (5) maternally derived antibody interference, and (6) poor quality vaccines and sub-optimal vaccination practices. From these challenges, the topic of discussion and research drives optimal vaccination strategies to improve: (1) potency: a single dose to induce faster, stronger and durable immunity against multiple pathogens, (2) effectiveness: protect from clinical disease, reduced shedding and transmission, (3) affordability: cheap to produce and easy to deliver, (4) safety: no adverse impact to host or environment, (5) stability: retain efficacy for at least 1 year at indicated temperature, (6) DIVA: to allow differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals. Implementing new emerging vaccine approaches can: (1) enhance the efficacy, duration, and breadth of immunity, (2) reduce production losses, (3) improve cost-effectiveness, (4) improve productivity and economy, (5) improve animal welfare, and (6) reduce prevalence of viruses and protect public health (reduced virus prevalence = reduced zoonosis). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Improving the efficacy of poultry vaccines |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented a talk as an invited speaker at the International Conference: Current Trends, Prospects & Opportunities in Vaccine Research at the Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology (CEMB), University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. Poultry production continues to face several challenges caused by avian influenza, including: (1) virus evolution & antigenic diversity, (2) emergence of new virus variants, (3) co-circulation of multiple variants of same pathogen, (4) mixed infection of different viruses (immunosuppression), (5) maternally derived antibody interference, and (6) poor quality vaccines and sub-optimal vaccination practices. Our research on our newly developed targeted-delivery vaccine platform addresses these challenges by improving: (1) potency: a single dose to induce faster, stronger and durable immunity against multiple pathogens, (2) effectiveness: protect from clinical disease, reduced shedding and transmission, (3) affordability: cheap to produce and easy to deliver, (4) safety: no adverse impact to host or environment, (5) stability: retain efficacy for at least 1 year at indicated temperature, and (6) overcome maternally derived antibodies. This platform therefore (1) enhances the efficacy, duration, and breadth of immunity, (2) reduces production losses, (3) improves cost-effectiveness, (4) improves productivity and economy, (5) improves animal welfare, and (6) reduces prevalence of viruses and protect public health (reduced virus prevalence = reduced zoonosis). Additionally, collaborations with industrial partners can integrate this research to adapt to new antigenic variants and/or hosts. This ensures early vaccination is possible and this vaccine platform can aid control of avian influenza in early poultry populations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Improving vaccines and diagnostics for Avian influenza viruses affecting poultry. Presented at the International Poultry Expo "Poultry Science Conference", Lahore, Pakistan, 13-15 September 2019. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The talk and the discussion was the best practices to improve control systems (vaccines and diagnostics) for prevention of avian influenza viruses infection in poultry and zoonotic infections in humans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Influenza update meeting (Pengxiang Chang) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | presented work entitled: Antigenic characterization of avian influenza H7N9 virus by in vitro immune escape mutant selection method. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Initiation of a mass vaccination campain ( 2018) in TamilNadu, India |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Scientists from The Pirbright Institute's Vaccine Differentiation group have recently returned from Chennai in India, where they conducted a mass peste des petits ruminants (PPR) vaccination campaign and awareness programme. They joined scientists from four specialist organisations; Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS), Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB) and National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics (NIVEDI). Peste des petits ruminants (PPR), also known as goat plague, is highly contagious and infects small ruminants such as sheep and goats, causing up to 90% mortality. The disease is prevalent across large parts of Africa, the Middle East, India and China and is estimated to cost between US$1.4 billion and US$2.1 billion globally each year. In 2017, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) introduced a global eradication programme to reduce the devastating impact PPR has on the economy and food security of affected countries. "Over 40 vets joined our vaccination campaign in the Tanir Kulum village of Tiruvallur District, TaminNadu (close to Chennai), where we administered vaccines to over 400 sheep and goats in a single day. We also ran an awareness camp where we provided farmers and vets alike with expert guidance on diagnosing clinical signs of PPR and what measures they could take to reduce its spread", said Professor Satya Parida from Pirbright, who led the collaborative effort with Dr Dhinakar Raj from TANUVAS. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.pirbright.ac.uk/news/2018/09/pirbright-scientists-run-vaccination-campaign-eradicate-pes... |
| Description | Innovate Guildford (Angita Shrestha): |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | GENERAL SCIENCE |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Innovate Guildford - DB & KC |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public science event where team members participated on a Pirbright Institute stand which contained activities to help the public understand how scientists can help to contain and control viral outbreaks. Over 500 members of the general public attended which stimulated increased interest in science and research and led to requests for more information. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Innovate Guilford-AH, AA, ER, EL |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | General science festival engaging the public in the research undertaken at Pirbright |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Inspire Guildford County School Careers Fair |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Giulia and Isobel represented The Pirbright Institute at the career fair at the Guildford College in a context of many other businesses and University representatives. The aim was to show the range of careers that are possible within a range of industries. For this event Giulia was in charge of the Institute stand and could speak about careers in science and the research carried out at The Pirbright Institute. Students were engaging in our activities for promoting interaction and showed a high level of interest for science and research careers requesting more information. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Interactions between receptor-binding, immune evasion and glycan shielding. Presented by Joshua Sealy at Biophysics and evolution: improving models to predict influenza vaccine effectiveness) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Influenza viruses have an error-prone polymerase complex that facilitates a mutagenic environment. Antigenic mutants swiftly arise from this environment with the capacity to persist in both humans and economically important livestock even in the face of vaccination. Furthermore, influenza viruses can adjust the antigenicity of the haemagglutinin (HA) protein, the primary influenza immunogen, using one of four molecular mechanisms. Two prominent mechanisms are: (1) enhancing binding avidity of HA toward cellular receptors to outcompete antibody binding and (2) amino acid substitutions that introduce an N-linked glycan on HA that sterically block antibody binding. In this paper, we investigate the impact that adsorptive mutation and N-linked glycosylation have on receptor-binding phenotype, virus replicative fitness and antigenicity. We show that in the context of adsorptive mutation that N-linked glycosylation can mitigate virus attenuation. We show that in the absence of adsorptive mutation, N-linked glycosylation can attenuate virus this indicating a cooperative role between adsorptive mutation and N-linked glycosylation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.physicsoflife.org.uk/biophysics-and-evolution.html |
| Description | International Avian Respiratory Disease Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Michael presented his research at the 2018 International Avian Respiratory Disease Conference in the US to an audience of avian researchers and representatives form the poultry veterinary vaccine industry. This sparked discussion and potential future collaborations |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | International Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Global Alliance for Research on Avian Diseases conference health in Hanoi 17-19 January 2018. Purpose of the conference was to establish global partnerships and links between academic researchers and the poultry industry to improve joined up work in regards to preventing, controlling and combating avian diseases. The conferences provided a forum for discussion and exchange of ideas around the single theme of exploiting available opportunities to deal with emerging and existing infectious avian diseases in poultry production systems and to safeguard food supplies and human health. Conference speakers discuused basic, applied and commercial aspects of research on avian diseases including: • Evolution and Epidemiology of Avian Pathogens • Host-Pathogen Interactions - Virulence and Pathogenicity • Pathogen Mechanisms of Immune Evasion • Next Generation Disease Control Strategies • Vaccines • Immunity • Diagnostics • Zoonoses and Socio-economic impacts of avian diseases • Global Research Opportunities and Threats |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.theeventsportal.com/GARAD-2018/3/Home |
| Description | International Day of Women and Girls in Science |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I gave a quote as a STEM ambassador about why I think it is important to make sure women and girls have the same opportunities in STEM. This was shared on social media to celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science, a UN-led initiative. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | International Women's Day video for social media |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Three team members were interviewed about their careers in science for International Women's Day. The videos were posted on Pirbright's website, Facebook and Twitter to celebrate what we love about working in science. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Interview for national newspaper |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview with a journalist from The Telegraph about coronavirus replication and transmission. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Interview with Anne Gulland - Telegraph article Nov 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview with Anne Gulland of the Telegraph about HPAI outbreaks in wild birds, article published https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/climate-and-people/farmers-urged-alert-highly-pathogenic-form-bird-flu/ quoted in the article. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/climate-and-people/farmers-urged-alert-highly-pathogenic-f... |
| Description | Interview with Associated Press |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview with a journalist from Associated Press about coronavirus research at The Pirbright Institute. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Interview with BBC Radio Surrey |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview with journalists from BBC Radio Surrey on the breakfast show about coronavirus research at The Pirbright Institute. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Interview with BBC World Service |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interview about our paper in PLOS Biology: The SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein has a broad tropism for mammalian ACE2 proteins |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszh1l |
| Description | Interview with BBC for SARS-CoV-2 story |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interview with BBC about SARS-CoV-2 genome sequence |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-55565284 |
| Description | Interview with BBC journalist for article on viral emergence in new species |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was interviewed by Jonathon Ball who was writing an article for the BBC on the emergence of morbilliviruses in new hosts and the importance of vaccination. I helped him to contextualise the story and put him in touch with my collaborators. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-50839868 |
| Description | Interview with BuzzFeed News |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview with a journalist from BuzzFeed News about coronavirus research at The Pirbright Institute. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Interview with National Public Radio (USA) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interview with National Public Radio (USA) about veterinary vaccines for Covid-19 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Investigating avian influenza antigenic evolution and improving potency of poultry vaccines (Internal seminar) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A talk presented describing how the genetic evolution of avian influenza viruses can result in vaccine failure and how we developed approaches that improve the effectiveness of poultry vaccines to reduce the economic loss in poultry. We describe our research data H5 subtype of avian influenza viruses are evolving rapidly and being classified into different clades. These viruses carry significant antigenic heterogeneity and a single candidate vaccine may not be able to protect against the virus variants infecting poultry in different countries around the globe. Our data will allow for the generation of vaccines that are better strain-matched, thus reducing the impact of AIVs in the poultry industry. We also present our work on the development of next-generation poultry vaccines termed "Targeted Antigen Delivery Vaccine (TADV)" that selectively deliver vaccine antigens to the chicken immune cells known as Antigen-presenting cells and potentiates immunogenicity of the vaccine. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Invitation to give keynote talk on 'Control of avian diseases: Challenges and opportunities' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Gave the Keynote talk on 'Control of avian diseases: Challenges and opportunities' at this International Symposium organized with an aim to gather international virology experts from both human and veterinary fields to share research experience, update findings and contribute their expertise through presentation and interactive discussion. The topics will cover a wide range of virology research common in both human and animal aspects. In addition, technological platforms such as vaccine development, and novel assays will be emphasized and addressed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.biotec.or.th/virus-symposium2018/index.php |
| Description | Invitation to talk at the Vaccine Symposium "Vaccines at different levels of complexity from subunit to whole cell formulations" jointly organised by the Centre of Genomic Regulation (CRG), Radboud UMC and MSD Animal Health, with the support from the MycoSynVac project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Gave a talk and participated in the discussion on the challenges and research opportunities for innovation in poultry disease control |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.crg.eu/ |
| Description | Invited Speaker - GFRA/EuFMD Webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited speaker: Importance of independent vaccine quality control: the role of regional reference FMDV antigens to assess heterologous vaccination responses. Joint EuFMD/GFRA meeting on Public-private Partnerships for Progressive control of foot-and-mouth disease in endemic settings, February 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-onxVpZRug&t=1699s |
| Description | Invited Talk: Indian Veterinary Institute, Bareilly, India |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | SP delivered a talk at faculty on FMD vaccine strain selection in South East Asia including India |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Invited as PPR vaccine expert to vaccine producers meeting at Jordan, Amman-organised by OIE and FAO PPR secretariat-13.04.19-17.4.19, |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Invited as PPR vaccine expert to vaccine producers meeting at Jordan, Amman-organised by OIE and FAO PPR secretariat-13.04.19-17.4.19, |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited speaker - Tunis |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited speaker: Épidémiologie de la Fièvre Aphteuse en Afrique du Nord 7ème Journée Scientifique sur les Maladies Animales Transfrontalières, Tunis, Tunisia, September 2022 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Invited talk at Agricultural Science congress at New Delhi, India, February-2019- Use of reverse genetics to study the early pathogenesis and to develop marker vaccines for PPR |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 1. In a DBT-BBSRC FADH grant, The Pirbright Institute in collaboration with four Indian partners (TANUVAS, IVRI, NIAB and NIVEDI) has developed a PPR vaccine, which will be the first to differentiate between infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA), for which a patent application has been filed. Scientists have manipulated in the genome of PPR full length cDNA and rescued the DIVA vaccine virus using reverse genetic technique. Further this vaccine has been tested in goats providing full safety and potency upon virulent virus challenge. In contrast to current vaccine, this new DIVA vaccine can differentiate between naturally infected and vaccinated animals, therefore will help in meaningful assessment of vaccine coverage and epidemiological surveillance based on serology, in turn increasing the efficiency of control programmes. 2. Little is known about the early events in the development of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) virus (PPRV) infection. The current dogma is that similar to RPV, PPRV replicates primarily in the epithelium of the respiratory tract before disseminating throughout the host. However, our investigations, using intranasal inoculation of PPRV containing GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein) to mimic natural infection, indicate this is not the case and that immune cells in the pharyngeal tonsil is the primary target. This is a ground breaking discovery which changes the PPR pathogenesis. This infectious GFP virus is made from a synthetic cDNA of field virus (PPRV/Mor-08) using reverse genetics technique under FADH grant. The presentation sparked questions and discussions after the talk. Two PPR DIVA vaccines developed and the mechanism of PPR virus pathogenesis explained. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited talk at the National Institute for Animal Biotechnology, Hyderabad on 3rd Jan 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Participants were engaged in the recent advances in biotechnology, challenges and opportunities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited talk on 28th September 2020 on ''Challenges and opportunities for control of infectious animal diseases including zoonosis' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | International Webinar of 'Epistemological approaches to animal disease control programmes with special reference to rabies' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Invited to talk at the International Conference on Building Human and Animal Health Capacities organised by the Jordan University of Science and Technology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Participated in the discussion and talked on 'The recent advances in vaccination-based control of poultry diseases'. The need for increased awareness of the pathogen diversity in the design of vaccines and the opportunities from advances in vaccine technologies were discussed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.just.edu.jo/conferences/bhahc/Pages/default.aspx |
| Description | Isabelle Dietrich - Bishop David Brown School Careers Fair |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | >100 students attended careers fair. Informed students about The Pirbright Institute's work and career opportunities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Isabelle Dietrich - Collingwood College Careers Fair |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | >100 students attended careers fair. Informed students about The Pirbright Institute's work and career opportunities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Joined as a FAO expert at Chiang Mai, Thailand for PPR and FMD control in SAARC region and delivered two invited talks- 16.06.19-23.06.19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Joined as a FAO expert at Chiang Mai, Thailand for PPR and FMD control in SAARC region and delivered two invited talks on FMD and PPR Global situations- 16.06.19-23.06.19 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | KS Honey bee viruses in the UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | KS Honey bee viruses in the UK - presentation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Keynote - GFRA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Keynote Speaker: Can new technologies bridge surveillance gaps for foot-and-mouth disease? Scientific meeting of the Global Foot-and-mouth Disease Research Alliance, Kampala, Uganda, November 2023 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.ars.usda.gov/GFRA/reports/2023%20GFRA%20Meeting%20Program.pdf |
| Description | Keynote Presentation: 6ème Journée Scientifique sur les Maladies Animales Transfrontalières, Tunisia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Provided invited keynote presentation entitled "Épidémiologie de la Fièvre Aphteuse en Afrique du Nord" at the 6ème Journée Scientifique sur les Maladies Animales Transfrontalières, Gammarth, Tunisia, November 2018. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Keynote speaker: EuFMD - OS22 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Keynote speaker: Headline events from global FMD surveillance activities (2020-2022). Open Session of the Standing Technical and Research Committee of the European Commission for the control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease, Marseille, France, October 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Keynote speaker: EuFMD - OS22 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Keynote speaker: Innovation in molecular diagnosis, next generation sequencing and molecular epidemiology for FMD and FAST diseases. Open Session of the Standing Technical and Research Committee of the European Commission for the control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease, Marseille, France, October 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKMZh4mt2Bg&t=24032s |
| Description | Keynote talk at the World Veterinary Poultry Association meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited to give the keynote talk on 'Avian tumour viruses: their contribution to our understanding of cancer' at the World Veterinary Poultry Association XXth Congress in Edinburgh |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.wvpac2017.com/ |
| Description | Lorin Adams (Gordon's School Careers Fair) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Describe the research that lead to improve control systems against infectious viral diseases of animals and from animals to humans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | MBPAV -presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Molecular Biology and Pathogenesis of avian viruses conference - Oxford 3-4th September 2018. Oral presentation given on drug resistant influenza viruses to approximately 50 scientist. Increased collaborative approaches following presentation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://microbiologysociety.org/event/society-events-and-meetings/focused-meeting-2018-molecular-bio... |
| Description | MSc student visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I hosted several MSc students from University of Surrey, discussed avian research with them and demonstrated some laboratory techniques. The students gained an understanding of academic research and laboratory work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |
| Description | Mapping antigenic determinants of H9N2 avian influenza viruses and improving vaccines and diagnostics" presented at Foreign Talent Lecture: New strategies and new techniques for the prevention and control of major avian diseases. Shandong Binzhou Animal Science & Veterinary Medicine Academy, Binzhou, China. 6th August 2018. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The focus of the meeting was to improve the control systems against poultry diseases including development of improved vaccines and diagnostics |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Microbiology Society Annual conference (UK) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Poster or oral presentation at Microbiology Society annual conference, a major international event. The participants included researchers from many different areas of science. This provides a platform to promote research to a wider audience as well as discuss the key findings with experts in my own field. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019 |
| Description | Microbiology Society Avian Focus Meeting (UK) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | I gave a 15 minute oral presentation to an audience of around 80 people in 2016 and 2018. The audience consisted of researchers from many different scientific institutions from different areas of avian research. This was a great opportunity to present to experts in this field and gain novel insights into the project and the possible applications of my work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2018 |
| Description | Microsoc 2018 "Structure-guided identification of a pathogen with pandemic potential" poster |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented a poster on our research at the MicroSoc annual meeting |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Molecular Determinants for Antigenicity and Vaccine Efficacy of H9 and H7 Avian Influenza Viruses. Newton Agham Researcher Links Workshop: Novel vaccines and diagnostics technologies against Emerging and re-emerging veterinary Pathogens. 4-7 February 2019 at Rizal Pak Hotel, Manila, Philippines. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The talk and the discussion on the improvement of disease control systems (vaccines and diagnostics) to prevent avian influenza viruses infection in poultry and zoonotic infections in humans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Molecular Risk Assessment of Clade 2.3.4.4b H5Nx Avian Influenza Viruses |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | UK-China Avian Flu Control Workshop and Flu-Trail Map Workshop on 11 and 12 November 2024 at The Pirbright Institute, UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Molecular determinants modulating avian influenza H7N9 virus antigenicity. Presented at The Microbiology Society Annual Conference 2019, 8-11 April ICC Belfast, UK. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The talk and the discussion on the improvement of disease control systems (vaccines and diagnostics) to prevent avian influenza viruses infection in poultry and zoonotic infections in humans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Molecular determinants of antigenicity of H7 and H9 avian Influenza viruses. Presented as invited speaker at BBSRC UK-India Partnering Award seminar: University of Liverpool. 2 May 2019. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The talk and the discussion on the improvement of disease control systems (vaccines and diagnostics) to prevent avian influenza viruses infection in poultry and zoonotic infections in humans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Multiple talks at XXIInd World Veterinary Poultry Association Congress - WVPAC 2023, Verona, Italy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | three independent talks titled: (1) Selectively targeting antigens to chicken immune cells induces faster and very strong immunity in chicks with high levels of maternally derived antibodies, (2) The impact of avian influenza vaccination on zoonotic infections: lessons learned from the H7N9 avian influenza control, (3) Investigating molecular markers influences the haemagglutination activity of the H9N2 avian influenza viruses. Poultry production continues to face several challenges caused by avian influenza, including: (1) virus evolution & antigenic diversity, (2) emergence of new virus variants, (3) co-circulation of multiple variants of same pathogen, (4) mixed infection of different viruses (immunosuppression), (5) maternally derived antibody interference, and (6) poor quality vaccines and sub-optimal vaccination practices. From these challenges, the topic of discussion and research drives optimal vaccination strategies to improve: (1) potency: a single dose to induce faster, stronger and durable immunity against multiple pathogens, (2) effective: protect from clinical disease, reduced shedding and transmission, (3) affordability: cheap to produce and easy to deliver, (4) safety: no adverse impact to host or environment, (5) stability: retain efficacy for at least 1 year at indicated temperature, (6) DIVA: to allow differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals. Implementing new emerging vaccine approaches can: (1) enhance the efficacy, duration, and breadth of immunity, (2) reduce production losses, (3) improve cost-effectiveness, (4) improve productivity and economy, (5) improve animal welfare, and (6) reduce prevalence of viruses and protect public health (reduced virus prevalence = reduced zoonosis). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Munir Iqbal: Cheltenham Science Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Describe the research that lead to improve control systems against infectious viral diseases of animals and from animals to humans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Negative Strand Virus 2018 Meeting "Structure-guided identification of morbilliviruses with zoonotic potential" Poster |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presented a poster on the Structure-guided identification of morbilliviruses with zoonotic potential at the international negative strand virus (NSV) meeting in Verona, Italy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | New rapid protection bird flu vaccine |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Article published in the magazine "Poultry World) by Freelance journalist Natalie Berkhout describing the development of a new methods have been developed to enhance the immune response that vaccines produce and reduce the amount of virus that birds shed into the environment. One technique involves tagging flu virus proteins with a marker that makes them easier for antigen-presenting cells (APCs) to capture. These immune cells can efficiently process the tagged proteins, resulting in a robust and long-lasting antiviral response in chickens. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.poultryworld.net/health-nutrition/health/new-rapid-protection-bird-flu-vaccine/ |
| Description | Newton Agham Researcher Links Workshop on "Novel Vaccines and Diagnostic Technologies Against Emerging and Re-emerging Veterinary Pathogens, Rizal Park Hotel, Manila, Philippines 4-7 February 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The primary aim of this workshop was to forge long-term research partnerships between early-career researchers, livestock industry and national disease control authorities in the UK and the Philippines. The workshop provided information on emerging and next generation diagnostic and vaccine strategies and their utilization to reduce the impact of viral diseases on livestock and poultry. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.slideshare.net/zerep_cire/2019-newton-agham-researcher-links-workshop-vaccines-and-diagn... |
| Description | Nidovirus symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I presented my work at the Nidovirus Symposium, which is held every three years and brings together researchers from industry and academia from many different countries. I had some interesting discussions with other researchers and built my network. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Offer Paper oral presentation "Rapid Mammalian adaptation of H9N2 avian influenza viruses" at Microbiology society annual conference 4th April 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Offer Paper oral presentation "Rapid Mammalian adaptation of H9N2 avian influenza viruses" at Microbiology society annual conference 4th April 2017. Talk in the main virus symposia with an audience of approximately 200 researchers (PhD students through to Professors) mainly based in UK but some international. Discussions with other researchers around this area of work and increase in national profile of groups work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | One Health: Zoonosis and Their Control Through the Use of Vaccines |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented a talk as an invited speaker at the conference entitled "National Dialogue on Agricultural Research" at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, Pakistan. The persistence of avian influenza viruses in bird populations increases zoonotic and pandemic risks. Research focuses on reducing prevalence of viruses and protect public health (reduced virus prevalence = reduced zoonosis). To address this, topics discussed included research focuses in: (1) virus evolution & antigenic diversity, (2) emergence of new virus variants, (3) co-circulation of multiple variants of same pathogen, (4) mixed infection of different viruses (immunosuppression), (5) maternally derived antibody interference, and (6) poor quality vaccines and sub-optimal vaccination practices. From these challenges, the topic of discussion and research drives optimal vaccination strategies to improve: (1) potency: a single dose to induce faster, stronger and durable immunity against multiple pathogens, (2) effectiveness: protect from clinical disease, reduced shedding and transmission, (3) affordability: cheap to produce and easy to deliver, (4) safety: no adverse impact to host or environment, (5) stability: retain efficacy for at least 1 year at indicated temperature, (6) DIVA: to allow differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals. Implementing new emerging vaccine approaches can: (1) enhance the efficacy, duration, and breadth of immunity, (2) reduce production losses, (3) improve cost-effectiveness, (4) improve productivity and economy, (5) improve animal welfare, and (6) reduce prevalence of viruses and protect public health. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Opening of The Biggs Avian Research Facility |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We presented our research and spoke to guests attending the opening of the Biggs Avian Research Facility at Pirbright. Guests who attended included politicians and members of the public from the local area, eminent researchers from other institutions, and members of BBSRC. Guests reported that they felt much more informed about the work going on at Pirbright and were impressed by our facilities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Oral Presentation at the Microbiology Society conference - Title: Application of a deep-sequencing protocol to identify immune escape variants of FMDV |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Oral Presentation of my reseach activities to other PhD students and postdoctoral scientist. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Oral and poster presentation at European Society of veterinary Virology and EPIZONE (ESVV/EPIZONE) at Vienna, Austria 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation has been made on early events of PPR virus pathogenesis. The presentation reveled that PPR virus first taken up by the immune cells to the Pharyngeal tonsil and then to other lymph nodes before generalisation of the disease. Secondary replication happens in epithelial cells. This alters the existing believe that virus primarily replicate in the epithelial cells. Similarly a poster presentation has been done to show the detection of nucleic acid of PPR virus during PPR eradication programme, nasal sample has been shown as the best sample for viral genome detection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Oral preserntation at Influenza update Meeting in Edinburgh 21st November 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "Rapid Mammalian adaptation of H9N2 virus" to Influenza researchers attending the 2 day Influenza viruses meeting at the Roslin institute in Edinburgh. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Organisation of Influenza meeting at Roslin Institute 21st-22nd November 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Along with Paul Digard (Edinburgh) and Edward Hutchinson (Glasgow) I helped to organize, plan and run a Influenza update meeting which ran for 2 days at The Roslin Institute in November 2017. The symposium was attended by approximately 60 influenza researchers from the UK. Talks were given by a range of people with student talks and posters being awarded prizes. This was supported by Medimmune and the Microbiology Society. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Organisation of UK-India Bioinformatics Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The meeting discussed the challenges and opportunities and have decided to come up with a strategy document on working together between UK and India on data-driven biology |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Organised the 3rd UK-China CERAD meeting in Guildford, UK in July 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The 3rd UK-China CERAD meeting helped to bring together professional from both countries to identify challenges and exploit the opportunities for improved control of poultry diseases and increasing food security. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.uk-china-cerad.org/ |
| Description | Organising and giving Keynote talk at the GARAD meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Global Alliance of Poultry industry professional and academia to discuss about the advances in control strategies of diseases |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://Garad.org |
| Description | PDRA in my group Stacey Human attending Cheltenham Science Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Stimulating increased interest in science and research |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | PPR eradication meeting organised by FAO and OIE at Rome and talk has been delived on Development of DIVA vaccines |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Satya Parida is working as an expert to PPR eradication and he is being invited for few of FAO/OIE meetings. The meetings discussed about roadmap, vaccine production capacity and eradication policy. Satya also presented work on PPR DIVA vaccine and DIVA tests developments and their evaluation in goats. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | PPR vaccine producers meeting at MCI, Morocco organised by FAO/OIE |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | PPR vaccine producers meeting at MCI, Morocco organised by FAO/OIE. Almost all PPR vaccine producers through out world joined this meeting. Satya Parida has presented a talk on vaccine development and transmission of PPR virus in North Africa. There was hues interest on the talk particularly the spread of PPR in North Africa and new vaccine development. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | PPR-Global Research and Expertise Network talk "Examining the zoonotic potential of PPRV" Vienna 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Gave a talk to the inaugural meeting of the PPR Global Research and Expertise Network (PPR GREN) at IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria. Participants included policy makers from the FAO and OIE. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Paolo's talk on FMDV vaccine matching |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Paolo Ribeca gave a talk at the 2018 Open Session of EuFMD (European commission for the control of foot-and-mouth disease ) on "Effective in-silico sequence-based prediction of FMDV vaccine matching" on behalf of Yasaman Kalantar-Motamedi, Mana Mahapatra, Luca Ferretti, Sophie Mahendran, Satya Parida, and himself. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Pengxiang Chang: Talk presentation:The application of CRISPR/Cas9 system in the generation of viral vectored avian influenza vaccines at Microbiology Society conference, UK. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The talk and the discussion on the improvement of vaccines to prevent avian influenza viruses infection in poultry and zoonotic infections in humans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://microbiologysociety.org/event/annual-conference/annual-conference.html |
| Description | Pengxiang Chang: UK-China Newton Fund (Poultry and swine) workshop at The Pirbright Institute.Oral presentation:Avian Influenza H7N9 Antigenic markers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The talk and the discussion on the improvement of disease control systems (vaccines) to prevent avian influenza viruses infection in poultry and zoonotic infections in humans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Pengxiang Chang:Influenza update meeting. The application of CRISPR/Cas9 in the development of vaccines against avian influenza virus |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Described techniques to improve and produce new effective vaccines against viral diseases of animals and humans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Pirbright Dragon Fair - MZ |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Team members attended the locally held Dragon fair where the Pirbright Institute had a stand explaining the types of research that are conducted at the Institute, making our high containment science activities transparent to the local community. Approximately 60 people engaged with the stall to learn about the science happening on their doorstep. This stimulated interest in science and research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Pirbright Institute research teams studying characteristics of influenza virus that may alter disease outcomes in poultry. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Avian influenza, commonly known as "bird flu," is a disease caused by multiple strains of influenza virus. The viruses can infect a wide range of animals, including people and pigs, but the natural reservoir lies in populations of wild aquatic birds such as ducks and gulls, according to an announcement from The Pirbright Institute in the U.K., which is conducting research to better understand avian influenza viruses to help prevent the disease in poultry. Flu virus strains are categorized by the combination of the two proteins found on the outside of the virus: hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N) -- for example, H5N6 or H9N2. The H protein binds to cell receptors in order to initiate infection, while the N protein helps release new viruses from an infected cell, the institute explained. Strains are also classified by severity. Low-pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) viruses cause clinical signs such as mild breathing problems, decreased egg production and growth. Some birds, particularly ducks and geese, do not display any signs of LPAI infection and are still able to spread the disease, Pirbright said. When LPAI viruses circulate in high-density poultry areas, the viruses can mutate into highly pathogenic strains. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses have severe and often fatal effects on some species of birds such as chickens, Pirbright noted, but some HPAI strains cause mild or no clinical signs of disease in wild birds and domestic waterfowl. These strains are notifiable, meaning government control measures must be put in place. Avian influenza can be carried vast distances by wild migratory birds and can infect domesticated poultry through direct contact or through contaminated droppings and bodily fluids, Pirbright said. Because of this, there is a year-round risk of avian influenza, which can increase depending on the disease status in a region and the migration season of wild aquatic birds. According to Pirbright, good biosecurity is essential in preventing poultry from being exposed to the disease and can be practiced on a commercial farm, with game birds or even with just a few backyard hens. Why is influenza so difficult to prevent? The institute explained that influenza viruses are constantly changing, and when they replicate, small errors called mutations are copied into their genome. Some of these will alter the virus's proteins, allowing the virus to escape detection by the immune system. All flu viruses also have the potential to undergo a process called reassortment, where two or more strains of influenza infect the same animal, allowing them to swap parts of their genome, Pirbright said. The resulting viruses can potentially have different characteristics than the original strains, such as the ability to replicate in different species, including people, the institute added. Avian influenza viruses such as H5N1 or H7N9 have infected people, predominantly in Southeast Asia, but in these cases, the virus has been transmitted directly from infected birds to people, with no onward spread. There is some evidence that avian influenza can be passed from person to person, and while there are no records of efficient or sustained human transmission, there is a constant risk that one of the new strains may spread easily among people, which could result in a new influenza virus pandemic, Pirbright said. Changes in the virus genetics from mutation or reassortment make it very difficult to anticipate how influenza viruses will spread through a population and whether current vaccines will be suitable for the strains that are circulating, Pirbright announced. The influenza research programs at Pirbright are progressing understanding of the virus and finding better ways to prevent its spread. Pirbright Institute group leaders Dr. Holly Shelton and professor Munir Iqbal are researching how the characteristics of influenza viruses can change the outcomes of disease. Studying flu at the molecular level allows them to find out how the virus evolves to overcome avian immunity and how changes in their genome can alter disease severity and their ability to affect different species, the announcement said. Shelton's and Iqbal's teams are working on identifying genetic markers for specific disease traits that can be used in surveillance systems to provide forewarning of strains that could cause pandemics. For example, Shelton's Influenza Viruses group is looking at which characteristics allow the viruses to become resistant to antiviral drugs that are currently used to treat human infections of influenza, allowing surveillance to provide an early warning of viruses that could cross into humans and be difficult to control, Pirbright said. The team is also investigating how long it takes for avian influenza viruses to adapt to new mammalian species. According to the institute, establishing which strains can rapidly adapt and identifying the genetic changes made to enable infection of mammalian cells will help with surveillance efforts and potentially lead to the development of techniques that will help prevent these mutations occurring. Vaccination and rapid diagnosis are very important for influenza prevention and control, but it is still not currently possible to protect against all influenza strains, Pirbright said, noting that Iqbal's Avian Influenza group is exploring which sites on the virus trigger the chicken immune system to respond quickly and fight off infection. This will better inform scientists' ability to match vaccines to strains in the field and could help to develop vaccines that are more effective. Iqbal's group is also developing multivalent vaccines that protect chickens and ducks from several avian influenza subtypes at once as well as test kits for rapid diagnosis of different subtypes at the flock-side, the announcement said. Visit Pirbright's Influenza Viruses and the Avian Influenza group pages to find out more about their research. Source: The Pirbright Institute, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.feedstuffs.com/nutrition-health/protecting-poultry-avian-influenza |
| Description | Positive Strand Viruses Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | This was a poster presentation. There were several different poster sessions at the conference allowing a large selection of people to view each poster. The audience included world leaders in my research field and important names from groups all over the world. This gave me the opportunity to discuss my work with other scientists on a one to one basis, leading to generation of new ideas for future experiments and collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010,2013,2016,2019 |
| Description | Post presentation at the EUROPiC conference - Title: Optimisation of a deep-sequencing protocol to identify low frequency variants of foot-and-mouth disease virus |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Poster presentation in regards to my PhD research in a workshop to other PhD students and Postdoctoral scientist. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Postdoctoral research Carina Conceicao poster at Microsoc 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Carina presented data on her work about morbillivirus host range |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Postdoctoral researcher Stacey Human talk at Microsoc 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Stacey presented her data on examining the cellular processes involved in trafficking RSV components to the cell surface. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Poster presentation at EUFMD meeting at Burgo by the senior postc of the PI group on epitope prediction of serotype O FMD virus |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | In this presentation we have shown 3 new epitopes of the FMD virus. An manuscript has been submitted for publication on this. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Poster presentation at Microbiology Society Annual Conference - Assessing the impact of Rift Valley fever virus NSs protein inter-isolate variation on virulence and transmission |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Conference attendees attended the poster session which resulted in discussions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Poultry Health course |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Poultry Health Course is run as a residential and online course to transfer recent advances in avian disease research from the laboratory to the field. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | Pre-2006 |
| URL | http://www.poultryhealthcourse.com/ |
| Description | Poultry Stakeholders meeting hosted by Al Dousari Veterinary Services and Agriculture Co (Qatar ) in Qatar, 15 October 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The focus of talk was best practices for prevention and control of Avian influenza disease outbreaks in poultry Vaccines and diagnostics for the control of avian influenza in poultry |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Poultry Stakeholders meeting hosted by Almarai, 15 October 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Engagement with Almarai Poultry. The focus of the meeting with Almarai Poultry disease control team was to share knowledge on improved vaccination and diagnostic techniques against avian influenza viruses affecting poultry production. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Poultry Stakeholders meeting in Kuwait city 16 October 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Prevention and control of avian influenza outbreaks in poultry. Described new vaccination and diagnostic technologies that provide more robust cross-protective immunity in emerging antigenic divergent strains of avian influenza viruses. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Presentation at American Society for Virology conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited to give a keynote talk on "Rational vaccine design for the avian coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus" at the ASV Satellite Symposium: Viral Pathogenesis and Prevention in Animals, discussed research and future plans with other researches in the field. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Presentation at Global Alliance for Research on Avian Diseases Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of my research at the Global Alliance for Research on Avian Diseases Conference in Vietnam to approximately 80 conference participants resulted in discussions about future research directions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Presentation at Microbiology Society Early Career Microbiologist Forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | We presented a talk on "Examination of in vitro cell lines and ex vivo tracheal organ cultures for the study of porcine respiratory coronavirus" at the Early Career Microbiologist Forum organised by the Microbiology Society. This was a great opportunity for early career scientists to network with others and gain experience in presenting their research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Presentation at Microbiology Society annual conference in Belfast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "The canonical stem loop RNA structure of the s2m genetic element is not required for avian coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus replication in vitro however deletion of the s2m sequence results in a 36-nucleotide insertion" and "Characterising the ion channel inactivating mutations in the E protein of Infectious Bronchitis Virus (IBV)" during the virology workshops to other research scientists and students. We also presented a poster on "Examination of in vitro cell lines and ex vivo tracheal organ cultures for the study of porcine respiratory coronavirus". Good feedback was received and ideas generated for further research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Presentation at Nidovirus symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation given on "The canonical stem loop RNA structure of the s2m genetic element in the avian coronavirus Infectious Bronchitis Virus is not required for viral replication in vitro but may play a role during in vivo infection" at the poster session of the The XVth International Nidovirus Symposium. Discussions with other researchers in the coronavirus field resulted in new ideas to take the research forwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Presentation at RIVR meetings |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of my research at Recently Independent Virology Researchers (RIVR) meetings in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. I discussed my work and future collaborations with other virology researchers working in the UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017,2018,2019,2020 |
| Description | Presentation on the effects on oncogenic virus infection at the Veterinarian's Forum, Namakkal, India on 29 Dec 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The purpose of the engagement was to update the practicing poultry veterinarians on the problems with oncogenic virus diseases and methods of control. The meeting attended by nearly 100 veterinarians was very informative and ended with a long discussion on the challenges and innovations |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Presentation to BBSRC Executive Board |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I presented our research to the BBSRC Executive Board when they visited The Pirbright Institute in September 2018 and discussed the impacts of our work.. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Presentations at Avian Research Symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We have presented our research at the Avian Research Symposium organised by the National Avian Resource Facility at the Roslin Institute in 2021 (Rational vaccine design for the avian coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus) and 2023 (Disruption of the s2m RNA structure in the avian coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus results in reduced clinical disease during in vivo infection). We have engaged with other researchers to expand our network and discussed future research activities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2023 |
| Description | Presentations at Microbiology Society focused conference on Avian Infectious Diseases |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Microbiology Society supported a focused meeting on avian infectious disease research, bringing together scientists from all over the world to discuss their research. We gave presentations on "Characterisation of the Infectious Bronchitis Virus E Protein for Rational Vaccine Design" and "Rational vaccine design for the avian coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus", received good feedback on our work and ideas for future research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Presentations at the UK International Coronavirus Network (UK-ICN) AGM |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We presented research "The Genetic Stability, Replication Kinetics and Cytopathogenicity of Recombinant Avian Coronaviruses with a T16A or an A26F Mutation within the E Protein Is Cell-Type Dependent" and "A temperature sensitive recombinant of avian coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus provides complete protection against homologous challenge" and a poster on "A novel in-cell micro neutralisation assay for the human coronavirus OC-43: Allowing rapid and automated quantification of neutralising effect of antibodies and antiviral compounds" at the annual general meeting of the UK-ICN in Cambridge. We networked with other researchers working in the coronavirus field and discussed future research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Prevalence and Control of Avian Influenza Viruses in Poultry |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presented a seminar (as an invited speaker) to poultry stakeholders including farmers and veterinarians at "Morocco Poultry Day" organised by Boehringer-Ingelheim in Tangier, Morocco. Poultry production continues to face several challenges caused by avian influenza, including: (1) virus evolution & antigenic diversity, (2) emergence of new virus variants, (3) co-circulation of multiple variants of same pathogen, (4) mixed infection of different viruses (immunosuppression), (5) maternally derived antibody interference, and (6) poor quality vaccines and sub-optimal vaccination practices. From these challenges, the topic of discussion and research drives optimal vaccination strategies to improve: (1) potency: a single dose to induce faster, stronger and durable immunity against multiple pathogens, (2) effectiveness: protect from clinical disease, reduced shedding and transmission, (3) affordability: cheap to produce and easy to deliver, (4) safety: no adverse impact to host or environment, (5) stability: retain efficacy for at least 1 year at indicated temperature, (6) DIVA: to allow differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals. Implementing new emerging vaccine approaches can: (1) enhance the efficacy, duration, and breadth of immunity, (2) reduce production losses, (3) improve cost-effectiveness, (4) improve productivity and economy, (5) improve animal welfare, and (6) reduce prevalence of viruses and protect public health (reduced virus prevalence = reduced zoonosis). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Preventing a future pandemic by imitating natural selection |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | By Munir Iqbal A new type of avian influenza that can infect poultry and humans, called H7N9, emerged in China in February 2013. Since then, there have been over 1500 confirmed human infections with an estimated 40% case fatality rate. In the wake of COVID-19, these numbers may seem to be relatively small. But these statistics provide an example of the issues we face in controlling influenza viruses in animals and how understanding more about these viruses can help us to predict, prevent and control outbreaks, protecting both poultry and human health. Influenza viruses infect a huge range of animals, but the strains that are of greatest concern to us are those that circulate in livestock such as pigs and poultry, where people in farming industries have close contact with the animals. Influenza viruses can rapidly mutate, allowing them to escape the immune responses of the animals they infect and even jump to new species. There have been five major epidemic waves of H7N9 in China. The final wave in 2016-2017 saw the originally mild disease of poultry mutate to cause higher levels of mortality in chickens and spread almost everywhere in China. The severity of H7N9 AIV situation prompted the Chinese government to implement a mass vaccination programme against H7N9 in poultry in 2017. Since its use, the number of poultry outbreaks along with human infections has dropped dramatically, with only three human infection cases reported during 2017 to 2018 and one human infection case reported during 2018 to 2019. This may sound like vaccination has solved the problem and the virus will now be eradicated. Unfortunately, this is not the case - despite the reduction in disease outbreaks due to vaccination, these viruses have not been eradicated. This is partly because of influenza's high mutation rate - vaccination can inadvertently encourage the evolution of viruses with mutations that allow them to escape vaccine-induced immunity. Once a virus escapes, it can spread rapidly, thereby making the vaccine ineffective and a new one must be designed. This is where our research comes in. Our aim is to understand how H7N9 viruses could potentially mutate in the field in response to vaccination, and how these genetic changes could alter how the virus acts (for example, by making it more dangerous to poultry or by helping it to infect humans more effectively). By imitating the natural selection process in the lab, we found several mutations and identified that one specific mutation allows the virus to escape from vaccine-induced immunity. Importantly, three other mutations that we observed in our lab studies had been found in the field in 2019 indicating that our method can predict the evolution of influenza viruses. These three mutations prevent H7N9 viruses from binding to human cells, but increase their binding, replication and stability in chicken cells and embryos. This could mean that the strains which have these mutations pose a lower threat to human health, but increase the risk to poultry. This shows that mass vaccination of poultry against H7N9 strains in China drives virus evolution away from human pandemic. But viruses with 'escape mutations' remain a significant risk to poultry due to their ability to escape vaccine-induced immunity and persist in poultry. Our studies may also help to explain the Chinese government's successful control of H7N9 infection in humans by mass poultry vaccination. On one hand, the mass poultry vaccination protects the poultry from H7N9 infection and greatly reduces the risk of human infections as the majority of human H7N9 cases are linked to exposure to infected poultry or contaminated environments. On the other hand, even when some viruses escape the vaccine-induced immunity, they pose reduced risk to humans due to the lost human receptor binding. However, this may not be the case for all strains. Other mutations may arise in the future that have human pandemic potential or are even more deadly to poultry. Using a method that can predict how vaccination may change influenza virus characteristics is hugely valuable as it can provide advanced warning of mutations that could increase likelihood of human infection. Incorporating these mutations into global health surveillance efforts can help relevant authorities to monitor potential threats and get ahead of them before they have a chance to spiral out of control. Professor Munir Iqbal is head of the Avian Influenza Group at The Pirbright Institute. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.newton-gcrf.org/impact/data-insights-blog/preventing-a-future-pandemic-by-imitating-natu... |
| Description | Preventing and controlling avian influenza infections in poultry and humans |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Poultry production continues to face several challenges caused by avian influenza, including: (1) virus evolution & antigenic diversity, (2) emergence of new virus variants, (3) co-circulation of multiple variants of same pathogen, (4) mixed infection of different viruses (immunosuppression), (5) maternally derived antibody interference, and (6) poor quality vaccines and sub-optimal vaccination practices. From these challenges, the topic of discussion and research drives optimal vaccination strategies to improve: (1) potency: a single dose to induce faster, stronger and durable immunity against multiple pathogens, (2) effectiveness: protect from clinical disease, reduced shedding and transmission, (3) affordability: cheap to produce and easy to deliver, (4) safety: no adverse impact to host or environment, (5) stability: retain efficacy for at least 1 year at indicated temperature, (6) DIVA: to allow differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals. Implementing new emerging vaccine approaches can: (1) enhance the efficacy, duration, and breadth of immunity, (2) reduce production losses, (3) improve cost-effectiveness, (4) improve productivity and economy, (5) improve animal welfare, and (6) reduce prevalence of viruses and protect public health (reduced virus prevalence = reduced zoonosis). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Project close meeting at TANUVAS, Chennai July 2018- Delivering talk on outcome of the project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The project team held their final workshop at TANUVAS, which concluded a four year Farmed Animal Disease and Health (FADH) grant joint funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Indian Government's Department of Biotechnology (DBT). "This grant has enabled us to collaborate with four organisations across India, and ensured that our research can be applied in the field to aid the campaign for PPR global eradication", said Professor Parida.The project covered many areas of research which are essential for understanding PPR and creating tools to help control and prevent the disease. The team have now filed a patent application for their newly developed PPR vaccine, which is the first to differentiate between vaccinated and infected animals (DIVA) - a quality that enables livestock owners to protect their animals whilst continuing to trade. The team have also investigated how the PPR virus (PPRV) infects sheep and goats and how their immune systems respond. By inserting green fluorescent protein into virulent PPRV and administering the modified virus to goats, they demonstrated that PPRV primarily infects the tonsils, challenging the earlier belief that the virus first replicates in the respiratory tract epithelial cells. The collaborative project has also generated better diagnostic tests for use in the field and laboratory, and preliminary research has identified why some Indian breeds of goats and sheep are resistant to the disease, which could help scientists to create PPRV resistant breeds in the future. Project partners, scientists from the University and 40 field veterinarians have joined the meeting. An awareness training has been conducted on PPR disease and eradication for these field veterinarians. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.pirbright.ac.uk/news/2018/09/pirbright-scientists-run-vaccination-campaign-eradicate-pes... |
| Description | Protecting poultry from avian influenza |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Avian influenza, commonly known as "bird flu," is a disease caused by multiple strains of influenza virus. The viruses can infect a wide range of animals, including people and pigs, but the natural reservoir lies in populations of wild aquatic birds such as ducks and gulls, according to an announcement from The Pirbright Institute in the U.K., which is conducting research to better understand avian influenza viruses to help prevent the disease in poultry. Flu virus strains are categorized by the combination of the two proteins found on the outside of the virus: hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N) -- for example, H5N6 or H9N2. The H protein binds to cell receptors in order to initiate infection, while the N protein helps release new viruses from an infected cell, the institute explained. Strains are also classified by severity. Low-pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) viruses cause clinical signs such as mild breathing problems, decreased egg production and growth. Some birds, particularly ducks and geese, do not display any signs of LPAI infection and are still able to spread the disease, Pirbright said. When LPAI viruses circulate in high-density poultry areas, the viruses can mutate into highly pathogenic strains. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses have severe and often fatal effects on some species of birds such as chickens, Pirbright noted, but some HPAI strains cause mild or no clinical signs of disease in wild birds and domestic waterfowl. These strains are notifiable, meaning government control measures must be put in place. Avian influenza can be carried vast distances by wild migratory birds and can infect domesticated poultry through direct contact or through contaminated droppings and bodily fluids, Pirbright said. Because of this, there is a year-round risk of avian influenza, which can increase depending on the disease status in a region and the migration season of wild aquatic birds. According to Pirbright, good biosecurity is essential in preventing poultry from being exposed to the disease and can be practiced on a commercial farm, with game birds or even with just a few backyard hens. Why is influenza so difficult to prevent? The institute explained that influenza viruses are constantly changing, and when they replicate, small errors called mutations are copied into their genome. Some of these will alter the virus's proteins, allowing the virus to escape detection by the immune system. All flu viruses also have the potential to undergo a process called reassortment, where two or more strains of influenza infect the same animal, allowing them to swap parts of their genome, Pirbright said. The resulting viruses can potentially have different characteristics than the original strains, such as the ability to replicate in different species, including people, the institute added. Avian influenza viruses such as H5N1 or H7N9 have infected people, predominantly in Southeast Asia, but in these cases, the virus has been transmitted directly from infected birds to people, with no onward spread. There is some evidence that avian influenza can be passed from person to person, and while there are no records of efficient or sustained human transmission, there is a constant risk that one of the new strains may spread easily among people, which could result in a new influenza virus pandemic, Pirbright said. Changes in the virus genetics from mutation or reassortment make it very difficult to anticipate how influenza viruses will spread through a population and whether current vaccines will be suitable for the strains that are circulating, Pirbright announced. The influenza research programs at Pirbright are progressing understanding of the virus and finding better ways to prevent its spread. Pirbright Institute group leaders Dr. Holly Shelton and professor Munir Iqbal are researching how the characteristics of influenza viruses can change the outcomes of disease. Studying flu at the molecular level allows them to find out how the virus evolves to overcome avian immunity and how changes in their genome can alter disease severity and their ability to affect different species, the announcement said. Shelton's and Iqbal's teams are working on identifying genetic markers for specific disease traits that can be used in surveillance systems to provide forewarning of strains that could cause pandemics. For example, Shelton's Influenza Viruses group is looking at which characteristics allow the viruses to become resistant to antiviral drugs that are currently used to treat human infections of influenza, allowing surveillance to provide an early warning of viruses that could cross into humans and be difficult to control, Pirbright said. The team is also investigating how long it takes for avian influenza viruses to adapt to new mammalian species. According to the institute, establishing which strains can rapidly adapt and identifying the genetic changes made to enable infection of mammalian cells will help with surveillance efforts and potentially lead to the development of techniques that will help prevent these mutations occurring. Vaccination and rapid diagnosis are very important for influenza prevention and control, but it is still not currently possible to protect against all influenza strains, Pirbright said, noting that Iqbal's Avian Influenza group is exploring which sites on the virus trigger the chicken immune system to respond quickly and fight off infection. This will better inform scientists' ability to match vaccines to strains in the field and could help to develop vaccines that are more effective. Iqbal's group is also developing multivalent vaccines that protect chickens and ducks from several avian influenza subtypes at once as well as test kits for rapid diagnosis of different subtypes at the flock-side, the announcement said. Visit Pirbright's Influenza Viruses and the Avian Influenza group pages to find out more about their research. Source: The Pirbright Institute, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.feedstuffs.com/nutrition-health/protecting-poultry-avian-influenza |
| Description | Protecting poultry from avian influenza through passive immunisation. Presented at Foreign Experts Seminar "New strategies and new tools for the prevention and control of major poultry diseases. Shandong-Binzhou Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine Academy, China, 20-22 September 2019. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The talk and the discussion was the best practices to improve control systems (vaccines and diagnostics) for prevention of avian influenza viruses infection in poultry and zoonotic infections in humans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Provision of educational material on Rift Valley fever virus for Royal Society Summer Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We prepared information material for an exhibition on Rift Valley fever virus at the Royal Society Summer Festival. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Public debate on Zoonotic threat at Cheltenham Science Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was part of a panel debate on the threat of zoonosis and viral emergence in human populations, a ticketed event attended by around 150 members of the general public. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Rebecca Daines: Cheltenham Science Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Described the research undertaken at the Pirbright Institute that lead to improve control systems against infectious viral diseases of animals and from animals to humans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Recombinant single chain variable fragment (scFv) antibody protects chickens from avian influenza. Presented at Systems Immunology Workshop: Adaptive immune repertoires and beyond. 16th-17th January 2020. University of Surrey, UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A talk entitled "Recombinant single chain variable fragment (scFv) antibody protects chickens from avian influenza" was presented at the workshop exploring new technical advances for analysis and production of antibodies for prophylaxes and treatment of animal and humans diseases. Both academics and staff linked with animal and public health industry attended this workshop. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Recombinant vaccines against avian viral diseases affecting poultry |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Poultry production continues to face several challenges caused by avian influenza, including: (1) virus evolution & antigenic diversity, (2) emergence of new virus variants, (3) co-circulation of multiple variants of same pathogen, (4) mixed infection of different viruses (immunosuppression), (5) maternally derived antibody interference, and (6) poor quality vaccines and sub-optimal vaccination practices. From these challenges, the topic of discussion and research drives optimal vaccination strategies to improve: (1) potency: a single dose to induce faster, stronger and durable immunity against multiple pathogens, (2) effective: protect from clinical disease, reduced shedding and transmission, (3) affordability: cheap to produce and easy to deliver, (4) safety: no adverse impact to host or environment, (5) stability: retain efficacy for at least 1 year at indicated temperature, (6) DIVA: to allow differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals. Implementing new emerging vaccine approaches can: (1) enhance the efficacy, duration, and breadth of immunity, (2) reduce production losses, (3) improve cost-effectiveness, (4) improve productivity and economy, (5) improve animal welfare, and (6) reduce prevalence of viruses and protect public health (reduced virus prevalence = reduced zoonosis). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Research Assistant in my group Nazia Thakur attending Cheltenham Science Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Stimulating increased interest in science and research |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Researchers at Pirbright investigate the emergence of new bird flu viruses with the potential to infect people |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Following the news brief of our research outcomes for the general public and media was published on The Pirbright Institute and widely distributed through social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin. Pirbright scientists have discovered that infection with two strains of avian flu can lead to the emergence of a new virus strain with the potential to jump from birds to humans. Human cases of avian influenza are extremely rare but can occur if a person comes into very close contact with an infected or dead bird. The study shows that avian influenza virus strains H9N2 and H7N9 can share genetic information to create an H9N9 strain with the potential to cause more severe disease in poultry and pose a threat to human health. Avian influenza, also known as 'bird flu', is a type of influenza that spreads among birds. The UK faces a seasonal increase in the risk of avian influenza outbreaks which are associated with the migration patterns of wild birds. Avian influenza is found across the globe, and in countries where multiple strains circulate it is important to monitor the emergence of new strains. Low virulence H9N2 and H7N9 circulate in poultry in Asia but do not cause severe disease. However, they are known to swap genetic information which can result in the emergence of an H9N9 strain, which can cause severe disease. In collaboration with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), researchers at Pirbright discovered that the H9N9 strain was able to multiply significantly better in poultry cells, indicating the potential to cause more severe disease. They also discovered that it had a higher replication rate in human cells and could bind to these cells better than H9N2. The H9N9 strain can infect and transmit between ferrets highlighting the potential to cause disease in humans. The study, published in the Journal of Virology, shows that strains already circulating in poultry populations can exchange genetic material, leading to the creation of new strains. This increases the risk of the virus jumping from avian hosts to humans and other mammals. The study concludes that H7N9 and H9N2 viruses circulating in the same regions pose a pandemic threat, which demonstrates the need for constant monitoring for the emergence of new virus strains. Professor Munir Iqbal, Head of the Avian Influenza Group at Pirbright said: "This is the first study to show that infection with circulating H9N2 and H7N9 influenza viruses could create new virus strains such as H9N9 that cause more disease in poultry and pose a greater risk to human health. If a host is infected with two different strains, there is always a chance that they will swap genetic material to create a new strain. When this happens, it could lead to many outcomes, for example, the virus becoming more or less able to cause disease in a host, or a virus acquiring the ability to jump between hosts. This leads to viruses that primarily cause disease in animals having the ability to infect humans, which is what we have observed in this study. More research is needed to determine which avian flu viruses could combine and pose a threat to poultry and human health." This study was supported by grants funded by the UK Research and Innovation Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council under Newton Fund UK-China-Philippines-Thailand Swine and Poultry Research Initiative and Zoonoses and Emerging Livestock Systems (ZELS) with grants from FCDO and Dstl. The work was also funded by the GCRF One Health Poultry Hub and Defra (UK, including the Devolved Administrations of Scotland and Wales). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.pirbright.ac.uk/news/2022/01/researchers-pirbright-investigate-emergence-new-bird-flu-vi... |
| Description | Reverse genetics seminar (University of Surrey) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A seminar was given based upon the reverse genetics system of infectious bronchitis virus. The audience was a group of 10 -15 MSc students from University of Surrey. The students were engaged, asked questions about the research and careers in science. We were asked to repeat the seminar for the next year's intake of students. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018 |
| Description | SATRO Mentoring Scheme Ash Manor School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Fortnightly mentoring activity for student's soft skill and career development. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020 |
| Description | STEAMfest |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Stimulating increased interest in science and research |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | STEAMfest - HS |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Team members attended the event where a flu fighters stand was displayed demonstrating how scientists are working to rapidly detect and control avian influenza in the filed to protect food security, animal welfare and human health. Approximately 200 secondary school students engaged with the stall and this stimulated increased interest in science and research, |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | School Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Participated (AES) in Workshop at local school |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Sue Baigent participated in the Teen Tech event on 22nd Jan 2019 on General Science engagement |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | A General Science event |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Sue Baigent participated in the Winston Churchill Careers Fair on 7th Nov 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Careers fair |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Surrey County Show |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This engagement activity was associated with a stand at the Surrey County Show in May 2018 where the work of the Institute was show-cased to the general public. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Surrey County Show |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Surrey County Show is an agricultural show in Guildford that is visited by the general public. The Pirbright Institute had a stand with various activities for visitors to take part in and explain our science to a wide audience. Giulia spent a day working on the stand and spoke with many children and adults about her work at Pirbright to change public attitudes and stimulate increased interest in research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Sushant Bhat:Pirbright Dragon Fair |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Described the research undertaken at the Pirbright Institute that lead to improve control systems against infectious viral diseases of animals and from animals to humans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Sustainable poultry (meat and eggs) production in Pakistan: Challenges and Opportunities. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Discussion on sustainable poultry (meat and eggs) production in Pakistan: Challenges and Opportunities. Presented at UKRI-GCRF "Food Security, Agriculture, and Nutrition" workshop, Marriott Hotel, Islamabad, Pakistan. 9th- 10th March 2020. organised by UKRI GCRF team. The outcomes include the establishment of collaborative links with key stakeholders including policymakers and disease control officials. Closer links were established with official responsible for animal health and food security officials including Minister for Science and Technology of Pakistan, High commissioner of UK High Commission in Pakitan. Discussion agenda and key outcomes were also communicated to the President of Pakistan, Chairman of Higher Education Commission Pakitan and representatives from FAO and UKRI GCRF team. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/626768-upsign-network-ukri-to-organise-global-development-workshops |
| Description | Symposium for WRLFMD 60th Anniversary |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | During November, the Pirbright Institute hosted a two-day symposium attended by over 100 FMD scientists to celebrate the 60-year anniversary of the establishment of the World Reference Laboratory for Foot-and-Mouth Disease (WRLFMD). The meeting was opened by Christine Middlemiss (UK, Chief Veterinary Officer), Matthew Stone (Deputy Director General of the OIE) and Keith Sumption (from FAO/EuFMD). Subsequent scientific sessions reviewed the current activities of the WRLFMD (and OIE/FAO FMD Laboratory Network: https://www.foot-and-mouth.org), and discussed new opportunities to monitor, diagnose and control FMD by applying knowledge from fundamental research projects that aim to understand the pathogenesis, host responses and epidemiology of the disease. Talks from invited speakers and WRLFMD staff were within four themes of (i) Risks & Threats, (ii) Diagnostic Innovation, (iii) Pathogenesis & Immunity and (iv) FMD Control with a Focus on Vaccination. These presentations showcased the synergy between fundamental/basic science and the on-going global surveillance activities undertaken by FMD Reference Laboratories. In the evening, the meeting delegates (including past and present members of the WRLFMD) were royally entertained at a local hotel by after-dinner "trips down memory lane" talks from Nick Knowles and Dave Rowlands that highlighted key events and personalities that have shaped the history of work at Pirbright. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.wrlfmd.org/60th-anniversary |
| Description | TAIEX Multi Country Workshop on Animal Health |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Donald King was an invited speaker (and expert panel member) at a TAIEX Multi Country Workshop on Animal Health, Malta, June 2017. He gave a talk entitled: foot-and mouth disease: epidemiological situation in the Mediterranean area and new threats to North Africa, Near East and Europe |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | Pre-2006,2017 |
| URL | https://www.eu2017.mt/en/Events/Pages/TAIEX-multi-country-seminar-on-animal-health.aspx |
| Description | TK - School activity - Big Bang at Surrey University (7 Feb 18) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Children from local primary and secondary school attend and access stalls showcasing science and engineering. The Pirbright Institute stall showcases the requirement for improved control of avian influenza viruses with a hands on display of testing and diagnosis of the virus. This sparks questions and discussion about the work at Pirbright in the area of avian influenza viruses. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://nearme.thebigbangfair.co.uk/ |
| Description | TV Interview for SBS, Korea |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Don King provided a TV interview to SBS, Korea to review the FMD situation in South Korea and discuss policies used for disease control |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Talk Presented at 2nd International Congress of Veterinary Microbiology, 16th -19th October 2018. Sherwood Breezes Resort-Lara, Antalya, Turkey. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Conference discussed improving prevention and control of viral diseases of poultry. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Talk at Microbiology Society special symposium on SARS-CoV-2 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented our research data on the host-range of SARS-COV-2 and its potential origins to other virologists based in the UK and overseas, as part of a special symposium on the virus organised by the Microbiology Society. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Talk at Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Services University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Participated in an online webinar organised by the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Services University in Chennai India as part of their Transboundary Animal Diseases - Emerging Threats to India seminar series. I talked to around 60 participants about African swine fever and African swine fever vaccine research. There were questions on vaccine development and also control of African swine fever in India. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Talk by Nick on the sequencing of Zimbabwe FMDV |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Nick Knowles gave a talk at the 2018 Open Session of EuFMD (European commission for the control of foot-and-mouth disease ) on "Complete Genome Sequence Analysis of Over 140 Foot-and-mouth Disease Viruses Isolated From Free-living African Buffalo (Syncerus Caffer) in Zimbabwe" on behalf of Jemma Wadsworth, Bruce Bolt, Luca Ferretti, Euan C. Anderson, Ashley Gray, Paolo Ribeca, and himself. The sequencing was funded by the Transboundary Pathogens portal project awarded to Pirbright. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Talk on Asfarvaridae at Virologie Fondamentale MSc course |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Talk on African swine fever virus family at the fundamental virology course at the Institut Pasteur |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Talk on Asfarvaridae at Virologie Fondamentale MSc course at Institute Pasteur |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presented African swine fever virus to the Virologie Fondamentale MSc course at Institute Pasteur. This was the first time African swine fever had been included in the curriculum for this course. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Targeted Antigen Delivery Vaccines: Next Generation Vaccines for Poultry |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | A talk entitled "Targeted Antigen Delivery Vaccines: Next Generation Vaccines for Poultry" presented to the Executive Chair of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. The discussion aim was the advances approaches that can increases the strength and breath of vaccine immunity in animals and humans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Teen Tech |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Participated in Teen Tech to engage with schools (year 8 and sixth formers) to encourage them to consider STEM career choices. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Teentech |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The annual Teentech student science event in Guildford aims to encourage teenagers to consider science subjects and science careers. Our stand had considerable interest from the schoolchildren who were very enthusiastic. The event stimulated an increased interest in science and research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2019 |
| Description | The Pirbright Village Duck Fair held on 16 June 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Local Village Fair, interaction with local residence to expanse research aims and activities of The Pirbright Institute and benefits to UK and around the globe to prevent and control infectious diseases of animals and humans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | The co-Circulation of Low and High-path-AIV in the same country with sub-optimal bio-security: Virus evolution and impact on vaccine efficacy. Presented at the 11th Scientific conference of Egyptian Veterinary Poultry Association, Conference "Towards a National strategy to control poultry industry problems in Egypt". 20-23 April 2019. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The talk and the discussion on the improvement of disease control systems (vaccines and diagnostics) to prevent avian influenza viruses infection in poultry and zoonotic infections in humans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | The global Situation and pathobiology of Avian Influenza in different Avian Species. Presented at the 11th Scientific conference of Egyptian Veterinary Poultry Association, Conference "Towards a National strategy to control poultry industry problems in Egypt". 20-23 April 2019.. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The talk and the discussion on the improvement of disease control systems (vaccines and diagnostics) to prevent avian influenza viruses infection in poultry and zoonotic infections in humans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | The peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) Global Research and Expertise Network (GREN) meeting. Presented work on the future eradication of PPRV, 13-15.11.2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) Global Research and Expertise Network (GREN) meeting. Presented work on the future eradication of PPRV, 13-15.11.2019 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://rr-asia.oie.int/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/200622_ppr-gren-2-nairobi-november-2019-final-com... |
| Description | This Week In Virology Podcast 532: Morbillivirus had a little lamb |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Our research paper on morbillivirus host-range in Journal of Virology was highlighted for in-depth discussion on this episode of TWIV where they spent 30+ minutes talking about the work and its potential impact. This podcast is the number one podcast in virology and listened to across the globe. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-532/ |
| Description | This week in Virology: 533: Recurring threads |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Following our paper being highlighted on the previous edition of TWIV I wrote a letter to further the discussion of this subject and clarify some technical points on The Pirbright Institute. This was read out as part of the podcast and discussed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-533/ |
| Description | Time for rethink on farming poultry as experts warn bird flu has slipped 'through our fingers (Sky News) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Discussion with Sky New UK corresponded Tom Clarke (Science and technology editor @aTomClarke) on continued avian influenza viruses are becoming endemic in bird populations in Europe and North America with some areas seeing a 600% increase in infection over the past few months in September -November 2022. In the UK, every day now, two or three new premises have been testing positive for bird flu. If they do, their flocks are culled and over 50 million birds culled in Europe this year and a similar number in North America. There is a need for an improved disease control strategies against these viruses. just culling of infected and at risk will not reduce viruses prevalence and spread, because virus in circulating in wild birds. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://news.sky.com/story/time-for-rethink-on-farming-poultry-as-experts-warn-bird-flu-has-slipped-... |
| Description | Tour of Pirbright Research facilities for CLA group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The CLA is the membership organisation for owners of land, property and businesses in rural England and Wales. The CLA came for a tour of the Jenner building facilities at The Pirbright Institute. I led a tour of our building for the group and described the work undertaken by the avian research programme here. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | U3A talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on influenza virus research at The Pirbright Institute for the local University of the Third Age group, approx. 50 people aged 65 years + all with an interest in science. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://cu3asandt.wordpress.com/2018/09/23/meeting-2nd-october/ |
| Description | UK-China Philippines-Thailand Swine and Poultry Research Initiative project kick-off workshop" at China Agriculture University, Beijing, 26th-28th September 2018. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Emerging new approaches were discussed for prevention and control of infectious diseases affecting swines and poultry. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | UK-India bioinformatics workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On February 9 2018 Pirbright organised a "UK-India bioinformatics workshop" in order to foster ties between Indian and UK bioinformaticians working in the field of livestock and crop research. Paolo Ribeca gave a talk on "Bioinformatics and sequencing at Pirbright". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Understanding Antigenic Diversity, Zoonotic potential and immunological prevention of avian influenza viruses affecting poultry. Presented at "UK-China Philippines-Thailand Swine and Poultry Research Initiative project kick-off workshop" at China Agriculture University, Beijing, 26th-28th September 2018. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Meeting focus was to share research plans funded under "UK-China-Philippines-Thailand Swine and Poultry Research Initiative". Research projects investigate pathogens, zoonotic pathogens or "commensals" associated with food safety issues affecting poultry and swine. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://bbsrc.ukri.org/funding/filter/joint-swine-poultry-initiative/ |
| Description | Understanding Evolution and Impacts of Avian Influenza Viruses |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Internal seminar presented at The Pirbright Institute, sharing the achievements and current ongoing research being performed within the Avian Influenza Virus and Newcastle Disease Virus Group to other colleagues throughout the site. Poultry production continues to face several challenges caused by avian influenza, including: (1) virus evolution & antigenic diversity, (2) emergence of new virus variants, (3) co-circulation of multiple variants of same pathogen, (4) mixed infection of different viruses (immunosuppression), (5) maternally derived antibody interference, and (6) poor quality vaccines and sub-optimal vaccination practices. From these challenges, the topic of discussion and research drives optimal vaccination strategies to improve: (1) potency: a single dose to induce faster, stronger and durable immunity against multiple pathogens, (2) effectiveness: protect from clinical disease, reduced shedding and transmission, (3) affordability: cheap to produce and easy to deliver, (4) safety: no adverse impact to host or environment, (5) stability: retain efficacy for at least 1 year at indicated temperature, (6) DIVA: to allow differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals. Implementing new emerging vaccine approaches can: (1) enhance the efficacy, duration, and breadth of immunity, (2) reduce production losses, (3) improve cost-effectiveness, (4) improve productivity and economy, (5) improve animal welfare, and (6) reduce prevalence of viruses and protect public health (reduced virus prevalence = reduced zoonosis). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Understanding Evolution and Persistence of Avian Influenza Viruses in Poultry |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presented a talk at the LASA 60th Anniversary Conference, the Hinxton Hall Conference Centre, Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, UK, sharing the research goals and achievements performed at the Pirbright Institute. Poultry production continues to face several challenges caused by avian influenza, including: (1) virus evolution & antigenic diversity, (2) emergence of new virus variants, (3) co-circulation of multiple variants of same pathogen, (4) mixed infection of different viruses (immunosuppression), (5) maternally derived antibody interference, and (6) poor quality vaccines and sub-optimal vaccination practices. From these challenges, the topic of discussion and research drives optimal vaccination strategies to improve: (1) potency: a single dose to induce faster, stronger and durable immunity against multiple pathogens, (2) effectiveness: protect from clinical disease, reduced shedding and transmission, (3) affordability: cheap to produce and easy to deliver, (4) safety: no adverse impact to host or environment, (5) stability: retain efficacy for at least 1 year at indicated temperature, (6) DIVA: to allow differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals. Implementing new emerging vaccine approaches can: (1) enhance the efficacy, duration, and breadth of immunity, (2) reduce production losses, (3) improve cost-effectiveness, (4) improve productivity and economy, (5) improve animal welfare, and (6) reduce prevalence of viruses and protect public health (reduced virus prevalence = reduced zoonosis). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Understanding antigenic diversity, zoonotic potential and immunological prevention of avian influenza viruses affecting poultry. Presented at UK-China-Philippines-Thailand Swine and Poultry Research Initiative: Interim Project Workshop 13th-15th January 2020 Hilton Hotel, Bracknell, UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Outcomes of the research project entitled "Understanding antigenic diversity, zoonotic potential and immunological prevention of avian influenza viruses affecting poultry" were presented to colleagues working on prevention and control of infectious diseases affecting animals and humans. the work led to incite further research collaborations with different groups from UK, China, Thailand and Philippine. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Understanding avian influenza virus evolution and development of next generation vaccines. Presented at 459th Scientific Meeting of The Veterinary Research Club at The Farmers Club, 3 Whitehall Court London Friday 14th February 2020. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A talk presented entitled"Understanding avian influenza virus evolution and development of next generation vaccines". The discussion with senior staff from DEFRA and UKRI- BBSRC, researchers and veterinary professional like with control and prevention of animal diseases in United kingdom |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Understanding avian influenza virus evolution, antigenic diversity and vaccine failure. Presented at the 2019 Symposium on techniques for healthy breading and disease prevention & control of livestock and poultry, Golden Harbor Hotel, Beijing, 21-23 August 2019. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk and discussion on the control of infectious animal diseases including avian influenza. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | V Nair invited to talk on 'Cell type- and disease stage-specific interactions of Marek's disease virus & the host' at the International Symposium on Marek's disease and avain herpesiviruses at Yangzhou, China during 29th July to 2nd Aug 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Most recent updates in the field of avian herpesvirus research was discussed and active engagements for future collaborations discussed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | V Nair was invited to talk a the Poultry Health Workshop and Conference on 19th-20th Nov, 2018 in Kathmandu, Nepal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | more than 100 stakeholders from different sectors of the Poultry industry and academia attended the meeting. There was engagement from the different sectors for initiating a combined approach for finding solutions |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.cmdn.org. |
| Description | Vet Times Interview on SARS-CoV-2 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Q&A by email for story on SARS-CoV-2 adaptation to human ACE2, later published online and print version of Vet Times |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.vettimes.co.uk/news/study-finds-how-sars-cov-2-may-have-adapted-to-humans/ |
| Description | Veterinary Times article on morbillivirus vaccines. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I was interviewed by a journalist from The Veterinary Times about our recent Journal of Virology research paper on morbillivirus host-range. This was then written up for the next edition of this publication. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.vettimes.co.uk/news/scientists-multi-purpose-ppr-vaccine-closer-to-completion/ |
| Description | Visit to Cairo Poultry Company (CPC) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Discussion and talk on prevention and control of poultry diseases (avian influenza and Newcastle Disease) and molecular factors affecting vaccine efficacy. The discussion and talk to present data, describing factors the directly influence protective efficacy of in use vaccines, and how they evaluate/ test vaccine failure. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Visit to Dakahlia Poultry Egypt |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Discussion and talk presented at Dakahlia Poultry Egypt head office to workers involved in poultry production. The talk amis were to provide update on the impact of evolutionary genetic changes in the avian influenza and Newcastle disease viruses on the efficacy of vaccines and diagnostics. The molecular changes in virus genetic makeup allow virus to escape from vaccine induced immunity results vaccine and diagnostics failure. Consequently the avian influenza viruses continue to circulates in vaccinated flocks. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | WACCBIP Ghana (TT) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), University of Ghana. Workshops on cell biology of pathogens and career development. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |
| Description | Webinar and roundtable on Troubleshooting Techniques for Full Genome Sequencing of African Swine Fever |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Webinar and roundtable on Troubleshooting Techniques for Full Genome Sequencing of African Swine Fever. Discussion on state of the ASFV full genome sequencing and future directions. Attended as part of the roundtable and answered questions from audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Why vaccines matter in the fight against zoonotic diseases |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A news story was published to increase the awareness of Zoonotic diseases and their impact on public health, food security, the economy and the environment. This was publicised at The Pirbright Institute webpage and One Health Poultry Health webpage and distributed wildly on social media including Facebook, Twitter, In Share. On World Zoonoses Day, Pirbright's Professor Munir Iqbal and Dr Joshua Sealy consider 600 years of developing technology to fight infectious diseases: The history of human and animal immunisation against infectious disease begins with the Chinese practice of variolation in the fifteenth century. Here, infectious material was taken from one patient and inoculated into a non-infected patient to initiate a mild but protective infection. Roughly 200 years later, Edward Jenner transformed the field of immunology by developing the world's first vaccine which involved immunising patients against smallpox using the closely related cowpox. Fast-forward another 200 years and the application of vaccines had transformed. On 6 July 1885, now celebrated as World Zoonoses Day, Louis Pasteur successfully administered the first vaccine against rabies - and within decades myriad other diseases had also been tackled effectively, including diphtheria, tetanus, anthrax, cholera, plague, typhoid, tuberculosis, measles, mumps, rubella, and polio. Many of these pathogens had been infecting humans for years, and continue to do so where vaccines are not deployed. Now, in the 21st century, vaccine research is undergoing another seismic shift. In 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19), emerged in humans which is believed to have originated in animals (known as zoonoses). It has since developed into the devastating COVID-19 pandemic and in doing so it triggered an urgent need to develop vaccines to control a virus that represents a growing problem at the human-animal interface. Pathogen evolution: Broadly speaking, humans have a naïve immune system to the many pathogens that exclusively circulate within animal reservoirs, including livestock. Most pathogens have evolved to infect specific animal species, which means that a significant barrier exists that prevents animal pathogens from causing disease in humans. However, a portion of these pathogens, including influenza viruses and coronaviruses, have the capacity to evolve such that they can overcome these barriers and be successful, especially as there is no prior immunity in the human population. This extraordinary ability to evolve also means that these pathogens have the potential to overcome vaccines. The application of vaccines and vaccine technology must progress to meet the challenge of zoonotic viruses. Vaccine variety: An impressive diversity of vaccine technologies is currently employed or in development to combat pathogens circulating in humans and animals. A vaccine needs to be effective at eliminating or reducing disease, but the diversity of pathogens means vaccines sometimes need to be equally diverse and must cater to specific challenges. Traditional inactivated pathogen vaccines are generated by 'killing' a pathogen so that it can be safely administered for immunisation. Subunit vaccines are vaccines that comprise only a fragment of the target pathogen which can be administered to generate an immune response exclusively to that fragment. Both technologies elicit protective antibody responses and have been successful for an exceptionally long time against a variety of pathogens. However, an antibody response does not provide sufficient protection against all pathogens that continually change their shapes to evade vaccines. Live attenuated vaccines typically use infectious pathogens that are modified to prevent them from causing disease but can still trigger an immune response similar to their naturally occurring counterparts. These vaccines are useful because as well as an antibody response, they can induce a cellular immune response, which targets conserved parts of the pathogens that remain the same across different strains. This means live attenuated vaccines are more effective at protecting against mutations that could allow the pathogen to escape vaccine immunity and they provide better protection against multiple pathogen strains. New vaccine technology: Viral vector vaccines are vaccines that comprise the 'backbone' of a virus that doesn't cause disease in the host animal, which expresses a piece of the target pathogen that induces an immune response. Most licensed viral vector vaccines are in use in animals, with only a single vectored vaccine (against the Ebola virus) being licensed for humans prior to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Viral vector vaccines evoke a strong immune response that is specific to the pathogen, making it effective and long-lasting. DNA/RNA vaccines contain genetic material that codes for a piece of a pathogen, which the host cells process to elicit an immune response. Several mRNA vaccines are in use against SARS-CoV-2 and they are cost-effective, safe, and produced using chemicals synthetically and not from cell culture systems. As such, we now have the capacity to carefully select the target of our vaccines and the nature of the desired immune response. The importance of vaccines was brought into focus once again with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic - and, going forward, the need for our growing arsenal of vaccines will only increase with the needs of humanity. Nutrition: As the human population increases so do its need for nutrition. A major source of human nutrition is animal-derived; thus, the population of farmed animals increases. Wild habitats are encroached upon to provide for the increasing population of farmed animals, and this facilitates interaction between farmed and wild animals. Consequently, we develop a tractable route for zoonotic diseases to enter the human population. Finally, the need for human nutrition is also met through the acquisition of wild animals. There is evidence to suggest that the West African Ebola virus epidemic was preceded by the capture of wild animals for human consumption. Likewise, SARS-CoV-2 is believed to have originated in wild animals. Zoonotic diseases clearly have far-reaching impacts. Humans and animals directly suffer pathogen-related sickness and death, and global economies incur significant losses. The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is a clear example of this - while avian influenza and several other emerging and re-emerging viruses carrying zoonotic infection potential circulating in farmed and wild birds are a constant reminder that the next pandemic could be around the corner. Written by Professor Munir Iqbal and Dr Joshua Sealy, members of the Avian Influenza Virus group at Pirbright. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.pirbright.ac.uk/news/2021/07/why-vaccines-matter-fight-against-zoonotic-diseases |
| Description | Why wet markets will never close - despite the global threat to human health (The Telegraph) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | This discussion was due to current enormous global spread of bird flu and widespread poultry outbreak has generated unprecedented opportunities for the virus to jump to humans and potentially even mutate to better spread between people. Since the Live bird markets have been identified as key factors in the spread, persistence and evolution of avian influenza viruses,. Therefore, there is an increased risk to public at the live birds markets and how these risks can be reduced to increase food safety, security and public health. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/why-wet-markets-will-never-close-despi... |
| Description | World Zoonosis Day 2018 - web story |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Contributed to an article from our institute on World Zoonosis Day highlighting the importance of research in this area. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.pirbright.ac.uk/news/2018/07/pirbright-scientists-are-developing-vaccine-candidates-anim... |
| Description | YS Winston Churchill School Careers event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Winston Churchill School Careers event - Pirbright was able to present information on some areas of its science work at a careers fair for a secondary school, which generated lots of interest and students indicated that they were considering studying science. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | organised workshops at Microbiology Society annual conferences 2014 - 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I co-organised virology division workshops on viral evolution and diversity and RNA viruses with colleagues from the virology division. The workshops were held at the annual Microbiology Society conferences in spring each year. Organisation involved selecting abstracts for oral or poster presentation, ordering the presentations and chairing the sessions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016,2017,2018 |