Development of rationally attenuated live vaccines for effective control of infectious bronchitis
Lead Research Organisation:
The Pirbright Institute
Department Name: Avian Infectious Diseases
Abstract
The overall aim of this project is to attenuate the pathogenicity of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) of poultry in a non-reversible way, whilst maintaining immunogenicity for both vaccination of chickens and for in ovo application. Control of infectious diseases and a reduction in the use of therapeutic antibiotics are two major challenges faced by the UK poultry industry. The avian coronavirus, IBV, is a highly contagious poultry pathogen prevalent in all types of poultry flocks worldwide. IBV is the causal agent of infectious bronchitis (IB) and continues to be responsible for economic loss, welfare problems in chickens and a potential risk to food security. IBV preferentially causes respiratory disease, but can also infect other organs such as the kidneys (resulting in kidney disease) or the reproductive tract (resulting in loss of egg production and/or egg quality). IBV has been reported to be responsible for more economic loss to the UK poultry industry than any other infectious disease. Although live attenuated vaccines and inactivated vaccines are universally used in the control of IBV, the protection gained by use of vaccination can be lost either due to vaccine breakdown or the introduction of a new IBV serotype that is not related to the vaccine used, posing a risk to the poultry industry. It is important that new and safer vaccines are developed for the control of IBV. This proposal seeks to develop an infectious clone system for the generation of rationally attenuated IBV vaccines, identifying two spatially distant regions of the genome that can be modified for attenuation. The project is divided into four main objectives:- 1) To produce an IBV reverse genetics system based on the pathogenic M41 strain of IBV. 2) To remove the M41 accessory non-structural genes to identify whether they play a role in pathogenicity. 3) To study the role of the M41 essential (replicase) non-structural protein genes in pathogenicity. 4) To investigate the attenuation of IBV for in ovo vaccination. This highly innovative project will be carried out by the coronavirus research group at the Institute for Animal Health, Compton which has the necessary IBV reverse genetics technology and the animal facilities to test rIBVs in chickens. The submission is in direct response to research requirements identified and agreed by the Poultry Research Committee at their meeting on the 17th November 2008. Expected benefits to the food chain: Relaxation of IBV vaccination strategies or the breakdown of vaccination, due to new IBV strains, would have a profound and devastating affect on the UK poultry industry in terms of bird welfare and production costs, with associated risks to food security. This work will pave the way for new rationally modified and safer vaccines, as they will be less likely to revert. A further expected benefit from the development of safer vaccines, is a reduction in the amount of antibiotics used to counteract secondary bacterial infections associated with IB.
Technical Summary
The overall aim of this project is to attenuate the pathogenicity of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) of poultry in a non-reversible way, whilst maintaining immunogenicity for both vaccination of chickens and for in ovo application. Control of infectious diseases and a reduction in the use of therapeutic antibiotics are two major challenges faced by the UK poultry industry. The avian coronavirus, IBV, is a highly contagious poultry pathogen prevalent in all types of poultry flocks worldwide. IBV is the causal agent of infectious bronchitis (IB) and continues to be responsible for economic loss, welfare problems in chickens and a potential risk to food security. IBV preferentially causes respiratory disease, but can also infect other organs such as the kidneys (resulting in kidney disease) or the reproductive tract (resulting in loss of egg production and/or egg quality). IBV has been reported to be responsible for more economic loss to the UK poultry industry than any other infectious disease. Although live attenuated vaccines and inactivated vaccines are universally used in the control of IBV, the protection gained by use of vaccination can be lost either due to vaccine breakdown or the introduction of a new IBV serotype that is not related to the vaccine used, posing a risk to the poultry industry. It is important that new and safer vaccines are developed for the control of IBV. This proposal seeks to develop an infectious clone system for the generation of rationally attenuated IBV vaccines, identifying two spatially distant regions of the genome that can be modified for attenuation.
Planned Impact
Exploitation of the project outcomes: The submission is in direct response to research requirements identified and agreed by the Poultry Research Committee at their meeting on the 17th November 2008. The aims of the project also fulfil the Defra requirements for coronaviruses in poultry under 'Alternative pharmaceutical control of endemic animal diseases (Requirements 36-38)'. The IAH coronavirus group is the only research group in the UK that has the IBV reverse genetics system capable of modifying the IBV genome. At present there is only one other group in the world also using an IBV reverse genetics system. The work described in the proposal will benefit the poultry industry, not only from the development of safer vaccines but from benefits in terms of livestock husbandry, welfare and environmental impacts. The continuous use of IB vaccines to protect this important food source is responsible for keeping the impact of IBV on British poultry to a minimum. In the 2005 Defra report, IB was estimated to have affected 22.5 million chickens at a total cost of £23.6M (including £12.6M involving loss of egg production). Relaxation of vaccination strategies, or the breakdown of strategies by loss of protection due to new IBV strains, would have a profound and devastating affect on the UK poultry industry, in terms of welfare and economic cost. A major goal of the poultry industry is the development of an IBV vaccine that can be used for in ovo vaccination. The overall aim of the proposal is to identify suitable regions of the IBV genome that can be modified to attenuate a virulent IBV so that it may be developed as a basic vaccinial strain against different serotypes of IBV. It is unlikely that there will be direct commercialisation of the attenuated virus to be produced at the end of this project as it is at the developmental stage. The project will produce scientific information to underpin the development of a new generation of rationally attenuated IBV vaccines that are safer, have the potential to be modified for wider use against different serotypes and the possibility to be used for in ovo vaccination. This project is not directed towards the production of a formulation designed for an individual product. Subject to IP protection, results will be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presented at scientific meetings. The commercial partner, Pfizer Animal Health, is one of the few remaining major animal pharmaceutical companies. They produce a number of animal health vaccines and also support other work into basic and applied virology, with a direct interest in the development of vaccines against poultry diseases including IBV. They are therefore perfect partners to exploit outcomes from this work; for example, to investigate the development of rationally attenuated IBV vaccines that may be used in ovo. The support of an industrial partner will provide a bridge whereby promising vaccine candidates can be taken forward for commercial development. The information gained will be unique and of great value as to how IBV can be rationally attenuated and have a wider application than the development of a single product. Our previous work of spike swapping has demonstrated how IBV can be manipulated to afford protection over a wider range of IBV serotypes. I can foresee no problems why the attenuated virus from this project could not be manipulated in the same way.
Organisations
- The Pirbright Institute (Lead Research Organisation)
- Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Co-funder)
- National Taiwan University (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF KENT (Collaboration)
- IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (Collaboration)
- British Poultry Council (Project Partner)
- Pfizer (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- British Egg Industry Council (Project Partner)
People |
ORCID iD |
Paul Britton (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Armesto M
(2012)
Reverse Genetics of RNA Viruses - Applications and Perspectives
Bentley K
(2013)
Infectious Bronchitis Virus as a Vector for the Expression of Heterologous Genes.
in PloS one
Bentley K
(2013)
Identification of a noncanonically transcribed subgenomic mRNA of infectious bronchitis virus and other gammacoronaviruses.
in Journal of virology
Bickerton E
(2017)
Reverse Genetics of RNA Viruses - Methods and Protocols
Bickerton E
(2014)
Cellular tropism of the infectious bronchitis virus spike glycoprotein
in 8th International Symposium on Avian Corona- and Pneumoviruses and complicating pathogens 2nd Annual Meeting of Cost Action FA1207, Rauischholzhausen, Germany
Britton P
(2012)
Recombinant vaccines against infectious bronchitis
in Avian Pathology Newsletter
Britton P
(2012)
Modification of the avian coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus for vaccine development.
in Bioengineered bugs
Dent SD
(2015)
The proteome of the infectious bronchitis virus Beau-R virion.
in The Journal of general virology
Dinan AM
(2019)
Comparative Analysis of Gene Expression in Virulent and Attenuated Strains of Infectious Bronchitis Virus at Subcodon Resolution.
in Journal of virology
Emmott E
(2013)
The cellular interactome of the coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus nucleocapsid protein and functional implications for virus biology.
in Journal of virology
Description | A major objective of this project is to develop a reverse genetics system for the avian coronavirus, infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), based on the pathogenic M41 strain of IBV. We have generated such a system by the systematically adding and extending M41-derived sequence synthetically produced in a vaccinia virus genome using homologous recombination. The specific outcome is a rIBV derived from a complete cDNA copy of the IBV M41 genome. We have subsequently modified the M41 strain of IBV to investigate the role of accessory proteins and replicase non-structural proteins in replication of IBV in vitro and pathogenicity in vivo. We have generated a panel of recombinant viruses that we can use to answer further research questions. We have assessed the use of some of these recombinant IBVs with reduced pathogenicity as vaccines that can be administered to hatched chicks or to embryos as they are developing inside the egg. |
Exploitation Route | Development of rationally attenuated IBV vaccines by poultry vaccine companies. The M41 cDNA has been modified to identify regions of the genome that may be deleted or modified for the generation of rationally attenuation for the development of a new generation of IBV vaccines. We have been awarded a BBSRC link grant and a BBSRC Follow on Fund grant to continue this research. |
Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
Description | Two patents have been filed for this work and although the funding for this project by BBSRC has ended, this is being continued with industrial support. Papers are currently being produced for publication once IP restrictions have been lifted. A new BBSRC link grant and a BBSRC Follow-on Fund grant have been funded to continue this research. |
First Year Of Impact | 2016 |
Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
Impact Types | Societal |
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 | 21ROMITIGATIONFUND Pirbright Institute |
Amount | £283,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | BB/W510725/1 |
Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2021 |
End | 03/2022 |
Description | BBSRC responsive mode link award |
Amount | £1,382,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | BB/P019137/1 |
Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 02/2018 |
End | 01/2021 |
Description | British Egg Marketing Board PhD studentship |
Amount | £76,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | British Egg Marketing Board |
Sector | Private |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 10/2018 |
End | 09/2022 |
Description | Further development of infectious bronchitis virus vaccines adapted for production in cell culture |
Amount | £262,701 (GBP) |
Funding ID | BB/R019576/1 |
Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 10/2018 |
End | 03/2020 |
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 | 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 | 10/2021 |
End | 09/2025 |
Title | Luciferase assay responsive to chMX stimulation for detection of bioactive IFN |
Description | A luciferase assay was established for detection of chicken bioactive interferon in biological samples. A plasmid was generated containing the chMX responsive element paired with the luciferase gene. Transfection of DF1 cells with the selected plasmid, paired with a renilla based construct for estimating transfection efficiency allowing data normalisation is conducted to quantify the amount of interferon (IFN) units in the tested sample. Comparison of Renilla and luciferase luminescence values (RLU) detected by a luminometer upon use of a reporter system allows for the relative comparison of IFN quantity in different samples. |
Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The quantification of bioactive interferon allows for the detection of an innate immune response in the context of viral infections. Specifically, reverse genetics targeting selected genes (nsp3, nsp16, spike) and allowing the generation of recombinant viruses with potential implication in the host interaction have been tested by this method to quantify the impact of the targeted modification in the ability of each rIBV to induce interferon. Notably interferon response is the first line of defence during viral infection. The assay has been tested on in vitro infections conducted in chicken kidney cells. The assay will also be used to evaluate the impact of temperature sensitivity of rIBVs in the context of the IFN immune response. |
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. |
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 | 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 |
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 | 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 | 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 | Careers fair |
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 | Students from several schools in the region attended the careers fair where we had a stall. Several students requested information about apprenticeships and were interested in possible careers in science. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017 |
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 | 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 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 | 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 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 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 | Invited seminar speaker |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Erica Bickerton was invited to give a seminar at Imperial College London, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 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 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 | 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 | School visit (Compton, West Berkshire) |
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 school visits included working with small groups of a-level biology students demonstrating a technique in the curriculum. They were encouraged to ask us questions about our work and how we use the technique as well as trying it out for themselves. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013,2014,2015 |
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 | case study |
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 | Case study written by the BBSRC strategy and policy officer to showcase the impact of the grant. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
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 |