Virus Life Cycles at Multiple Scales: Biology of virus-infected cells
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
This project is a Topic within the larger Institute Strategic Programme: Virus Life Cycles at Multiple Scales. In this Topic we will study the mechanisms by which viruses replicate and assemble progeny virus in the infected cell. To do this we will use classical virology genome-wide CRISPR knock out screens and transcriptomic proteomic and single cell analysis of gene expression and virus-host interactomes in infected cells to understand viral gene function and virus-host interactions required for replication. We will use high-performance light and electron microscopy to understand the structure of viral replication organelles and the assembly of new viruses inside infected cells. We will combine systems and bioimaging datasets from multiple virus families and use artificial intelligence to probe combined datasets for common pathways and novel transcriptomic and proteomic signatures in virus infected cells.
Virus-host interactions found to be essential for viral replication will provide gene editing targets to leverage additional funding for the generation of disease resistant livestock with external partners.
We will use our fundamental understanding of replication mechanisms to generate new rationally attenuated viruses by genetic modification and evaluate their phenotype including in the development of organoid cultures and ex vivo tissue systems in which outcomes in vitro can be correlated with pathogenic outcomes in vivo. We will investigate co-infections within cells to understand how viruses compete and how RNA viruses evolve by mixing genetic material by recombination or re-assortment.
Anticipated outcomes from this topic are: 1) Improved fundamental knowledge of mechanisms of virus replication; 2) Understanding the complex patterns of cellular alterations in response to different viruses; 3) Identification of virus-host interactions as gene editing targets for disease-resistant livestock; 4) Novel rational strategies for virus attenuation; 5) Development of systems to understand effect of viral co-infections on disease outcome; 6) Understanding mechanisms for genetic mixing between viruses.
Virus-host interactions found to be essential for viral replication will provide gene editing targets to leverage additional funding for the generation of disease resistant livestock with external partners.
We will use our fundamental understanding of replication mechanisms to generate new rationally attenuated viruses by genetic modification and evaluate their phenotype including in the development of organoid cultures and ex vivo tissue systems in which outcomes in vitro can be correlated with pathogenic outcomes in vivo. We will investigate co-infections within cells to understand how viruses compete and how RNA viruses evolve by mixing genetic material by recombination or re-assortment.
Anticipated outcomes from this topic are: 1) Improved fundamental knowledge of mechanisms of virus replication; 2) Understanding the complex patterns of cellular alterations in response to different viruses; 3) Identification of virus-host interactions as gene editing targets for disease-resistant livestock; 4) Novel rational strategies for virus attenuation; 5) Development of systems to understand effect of viral co-infections on disease outcome; 6) Understanding mechanisms for genetic mixing between viruses.
Planned Impact
unavailable
Organisations
- THE PIRBRIGHT INSTITUTE (Lead Research Organisation)
- Animal and Plant Health Agency (Collaboration)
- ASTON UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL (Collaboration)
- OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- KEELE UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- University of Surrey (Collaboration)
- UK HEALTH SECURITY AGENCY (Collaboration)
- Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (Collaboration)
- DIAMOND LIGHT SOURCE (Collaboration)
- Moy Park (Collaboration)
- University of Cambridge (Collaboration)
- Technical University of Denmark (Collaboration)
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ANIMAL BIOTECHNOLOGY (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX (Collaboration)
- University of Sussex (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON (Collaboration)
- University of York (Collaboration)
- University of Leeds (Collaboration)
- OPEN UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- University of Copenhagen (Collaboration)
- IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF EXETER (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD (Collaboration)
- Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL) (Collaboration)
- Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) (Collaboration)
- BABRAHAM INSTITUTE (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL (Collaboration)
- South China Agricultural University (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH (Collaboration)
Publications
Adeyemi O
(2024)
Microbiological Assessment and Evaluation of Virus Yield in Germ-free Chicken Eggs
in The Open Microbiology Journal
Berryman S
(2025)
Foot-and-mouth disease vaccine quality: A universal test for intact viral capsids based on detection of VP4.
in Vaccine
Bilotti K
(2024)
One-pot Golden Gate Assembly of an avian infectious bronchitis virus reverse genetics system.
in PloS one
Cackett G
(2024)
Transcription Termination and Readthrough in African Swine Fever Virus
in Frontiers in Immunology
Crits-Christoph A
(2024)
Genetic tracing of market wildlife and viruses at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic
in Cell
Dadonaite B
(2024)
Deep mutational scanning of H5 hemagglutinin to inform influenza virus surveillance
in PLOS Biology
Damdinjav B
(2025)
Evidence of Influenza A(H5N1) Spillover Infections in Horses, Mongolia.
in Emerging infectious diseases
Dascalu S
(2024)
Immunisation of chickens with inactivated and/or infectious H9N2 avian influenza virus leads to differential immune B-cell repertoire development.
in Frontiers in immunology
Downing T
(2023)
A primer on correlation-based dimension reduction methods for multi-omics analysis.
in Journal of the Royal Society, Interface
| Description | Defining Zika R&D Research Priorities and Integrated Mosquito-borne Arbovirus Strategy meeting |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Imperial College London (masters course training) |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Maters students will graduate with enhanced knowledge of virus-host interactions that will impact their future decision making |
| Description | OmicsLearning coordinator |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | We have a series of regular courses spanning bioinformatics, genomics, biostatistics, related application areas such as flow cytometry analysis, bioimage analysis and data management (collectively known as "OmicsLearning"). For example, in the 12 months April 2023 to March 2024, we ran 20 OmicsLearning courses (Introduction to R twice, Introduction to Unix twice, Introduction to Python, Using R Packages, Using Python Packages, Data Visualisation, Read Library QC, Genome Assembly, Read Mapping, Mutation Detection, Transcriptomics, Phylogenomics, Bioimage Analysis, Antibody Diversity, Describing Statistical Data, Hypothesis Testing, Probability, Linear Models). These were attended by 72 people, who attended an average of 2.25 courses each. Many participants have integrated bioinformatic and computational approaches into their work as a result, with resulting output seen in research reports, papers, grant applications and the capacity to analyse high-throughput data themselves. The OmicsLearning courses help achieve the BBSRC Institute Strategy goal of "strengthening capability and specialist training of the UK bioscience workforce, from early career researchers, through to technical specialists and research leaders". Of four staff members awarded OmicsLearning awards in 2023, two have gone on to pursue PhDs involving computational analyses, and the other two have moved into roles linked to bioinformatics, one of which was a Career Development Fellowship. In survey response, 55% of respondents say they use what they learned in these courses "often" or "all the time"; 88% say they have used what they learned in the courses; and 50% say they have used these new skills during searches for a new role internally or externally. |
| Description | UKHSA's technical advisory group on SARS-CoV-2 variants |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | For several years I have sat on this commitee which has risk assessed incoming SARS-CoV-2 variants with outputs such as to the Media, directly to government or government advisory boards (for example to SAGE and JCVI). |
| URL | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/investigation-of-sars-cov-2-variants-technical-briefings |
| Description | UKHSA's technical advisory group on avian influenza viruses |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | This has changed the way the UK does its surveillence for animal influenza viruses in humans. |
| URL | https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ukhsa-update-on-avian-influenza |
| Description | WHO and UKHSA led collaborative research consortium (CORC) on OROV - session chair and participant |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| Impact | The initial meeting has already led to changes in practices on the basis of what was discussed and new collaborations formed. One example would be the standardisation of diagnostic methods with a direct impact on public well-being and effectiveness of public service delivery. |
| Description | WHO's TAGVE |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | We have risk assessed variants, this has fed back to national public health bodies, media and the public. |
| URL | https://www.who.int/groups/technical-advisory-group-on-sars-cov-2-virus-evolution/about |
| Description | Characterising coronavirus replication organelle dynamics and maturation |
| Amount | £59,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | The Pirbright Institute |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2024 |
| End | 03/2028 |
| Description | Characterising the mechanism of coronavirus assembly and exit |
| Amount | £18,839 (GBP) |
| Organisation | The Pirbright Institute |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2023 |
| End | 04/2024 |
| Description | Characterising viral regulation of biocondensates dynamics and function |
| Amount | £24,160 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/X018431/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2023 |
| End | 08/2026 |
| 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 | Exploiting novel African swine fever virus virulence factors and a porcine macrophage cell line to develop a live attenuated vaccine |
| Amount | £372,805 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/V007947/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2021 |
| End | 06/2024 |
| Description | Gene editing of chicken cell line DF-1 for increased HVT vaccine production |
| Amount | £11,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | Houghton Trust HT/SPRG/24/02 |
| Organisation | The Houghton Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2024 |
| End | 09/2025 |
| Description | Houghton Trust International Travel Grant-Liping Liu |
| Amount | £1,292 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | HT0967 |
| Organisation | The Houghton Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2024 |
| End | 07/2024 |
| Description | Houghton Trust International Travel Grant-Yaoyao Zhang |
| Amount | £1,499 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | HT0965 |
| Organisation | The Houghton Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2024 |
| End | 07/2024 |
| Description | Houghton trust travel grant - Sophie Cutts |
| Amount | £1,004 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | HT0968 |
| Organisation | The Houghton Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2024 |
| End | 07/2024 |
| Description | Houghton trust travel grant-Soumendu Chakravarti |
| Amount | £1,500 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | HT0963 |
| Organisation | The Houghton Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2024 |
| End | 07/2024 |
| Description | MRC Impact Accelerator Accounts (Tropical Infectious Disease Consortium: Expanding and Accelerating Product Development) |
| Amount | £53,362 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | IAA2148 |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2024 |
| End | 02/2025 |
| Description | New technologies for African swine fever vaccines |
| Amount | £352,340 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | UKRI Reference Number: 10091291 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2024 |
| End | 12/2027 |
| Description | PhD studentship |
| Amount | £130,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2022 |
| End | 09/2026 |
| Description | PhD studentship |
| Amount | £110,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | The Pirbright Institute |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2022 |
| End | 03/2026 |
| Description | PhD studentship |
| Amount | £91,830 (GBP) |
| Organisation | The Pirbright Institute |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2019 |
| End | 03/2023 |
| Description | Why so many genes? A model to define gene essentiality in poxviruses |
| Amount | £19,850 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | RGS\R2\242525 |
| Organisation | The Royal Society |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2024 |
| End | 09/2025 |
| Title | A novel optimized pre-embedding antibody-labelling correlative light electron microscopy technique |
| Description | This method provides a protocol and tips for further optimisation to allow fusing of standard immunofluorescence with electron microscopy of the same cells. This is an accessible correlative light electron microscopy protocol that does not require specialised equipment or availability of biological resources expressing fluorescent proteins. |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | This method has been used by others at TPI to study bRSV inclusion bodies. |
| Title | Establishment of an efficient CRISPR/Cas9 gRNA library screening to identify the host factors required for maintaining the transformed phenotype of MDV tumour cell lines |
| Description | Herpesviruses are large dsDNA viruses that cause widespread, lifelong latent infections in different hosts, through multiple virus-host interactions to create a delicate balance between the virus and the host. CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing is emerging as a powerful tool to investigate the precise determinants of latency in a number of herpesvirus infections. Marek's disease virus (MDV-1) is a lymphotropic a-herpesvirus associated with latent infections and malignant CD4+ T-cell lymphomas in chicken. MDV-1 has a two-phase life cycle, consisting of a lytic and a latent phase, the latter closely associated with the oncogenesis of the virus, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms of cell transformation remain unclear. Better understanding of the factors that maintain the latency of the virus will provide insights into novel intervention strategies to interfere with the neoplastic process. We have used a high throughput genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 gene knockout strategy, combined with next generation sequencing to identify the genes critical for maintenance of the transformed phenotype. 339 host genes have been identified being essential for maintaining the transformed phenotype of MDV cell line. |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Establishment of the pipeline of CRISPR library screening in chicken cell lines has given the opportunity for the identification factors associated with disease pathogenesis and neoplastic transformation. The identified genes could serve as targets for inducing de novo genetic resistance using gene editing approaches. |
| Title | Establishment of an efficient CRISPR/Cas9-based screening pipeline for herpesviruses to study the gene function and streamline the vector platform for recombinant vaccine development |
| Description | The development of both cosmid DNA and Bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) technologies has greatly facilitated the introduction of mutations into the viral genomes of herpesviruses to study gene functions. However, cloning of viral genomes as BAC plasmid and subsequent mutagenesis is inefficient, time-consuming and may introduce mutations by repeated passages. Following our success in efficient CRISPR/Cas9 editing of the MDV genome in both replicating virus and MDV transformed cell lines and of HVT genome for the recombinant vaccine development, we have developed an efficient CRISPR/Cas9-based screening pipeline for herpesviruses to identify the essential/non-essential genes for study of the gene function and streamline the vector platform for recombinant vaccine development. |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Identification of essential and non-essential genes of herpesviruses provided opportunities to study gene function in vitro and in vivo. Knocking out the non-essential genes in the HVT vector can enhance HVT replication in vivo enabling recombinant HVT-based vaccines to induce stronger immune responses. |
| Title | The establishment of an efficient pipeline for in situ CRISPR editing of the Marek's disease virus (MDV) genome in lymphoma-derived cell lines |
| Description | The lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) derived from MD lymphomas have served as valuable resources to study virus-host molecular interactions in transformed cells. However, detailed investigations into the functional role of different viral and host determinants in these cells have been difficult due to the lack of tools for in situ manipulation of viral/host genomes in MDV-transformed cell lines. Our recent success in efficient CRISPR/Cas9 editing of the MDV genome in LCLs has demonstrated the potential for targeted editing to dissect the regulatory pathways involved in latency, transformation, reactivation and lytic switch. |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Using this approach, we have demonstrated viral genes such as pp38 and MDV-miR-M4 are not essential for maintaining the transformed phenotype. On the other hand, deletion of MDV-encoded oncogene Meq or mutations preventing its interactions resulted in cell death demonstrating the essential role of Meq in transformation. |
| URL | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/10/6/279 |
| Title | Bayesian networks for multi-variate analysis of mid-size biological datasets. |
| Description | Elucidation of interactions in cohort datasets via the use of Bayesian networks. These include a number of innovations in improving interpretability by clinician and biologists, who are not experts in statistical modeling. Currently expanding the code base and looking at applications within research in livestock health, such as scRNA-seq experiments of the pig immune system. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Development of explainable AI models of a variety of cancers, that lead to better understanding of the interactions of driver events in cancer. |
| URL | https://stoics.org.uk/~nicos/sware/gbn/ |
| Title | Bio_db a collection of biological, high quality databases within logic programming. |
| Description | Provides a convenient method for importing a large number of high quality biological databases to the logic programming environment of SWI-Prolog. These include protein-protein interactions database STRING, many EMBL and NCBI genomic information databases. Initially these were across human with later additions on mouse. During the past year, and due to the livestock focus in the institute, we have added information for chicken and pig. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Allows easier data analytics of biological datasets within the classical AI paradigm of logic programming. The databases, in effect, create a large graph of knowledge, which in addition to be useful in analytics, are also an interesting environment for experimenting with large graph algorithms. |
| URL | https://stoics.org.uk/~nicos/sware/bio_db/ |
| Title | IBV GeCKO screen |
| Description | A genome-wide CRISPR knockout screen dataset to identify pro-viral cellular factors for the replication of IBV in avian cells. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The dataset is supporting follow-on funding applications. |
| Title | IBV transcriptome/proteome/phospho-proteome |
| Description | A dataset representing the whole cell transcriptome, proteome and phospho-proteome taken from parallel samples taken at the same timepoint post infection. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This dataset is supporting follow-on characterisation of the importance of identified genes/proteins in virus replication. |
| Title | Telomere-to-telomere genome sequence of lumpy skin disease virus |
| Description | The complete telomere-to-telomere genome sequence of lumpy skin disease virus (Oman/2009 strain) was determined by combining Illumina short-read and ONT long-read sequencing technologies. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This dataset will inform the development of an innovative platform for genetic manipulation of lumpy skin disease virus based on synthetic DNA, which has the potential to form the basis of the next generation of vaccines against this important livestock pathogen. |
| Description | Andrew Davidson - Proteome of viral replication organelles |
| Organisation | University of Bristol |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Projects are being initiated to study the cellular proteins associated with coronavirus replication organelle membranes and a funding application has been submitted to BBSRC. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Andrew has provided assistance with experimental planning and drafting of a grant application. He has also provided protocols to allow preliminary data to be generated. Once protocols have been established, Andrew will facilitate mass spectrometry data generation and will analyse the resulting data. |
| Impact | No outcomes to date, projects being initiated and funding applications in progress. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Belsham |
| Organisation | Technical University of Denmark |
| Country | Denmark |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Joint PhD studentship and ongoing collaboration on capsid assembly |
| Collaborator Contribution | Joint PhD studentship and ongoing collaboration on capsid assembly |
| Impact | Joint PhD studentship Further funding |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Belsham |
| Organisation | University of Copenhagen |
| Country | Denmark |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Joint PhD studentship and ongoing collaboration on capsid assembly |
| Collaborator Contribution | Joint PhD studentship and ongoing collaboration on capsid assembly |
| Impact | Joint PhD studentship Further funding |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Cambridge |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Collaborative research on epitope display systems and use of functional genetic screens. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Collaborative research on epitope display systems and use of functional genetic screens. |
| Impact | Collaborative research on epitope display systems and use of functional genetic screens. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Chris Hill |
| Organisation | University of York |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Co supervise a PhD student with Chris Hill at teh University of York |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contribute 50% costs for 3.5 year PhD studentship |
| Impact | Multidisciplinary- exploit virus infection and biophysical assays |
| Start Year | 2025 |
| Description | Collaboration with University of Liverpool, LSTM and UKHSA on OROV vector competence |
| Organisation | Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Training staff in containment level 3, undertaking insect infections in CL3 with OROV, project management |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provided and maintained insect lines at Pirbright, helped optimise assays, project management |
| Impact | Further engagement with stakeholders in Central and South America and colleagues in Europe, WHO, CDC and ECDC. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Collaboration with University of Liverpool, LSTM and UKHSA on OROV vector competence |
| Organisation | UK Health Security Agency |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Training staff in containment level 3, undertaking insect infections in CL3 with OROV, project management |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provided and maintained insect lines at Pirbright, helped optimise assays, project management |
| Impact | Further engagement with stakeholders in Central and South America and colleagues in Europe, WHO, CDC and ECDC. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Collaboration with University of Liverpool, LSTM and UKHSA on OROV vector competence |
| Organisation | University of Liverpool |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Training staff in containment level 3, undertaking insect infections in CL3 with OROV, project management |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provided and maintained insect lines at Pirbright, helped optimise assays, project management |
| Impact | Further engagement with stakeholders in Central and South America and colleagues in Europe, WHO, CDC and ECDC. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Collaboration with University of York on human receptor binding screen |
| Organisation | University of York |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Construct design and synthesis |
| Collaborator Contribution | Protein expression and receptor screen, shared technical knowledge |
| Impact | Identification of potential novel receptors for bunyaviruses. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Construction of Bayesian networks from GenePy matrices. |
| Organisation | University of Southampton |
| Department | Southampton Medical School |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Machine learning of Bayesian Networks for IBD matrices inscribing GenePy scores. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Sharing of their IBD and control datasets which are construed of GenePy matrices, which provide mutational load of genes and regions. Interpretation of the constructed networks. |
| Impact | (discipline Medicine) Improved understanding of mutational burden patterns in the pathogenesis of IBD. (discipline Artificial Intelligence) Communication clues and visual annotation of explainable structured statistical models (Bayesian Networks) for biomedical data. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Dan Clare - cryo-electron microscopy |
| Organisation | Diamond Light Source |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | The project aims to characterise proteins complexes associated with coronavirus replication organelles. My team provides significant expertise in replication organelles induced by coronaviruses. Laboratory work is performed by my team. The project is funded by a joint PhD studentship working, predominantly in my laboratory. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Dan provides expertise in cryo-electron microscopy and is advising on experimental design and data analysis as well as providing training. |
| Impact | The student has generated recombinant viruses expressing fluorescently-tagged proteins to allow direct visualisation of replication organelle membranes. These have been validated and cryo-electron microscopy experiments are planned shortly. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Dr. Manman Dai |
| Organisation | South China Agricultural University |
| Country | China |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Provided knowledge and expertise on avian disease research |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provided knowledge and expertise on avian disease research |
| Impact | Two joint publications have been generated: 1. Dai M, Zhu S, An Z, You B, Li Z, Yao Y, Nair V, Liao M. Dissection of key factors correlating with H5N1 avian influenza virus driven inflammatory lung injury of chicken identified by single-cell analysis. PLoS Pathog. 2023 Oct 11;19(10):e1011685. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011685. eCollection 2023 Oct. 2. Dai M, Sun H, Zhao L, Wu Q, You B, Xu F, Liao J, Zhu S, Li Z, Yao Y, Nair V, Liao M. Duck CD8 + T Cell Response to H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus Infection In Vivo and In Vitro. J Immunol. 2022 Aug 8;ji2101147. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.2101147. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Edinburgh - Haas |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Co-Investigator on BBSRC sLoLa award Co-Investigator on BBSRC project grant Collaboration in virus-host interactions |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co-Investigator on BBSRC sLoLa award Co-Investigator on BBSRC project grant Collaboration in virus-host interactions |
| Impact | BBSRC sLoLa award BBSRC project grant |
| Start Year | 2012 |
| Description | Effects of co-infections on Marek's disease in poultry, and development of novel recombinant Marek's disease virus vector vaccines |
| Organisation | Moy Park |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | This is a joint BBSRC funded project on investigation "Effects of co-infections on Marek's disease in poultry, and development of novel recombinant Marek's disease virus vector vaccines" between Pirbright, Moy Park and Slate Hall Veterinary Practice. Pirbright team works on the detailed investigation of prevalence of naturally occurring MDV-2 (Marek's disease virus serotype 2) infection in the field in UK; isolation and characterisation of MDV-2 field strains and development of novel MDV-2-based recombinant vaccine MDV2-IBD-ND which will protect chickens against Marek's disease, infectious bursal disease and Newcastle disease. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Moy Park will collect the field samples and investigate the effect of MDV-2 on flock productivity and disease. |
| Impact | Too early |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| 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 | Finn Grey - CRISPR and ISG screens |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Department | The Roslin Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My research team is providing expertise in coronavirus biology and regulation of the host cell environment. Laboratory experiments are being performed by my team. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Finn's team have provided reagents and are advising on experimental design and data analysis. |
| Impact | Cas-9 expressing avian cells have been generated and validated. Optimisation of the CRISPR screen is underway. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Hannah Burgess - CoVs and m6A |
| Organisation | University of Surrey |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Preliminary experiments performed to provide data to support a collaborative grant proposal. Intellectual input provided in design and writing of proposal. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Preliminary experiments performed to provide data to support a collaborative grant proposal. Reagents provided to HM. Lead on collaborative grant proposal. |
| Impact | Collaborative grant proposal submitted (not funded). |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Imperial - Johnston |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Department | Faculty of Medicine |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Collaboration on human rhinovirus experimental vaccines Co-Investigator on MRC project grant |
| Collaborator Contribution | Collaboration on human rhinovirus experimental vaccines Co-Investigator on MRC project grant |
| Impact | MRC project grant |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Joint PhD project on "Exploring ultrastructural features of the virus-host interactions of MDV" |
| Organisation | Diamond Light Source |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Pirbright team provided expertise on MDV biology part of the project. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Diamond team provided expertise on using the state-of-the-art tools to gain structural biology insights into the distinct features of MDV-host cell interactions. |
| Impact | No outputs yet. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Joint PhD project on "Using Marek's Disease Virus to understand the RNA world of alphaherpesviruses" |
| Organisation | University of Surrey |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Surrey team has provided expertise on characterization of Marek's disease virus encoded vhs protein function in vitro. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Pirbright team has provided expertise in making the mutant virus of vhs deleted MDV and study the role of vhs in the context of infection in vitro and in vivo. |
| Impact | The student Sophie Cutts has abstract accepted for oral presentation in both Microbiology Society Annual Conference 2024 to be held in Edinburgh 8-11 April and 14th International Symposium on Marek's Disease and Avian Herpesvirus to be held at St. Louis, USA from 12th-14th July, 2024. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| 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 | MSc student supervision |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Jonas Albarnaz and I supervised a MSc student project (Meilia Prihartini). She passed with a very high mark. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The student was registered at Imperial College London, where she was doing the taught component of the MSc. |
| Impact | A MSc student completed her degree and thus can contribute better to society. Useful experimental results informing our next steps that will eventually be published. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Maria Harkiolaki - soft xray tomography |
| Organisation | Diamond Light Source |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | The project aims to characterise coronavirus replication organelles in whole infected cells. My team provides significant experience in coronavirus replication organelles. The project is funded by a joint studentship and the student is, predominantly based in my laboratory. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Maria's team provide extensive expertise in soft Xray tomography and are advising on experimental design and dat aanalysis. |
| Impact | Preliminary experiments have been performed to visualise replication organelle membranes. Optimisation of experimental set up is underway. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Martin Turner - The role of cellular RNA binding proteins in Coronavirus replication |
| Organisation | Babraham Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My lab has begun to establish the use of a CRISPR library targeting cellular RNA binding proteins. This includes selecting the most appropriate cells, virus and conditions for the screen and the readout method and this is based on our expertise and experience in coronavirus biology. All experimental work for the collaboration has been performed in my laboratory. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Martin Turner has provided a CRISPR knockout library targeting human and murine RNA binding proteins. He has provided advice and protocols to allow us to establish the screen using human or murine coronaviruses and will advise on analysis of data following the screen. |
| Impact | Experiments are still in initial set up stages and no results have been generated to date. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | OXFORD BBSRC-NERC Interdisciplinary Life and Environmental Sciences Landscape Award (ILESLA) |
| Organisation | Diamond Light Source |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Project Co-Lead on Oxford ILESLA doctoral training programme funded by BBSRC-NERC. Co wrote the funding application. Act as theme lead for animal and human health. Part of management committee. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co manage programme. Deliver training. |
| Impact | Multidisciplinary- funded by BBSRC and NERC |
| Start Year | 2025 |
| Description | OXFORD BBSRC-NERC Interdisciplinary Life and Environmental Sciences Landscape Award (ILESLA) |
| Organisation | Open University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Project Co-Lead on Oxford ILESLA doctoral training programme funded by BBSRC-NERC. Co wrote the funding application. Act as theme lead for animal and human health. Part of management committee. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co manage programme. Deliver training. |
| Impact | Multidisciplinary- funded by BBSRC and NERC |
| Start Year | 2025 |
| Description | OXFORD BBSRC-NERC Interdisciplinary Life and Environmental Sciences Landscape Award (ILESLA) |
| Organisation | Oxford Brookes University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Project Co-Lead on Oxford ILESLA doctoral training programme funded by BBSRC-NERC. Co wrote the funding application. Act as theme lead for animal and human health. Part of management committee. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co manage programme. Deliver training. |
| Impact | Multidisciplinary- funded by BBSRC and NERC |
| Start Year | 2025 |
| Description | OXFORD BBSRC-NERC Interdisciplinary Life and Environmental Sciences Landscape Award (ILESLA) |
| Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
| Department | ISIS Neutron and Muon Source |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Project Co-Lead on Oxford ILESLA doctoral training programme funded by BBSRC-NERC. Co wrote the funding application. Act as theme lead for animal and human health. Part of management committee. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co manage programme. Deliver training. |
| Impact | Multidisciplinary- funded by BBSRC and NERC |
| Start Year | 2025 |
| Description | OXFORD BBSRC-NERC Interdisciplinary Life and Environmental Sciences Landscape Award (ILESLA) |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Project Co-Lead on Oxford ILESLA doctoral training programme funded by BBSRC-NERC. Co wrote the funding application. Act as theme lead for animal and human health. Part of management committee. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co manage programme. Deliver training. |
| Impact | Multidisciplinary- funded by BBSRC and NERC |
| Start Year | 2025 |
| Description | Oxford - Strubi |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Collaboration on virus structural biology and joint PhD studentship |
| Collaborator Contribution | Collaboration on virus structural biology and joint PhD studentship |
| Impact | Collaboration on virus structural biology has produced a number of novel virus structures and new understanding of virus entry and packaging |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | Population genetics of myeloma |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Department | Division of Immunology and Inflammation |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Statistical analysis and machine learning on large publicly available datasets. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Expert knowledge of myeloma biology and bioinformatics management and first phase analytics of the datasets. |
| Impact | There are currently no published outputs. There are 3 disciplines involved: medicine (biology of Myeloma, Prof Karadimitris) AI (machine learning, Dr Angelopoulos) and bioinformatics (data management and standard analyses, Dr Huang, bioinformatician with Prof Karadimitris). |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Professor Stuart Haslam |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Joint PhD student with Department of Life sciences, Imperial College London. Part of same consortium. Provided reagents for glycomics analysis. co-I on small grant fund. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Joint PhD student with Department of Life sciences, Imperial College London. Part of same consortium. Data from the lab being used to formulate joint publication. |
| Impact | Joint PhD studentship, Joint grant funding (co-I on equipment grant from Professor Haslam, both co-Is on alrge consortium grant, he is a co-I on my small grant from royal society.) |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Roslin - Grey |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Department | The Roslin Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Co-investigator in BBSRC project grant Collaboration in genetic screens to understand virus host interactions |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co-investigator in BBSRC project grant Collaboration in genetic screens to understand virus host interactions |
| Impact | Co-investigator in BBSRC project grant Collaboration in genetic screens to understand virus host interactions |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Sarwar Azam |
| Organisation | National Institute of Animal Biotechnology |
| Country | India |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Poxvirus expertise relevant during LSDV genome assembly of from long-read and short-read sequencing technologies. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Bioinformatics expertise relevant during LSDV genome assembly from long and short sequencing reads, in special for determining the sequence of the terminal hairpins. |
| Impact | Complete telomere-to-telomere genome sequence of lumpy skin disease virus (Oman/2009 strain). |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Stathis Giotis - Bat immunity and differential gene expression |
| Organisation | University of Essex |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| PI Contribution | The project aims to understand the role of viral regulation of innate immune signalling in coronavirus cross-species transmission, My research team provides expertise in coronavirus biology and host cell interaction, including reverse genetics. Laboratory experiments associated with this project are conducted by my team. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Stathis has provided bat cells and bat interferon reporter plasmids, as well as advice and expertise, to perform experiments. He will also perform data analysis of planned experiments to interrogate differential gene expression of cells infected with different viruses. |
| Impact | To early in the project to say. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Stephen Graham |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Department | Department of Pathology |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Functional assays of virus-host interactions. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Structural biology and biophysical assays of virus-host protein-protein interactions. |
| Impact | Determining the molecular determinants of virus-host interactions underpinning the host preferences of capripoxviruses. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Tim Harvey-Samuel |
| Organisation | Keele University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Lead project exploiting insect transgenesis to study vector host interaction |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provide expert guidance on insect transgenesis |
| Impact | Multidisciplinary- combines molecular virology with insect transgenesis |
| Start Year | 2025 |
| 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 the genetic resistant to Marek's disease |
| Organisation | University of Surrey |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We have provided the sequencing data of resistant and susceptible inbred chicken lines and crosses to be analyzed using AI for understanding the genetic resistant to Marek's disease. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The collaborators contribution is to use AI for analysis to explore the determinants associated with the distinct resistance phenotype. |
| Impact | No output yet. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Use of AI to understand virus diversity |
| Organisation | Aston University |
| Department | Computer Science |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We have provided high quality data to be used to explore relationships between virus diversity and outcomes of infection. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The collaborators have utilized a t-SNE approach to increase the likelihood of identifying particular mutations that are associated with outcomes of viral infections. Their contribution is the ability to analyse and identify the patterns in viral mutations that are biologically important. |
| Impact | Grant Submission to BBSRC - Uncovering the role of viral diversity in sustaining endemic virus transmission. Grant Submission to NIH - Using lab-in-the-loop machine learning to model alphavirus neuroinvasion |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Wessex One Health (WOH) Doctoral Landscape Award |
| Organisation | Animal and Plant Health Agency |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | TD is co-lead from the Pirbright Institute in this multi-partner award led by the University of Surrey. Nicolas Locker is the official lead from the Pirbright Institute. Yvonne Walsh from the Pirbright Institute provides academic and student support. The Pirbright Communications teams assist with advertisements and communications. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This BBSRC-funded doctoral programme will train students in interdisciplinary approaches to Infection Biosciences across all classes of pathogens, to combat existing and future disease threats to human and animal health, including emerging infections, vector-borne diseases, antimicrobial resistance and food insecurity. Wessex One Health (WOH) brings together the expertise of our three university partners and four major UK institutes with national capability for working on high consequence pathogens, to provide a broad training and research experience for students, with the following highlights: -Cross-institutional supervisory teams -Opportunities to train at high containment -Cohort training in genomics, bioinformatics, applied AI -Cohort-building activities across all partners -Opportunities for studentships working with industry (CASE) -Wide range of short industrial placement opportunities. The Partners -University of Surrey (Guildford) -University of Sussex, Including Brighton and Sussex Medical School (Brighton) -University of Exeter, MRC Centre for Medical Mycology -The Pirbright Institute (Woking, Surrey) -Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) (Weybridge, Surrey), -UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) (Porton Down, Wiltshire or Colindale, London) -Defence Science Technology Laboratory (Dstl) (Porton Down, Wiltshire) |
| Impact | Outcomes so far: -Design of 20 collaborative PhD projects between the Pirbright Institute with the partners (APHA, DSTL, UKHSA, University of Surrey, University of Exeter, University of Sussex). -Closer links between the Pirbright Insitute and the APHA, DSTL, UKHSA, University of Surrey, University of Exeter, University of Sussex in terms of building the DLA, planning training and discussing facilities (such as containment). The awards runs 2025-2033. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Wessex One Health (WOH) Doctoral Landscape Award |
| Organisation | Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | TD is co-lead from the Pirbright Institute in this multi-partner award led by the University of Surrey. Nicolas Locker is the official lead from the Pirbright Institute. Yvonne Walsh from the Pirbright Institute provides academic and student support. The Pirbright Communications teams assist with advertisements and communications. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This BBSRC-funded doctoral programme will train students in interdisciplinary approaches to Infection Biosciences across all classes of pathogens, to combat existing and future disease threats to human and animal health, including emerging infections, vector-borne diseases, antimicrobial resistance and food insecurity. Wessex One Health (WOH) brings together the expertise of our three university partners and four major UK institutes with national capability for working on high consequence pathogens, to provide a broad training and research experience for students, with the following highlights: -Cross-institutional supervisory teams -Opportunities to train at high containment -Cohort training in genomics, bioinformatics, applied AI -Cohort-building activities across all partners -Opportunities for studentships working with industry (CASE) -Wide range of short industrial placement opportunities. The Partners -University of Surrey (Guildford) -University of Sussex, Including Brighton and Sussex Medical School (Brighton) -University of Exeter, MRC Centre for Medical Mycology -The Pirbright Institute (Woking, Surrey) -Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) (Weybridge, Surrey), -UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) (Porton Down, Wiltshire or Colindale, London) -Defence Science Technology Laboratory (Dstl) (Porton Down, Wiltshire) |
| Impact | Outcomes so far: -Design of 20 collaborative PhD projects between the Pirbright Institute with the partners (APHA, DSTL, UKHSA, University of Surrey, University of Exeter, University of Sussex). -Closer links between the Pirbright Insitute and the APHA, DSTL, UKHSA, University of Surrey, University of Exeter, University of Sussex in terms of building the DLA, planning training and discussing facilities (such as containment). The awards runs 2025-2033. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Wessex One Health (WOH) Doctoral Landscape Award |
| Organisation | UK Health Security Agency |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | TD is co-lead from the Pirbright Institute in this multi-partner award led by the University of Surrey. Nicolas Locker is the official lead from the Pirbright Institute. Yvonne Walsh from the Pirbright Institute provides academic and student support. The Pirbright Communications teams assist with advertisements and communications. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This BBSRC-funded doctoral programme will train students in interdisciplinary approaches to Infection Biosciences across all classes of pathogens, to combat existing and future disease threats to human and animal health, including emerging infections, vector-borne diseases, antimicrobial resistance and food insecurity. Wessex One Health (WOH) brings together the expertise of our three university partners and four major UK institutes with national capability for working on high consequence pathogens, to provide a broad training and research experience for students, with the following highlights: -Cross-institutional supervisory teams -Opportunities to train at high containment -Cohort training in genomics, bioinformatics, applied AI -Cohort-building activities across all partners -Opportunities for studentships working with industry (CASE) -Wide range of short industrial placement opportunities. The Partners -University of Surrey (Guildford) -University of Sussex, Including Brighton and Sussex Medical School (Brighton) -University of Exeter, MRC Centre for Medical Mycology -The Pirbright Institute (Woking, Surrey) -Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) (Weybridge, Surrey), -UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) (Porton Down, Wiltshire or Colindale, London) -Defence Science Technology Laboratory (Dstl) (Porton Down, Wiltshire) |
| Impact | Outcomes so far: -Design of 20 collaborative PhD projects between the Pirbright Institute with the partners (APHA, DSTL, UKHSA, University of Surrey, University of Exeter, University of Sussex). -Closer links between the Pirbright Insitute and the APHA, DSTL, UKHSA, University of Surrey, University of Exeter, University of Sussex in terms of building the DLA, planning training and discussing facilities (such as containment). The awards runs 2025-2033. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Wessex One Health (WOH) Doctoral Landscape Award |
| Organisation | University of Exeter |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | TD is co-lead from the Pirbright Institute in this multi-partner award led by the University of Surrey. Nicolas Locker is the official lead from the Pirbright Institute. Yvonne Walsh from the Pirbright Institute provides academic and student support. The Pirbright Communications teams assist with advertisements and communications. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This BBSRC-funded doctoral programme will train students in interdisciplinary approaches to Infection Biosciences across all classes of pathogens, to combat existing and future disease threats to human and animal health, including emerging infections, vector-borne diseases, antimicrobial resistance and food insecurity. Wessex One Health (WOH) brings together the expertise of our three university partners and four major UK institutes with national capability for working on high consequence pathogens, to provide a broad training and research experience for students, with the following highlights: -Cross-institutional supervisory teams -Opportunities to train at high containment -Cohort training in genomics, bioinformatics, applied AI -Cohort-building activities across all partners -Opportunities for studentships working with industry (CASE) -Wide range of short industrial placement opportunities. The Partners -University of Surrey (Guildford) -University of Sussex, Including Brighton and Sussex Medical School (Brighton) -University of Exeter, MRC Centre for Medical Mycology -The Pirbright Institute (Woking, Surrey) -Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) (Weybridge, Surrey), -UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) (Porton Down, Wiltshire or Colindale, London) -Defence Science Technology Laboratory (Dstl) (Porton Down, Wiltshire) |
| Impact | Outcomes so far: -Design of 20 collaborative PhD projects between the Pirbright Institute with the partners (APHA, DSTL, UKHSA, University of Surrey, University of Exeter, University of Sussex). -Closer links between the Pirbright Insitute and the APHA, DSTL, UKHSA, University of Surrey, University of Exeter, University of Sussex in terms of building the DLA, planning training and discussing facilities (such as containment). The awards runs 2025-2033. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Wessex One Health (WOH) Doctoral Landscape Award |
| Organisation | University of Surrey |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | TD is co-lead from the Pirbright Institute in this multi-partner award led by the University of Surrey. Nicolas Locker is the official lead from the Pirbright Institute. Yvonne Walsh from the Pirbright Institute provides academic and student support. The Pirbright Communications teams assist with advertisements and communications. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This BBSRC-funded doctoral programme will train students in interdisciplinary approaches to Infection Biosciences across all classes of pathogens, to combat existing and future disease threats to human and animal health, including emerging infections, vector-borne diseases, antimicrobial resistance and food insecurity. Wessex One Health (WOH) brings together the expertise of our three university partners and four major UK institutes with national capability for working on high consequence pathogens, to provide a broad training and research experience for students, with the following highlights: -Cross-institutional supervisory teams -Opportunities to train at high containment -Cohort training in genomics, bioinformatics, applied AI -Cohort-building activities across all partners -Opportunities for studentships working with industry (CASE) -Wide range of short industrial placement opportunities. The Partners -University of Surrey (Guildford) -University of Sussex, Including Brighton and Sussex Medical School (Brighton) -University of Exeter, MRC Centre for Medical Mycology -The Pirbright Institute (Woking, Surrey) -Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) (Weybridge, Surrey), -UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) (Porton Down, Wiltshire or Colindale, London) -Defence Science Technology Laboratory (Dstl) (Porton Down, Wiltshire) |
| Impact | Outcomes so far: -Design of 20 collaborative PhD projects between the Pirbright Institute with the partners (APHA, DSTL, UKHSA, University of Surrey, University of Exeter, University of Sussex). -Closer links between the Pirbright Insitute and the APHA, DSTL, UKHSA, University of Surrey, University of Exeter, University of Sussex in terms of building the DLA, planning training and discussing facilities (such as containment). The awards runs 2025-2033. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Wessex One Health (WOH) Doctoral Landscape Award |
| Organisation | University of Sussex |
| Department | Brighton and Sussex Medical School |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | TD is co-lead from the Pirbright Institute in this multi-partner award led by the University of Surrey. Nicolas Locker is the official lead from the Pirbright Institute. Yvonne Walsh from the Pirbright Institute provides academic and student support. The Pirbright Communications teams assist with advertisements and communications. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This BBSRC-funded doctoral programme will train students in interdisciplinary approaches to Infection Biosciences across all classes of pathogens, to combat existing and future disease threats to human and animal health, including emerging infections, vector-borne diseases, antimicrobial resistance and food insecurity. Wessex One Health (WOH) brings together the expertise of our three university partners and four major UK institutes with national capability for working on high consequence pathogens, to provide a broad training and research experience for students, with the following highlights: -Cross-institutional supervisory teams -Opportunities to train at high containment -Cohort training in genomics, bioinformatics, applied AI -Cohort-building activities across all partners -Opportunities for studentships working with industry (CASE) -Wide range of short industrial placement opportunities. The Partners -University of Surrey (Guildford) -University of Sussex, Including Brighton and Sussex Medical School (Brighton) -University of Exeter, MRC Centre for Medical Mycology -The Pirbright Institute (Woking, Surrey) -Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) (Weybridge, Surrey), -UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) (Porton Down, Wiltshire or Colindale, London) -Defence Science Technology Laboratory (Dstl) (Porton Down, Wiltshire) |
| Impact | Outcomes so far: -Design of 20 collaborative PhD projects between the Pirbright Institute with the partners (APHA, DSTL, UKHSA, University of Surrey, University of Exeter, University of Sussex). -Closer links between the Pirbright Insitute and the APHA, DSTL, UKHSA, University of Surrey, University of Exeter, University of Sussex in terms of building the DLA, planning training and discussing facilities (such as containment). The awards runs 2025-2033. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | York |
| Organisation | University of York |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Collaboration |
| Collaborator Contribution | Collaboration |
| Impact | Collaboration |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| 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 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 | Careers event at Bishop David Brown School, Woking - MB |
| 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 event involved discussing a variety of careers including potential STEM jobs and wider opportunities at Pirbright with students in years 7-11. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| 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 | Co-organised relaunch event for South East Virus Network (SEVN) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Together with APHA co-organised on Pirbright's behalf a small programme of talks from Pirbright ECRs showcasing their work. The audience was made up of virologists and other microbiologists from across the SE of the UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| 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 | ENDVOC symposia talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Gave an invited talk entitled "Combining genomics and virology to make sense of pandemics" at the ENDVOC symposium in Barcelona in June 2023. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://endvoc.eu/save-the-date-endvoc-scientific-symposium-june-6-2023-barcelona-and-online/ |
| 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 | 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 | 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 comment about mpox to Science Media Centre |
| 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 | Contributed comments for the 'Expert reaction to the news that UKHSA has detected the first case of Clade Ib mpox in the UK, in an individual who'd been on holiday in Africa' (SMC, 30/10/2024). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-the-news-that-ukhsa-has-detected-the-first-cas... |
| Description | Expert comment about mpox to Science Media Centre |
| 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 | Contributed comments for the 'Expert reaction to two additional cases of Clade Ib mpox being detected by the UKHSA, in household contacts of the first case' (SMC, 05/11/2024). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-two-additional-cases-of-clade-ib-mpox-being-de... |
| Description | Expert comment about mpox to Science Media Centre |
| 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 | Contributed comments for the 'Expert reaction to new case of Clade Ib mpox detected in the UK' (SMC, 29/11/2024). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-new-case-of-clade-ib-mpox-detected-in-the-uk/ |
| Description | Expert comment about mpox to Science Media Centre |
| 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 | Contributed comments for the 'Expert reaction to WHO declaring Mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)' (SMC, 14/08/2024). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-who-declaring-mpox-a-public-health-emergency-o... |
| Description | Expert comment about mpox to Science Media Centre |
| 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 | Contributed comments for the 'Expert reaction to news of a case of Clade 1 mpox reported in Sweden' (SMC, 15/08/2024). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-news-of-a-case-of-clade-1-mpox-reported-in-swe... |
| Description | Expert comment about mpox to Science Media Centre |
| 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 | Contributed comments for the 'Expert reaction to research letter about declining Mpox antibody response after modified vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic vaccine' (SMC, 03/10/2024). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-research-letter-about-declining-mpox-antibody-... |
| Description | Expert comment about mpox to Science Media Centre |
| 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 | Contributed comments for the 'Expert reaction to reports of first reported Clade 1 mpox case in Ireland' (SMC, 07/02/2025). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-reports-of-first-reported-clade-1-mpox-case-in... |
| Description | GARAD talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Gave invited talk entitled: The role of polymerase gene segments in the emergence and zoonotic potential of panzootic H5N1 avian influenza viruses. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://garad.org/ |
| 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 | 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 | 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 | Interview for BBC News about mpox. |
| 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 | Interview for BBC about mpox for the episode 'Mpox: The Outbreak' of the Incident Room programme of BBC News. Globally, BBC News reaches a weekly audience of around 318 million people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0022thk/incident-room-mpox-the-outbreak |
| Description | Interview for BBC Radio 4 The Briefing Room |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interviewed by David Aaronovitch about mpox biology for a BBC Radio 4 The Briefing Room episode about the international spread of clade 1b mpox that emerged in East DRC, aired on 02/09/2024. BBC Radio 4 had a an audience of 9 million people in Q4 2024. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0022cm7 |
| Description | Interview on Radio Stoke |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Discussed the likelihood of cold viruses increasing and helping people understand how viruses evolve. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Interview skills workshop, Ash Manor School - MB |
| 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 event involved coaching year 11 students in how to structure and conduct successful interviews. Interviewing them and following up with awareness of recruitment strategy to aid their skill development. Providing feedback to candidates after reading through their CV and application letters. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Invited Seminar China Agricultural University Beijing September 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Seminar at China Agricultural University Veterinary Faculty on "African swine fever virus evasion of host defences and vaccine development". Discussion with faculty and postgraduate students. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Invited speaker at the 2023 International African Swine Fever Workshop, Beijing, China |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The objective of the workshop was to provide a platform for ASF researchers around the world to share their knowledge and expertise on ASF control and prevention. The workshop included presentations on current ASF research, opportunities for scientific collaboration, and discussions of lessons and experiences learned from China/Asia, Africa, and Europe. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Keynote Presentations at International Workshop on African swine fever virus Beijing September 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The International Workshop on African swine fever virus was organised by the US/China Animal health Network and attended by ~50 people comprising leading International experts, policy makers, postgraduate students and experts from industry. The aim was to review current knowledge on ASFV and identify areas for future research. A report on the meeting and outcomes was published in Viruses. It is expected that future meetings will be organised. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Live interview for LBC about mpox |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Live interview to Tom Swarbrick (LBC) on 16/08/2024 about mpox following WHO declaring a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) for mpox in August 2024 due to the emergence and international spread of clade 1b mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo. LBC is UK's top commercial news talk radio station with a weekly audience of around 3.4 million people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkLeT8Mbe5M |
| Description | Liverpool Pandemic Institute symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Gave an talk at Liverpool Pandemic Institute entitled: Real time risk assessment of panzootic H5N1 avian influenza viruses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.thepandemicinstitute.org/work-with-us/uk-pandemic-sciences-network/ |
| Description | Mental Health First Aid and Mind - Time to Talk Day 2024 (Pirbright) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Organised a stand that introduced the work of the Mental Health First Aiders at the Pirbright Institute in connection with the Mind - Time to Talk Day 2024. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.mind.org.uk/get-involved/time-to-talk-day-2024/ |
| Description | Mental Health First Aid and Mind - Time to talk day 2025 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Offering students and staff the opportunity to talk with the aim of fostering mental health and culture at Pirbright. Information provided about who the mental health first aiders at the institute are and what their role is. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Microbiology Society Annual Conference (Birmingham) - Poster presentation: Assessing the effect of inter-isolate variation on the function of RVFV virulence determinants. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Poster presentation at an international conference. The event included networking opportunities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Microbiology Society Annual Conference (Birmingham) - Poster presentation: Juvenile Hormone Analogue Enhances Rift Valley fever virus Infectivity in Aedes aegypti Aag2 Cells. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Poster presentation at an international conference. The event included networking opportunities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| 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 | 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 | 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 | Organisation and attendance at UK-International Coronavirus Network conferences in Slovenia and Belfast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The UK-ICN runs networking meetings for coronavirus researchers. The Belfast meeting focused on animal coronaviruses and a GAP analyis in this area led by EU based teams at STAR-IDAZ. The Slovenia meeting was the AGM and had a satellite meeting on Big Data with support from CEFAS and Zoetis for both conferences. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://uk-icn.co.uk/ |
| Description | Organisation of "Imaging viruses in cells" meeting, 2024 |
| 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 | A scientific meeting was organised for invited researchers to present and discuss ongoing projects relating to advanced bioimaging of viruses in cells and virus induced changes to infected cells. This included a range of light and electron microscopy techniques and image processing and analysis. The event provided a networking opportunity for researchers working with these complex techniques. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Oropouche virus interest group |
| 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 | I established an Oropouche virus interest group with members from the Americas, the UK and mainland Europe to discuss priority areas for research and joint funding applications. The group meets online every three months. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | PRIDE day event TPI - HM, ND, CH, YC, MB |
| 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 | Stall presented describing recent research of the Coronavirus Cellular Biology group at the Pirbright Institute PRIDE event, celebrating Pirbright science and activites. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Pirbright Family Day (Pirbright) |
| 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 | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Organised and presented at stands that displayed science activities in the research group, the high containment community and within science services (CCG CL3 Virology; insectaries). Informed public about science undertaken at the Institute. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Pirbright Pride Day - picornavirus group |
| 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 | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Pirbright open day for family/friends of staff or students and local community. Excellent engagement with the public and sparked new ideas for outreach to improve other events. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Pirbright Village Fair 2024 |
| 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 | This annual event, organised by Pirbright Parish Council and St. Michael & All Angels Church and hosted on the village green, offered an ideal occasion for the Institute to foster connections with the local community and ignite their interest in cutting-edge scientific research. The Institute's stall featured various engaging activities. Attendees, young and old had the opportunity to shake and reassemble virus models, swab Henrietta the hen to determine her health status, observe Culicoides nubeculosus midges in a display net, and examine midge larvae and pupae under a microscope for a closer inspection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Pirbright village fair 2023 |
| 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 | This annual event, organised by Pirbright Parish Council and St. Michael & All Angels Church and hosted on the village green, offered an ideal occasion for the Institute to foster connections with the local community and ignite their interest in cutting-edge scientific research. This year's theme was 'Around the World' and included stalls and activities to reflect as many different countries and cultures as possible. The Institute's stall featured various engaging activities. Attendees, young and old had the opportunity to shake and reassemble virus models, swab Henrietta the hen to determine her health status, observe Culicoides nubeculosus midges in a display net, and examine midge larvae and pupae under a microscope for a closer inspection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://thebull.pirbright.ac.uk/Interact/Pages/Content/Document.aspx?id=7311&SearchId=208907 |
| Description | Poster and flash presentation at Microscience Microscopy Congress - PP |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 3 minute flask presentation and poster entitled "Correlative cryo-bioimaging to study coronavirus replication organelles" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Poster presentation at International Nidovirus Syposium 2023 - HM |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Poster entitled "Cross virus comparison of coronavirus proteins involved in replication organelle formation" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Poster presentation at Microbiology Society annual conference - CH |
| 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 a poster titled "Investigating CoV Spherules Using a Replicon-based System" and discussion of data with conference participants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Poster presentation at Microbiology Society annual conference - YC |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Poster entitled "Development of a CRISPR/Cas9 GeCKO library screen to identify pro-viral cellular genes in chicken cells that can be exploited to control avian endemic viruses" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Poster presentation at Microbiology Society annual conference - YC |
| 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 a poster titled "Development of a CRISPR/Cas9 GeCKO library screen to identify pro-viral cellular genes in chicken cells that can be exploited to control avian endemic viruses" including discussion of data with conference participants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Presentation and panel discussion: Symposium "African Swine Fever Virus: An Emerging Global Challenge", held at Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Portugal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The presentations led to further discussions on the feasibility and safety of the use of live attenuated vaccines against African swine fever in different countries and epidemiological scenarios. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Presentation at International Nidovirus Symposium 2023 - PP |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 10 minute presentation entitled "Correlative cryo-bioimaging to study coronavirus replication organelles" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentation at Microbiology Society annual conference - PP |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 10 minute talk entitled "Correlative cryo-bioimaging to study coronavirus replication organelles" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentation at Microscience Microscopy Congress - HM |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Poster entitled "Cross virus comparison of coronavirus proteins involved in replication organelle formation" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentation at RIVR: "Rift Valley fever virus genotype - phenotype relationships" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation at the annual RIVR (Recently independent virology researcher) meeting, which I am co-organising. This is to establish collaborations between recently appointed PIs and to foster career growth. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Presentation at UK-ICN ECR meeting - PP |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | 10 minute talk entitled "Structural studies of coronavirus replication organelles". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Presentation: "Identification and characterization of non-essential ASFV genes for the rational design of live attenuated vaccines" to visiting scientists from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The presentation led to further discussions on the use of live attenuated vaccines to control ASF. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Presentations to Veterinary Staff Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentations to Northern Ireland Veterinary Staff on African swine fever to explain risks, transmission routes diagnosis and vaccine development. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | RIVR (Recently Independent Virology Researchers) Annual Meeting (Liverpool) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented a science talk to other researcher on a national level. The event included networking activities. Future collaborations have been planned. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Radio Derby Interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Discussion on COVID and Flu pressures |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Radio interview on COVID-19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Discussion with Radio Stoke on the new variant of COVID-19 and the implications for their listeners. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Radio interview on COVID-19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview with Radio Stoke on the cold increase and the virus implications of this. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Radio interview regarding COVID-19 new variant |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Radio Derby asked me on to discuss the new variant of COVID and how it was impacting on the population or might impact on the population. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Radio interview regarding increase in common cold |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Radio Derby asked me on to discuss the rise in cold cases and how this was a consequence of the pandemic, or not. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Radio interview with 5live about COVID-19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | I was asked to discuss the rise in cases in COVID-19 pertaining to a new variant and how it might impact the UK, and also discuss some of the details highlighted in the covid enquiry. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| 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 | Round table discussion on career development (University of Sussex) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Discussed career options and progression with postgraduates thinking about academic careers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | School visit to Winchester Science Museum |
| 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 | 60 primary school students visited Winchester Science Museum. During the visit I helped students to engage with the exhibits, answering questions and encouraging discussion. The children reported interest in the exhibits and increased understanding of the scientific concepts on display. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | School visit- Woking College |
| 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 | Engaged with students aged 16+, talk about Pirbright research, career paths and opportunities in STEM. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Scientific Advisory Committee on Genetic Modification (SACGM) focussed meeting: Coronavirus Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Scientific Advisory Committee on Genetic Modification (SACGM) focussed meeting: Coronavirus Workshop - discussion of current SARS-COV-2 reverse genetics techniques and experiments and future of SARS-CoV-2 GM work and biosafety. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Seminar at the Roslin Institute: Uncovering ASFV-host interactions in vitro, to understand mechanisms of attenuation and pathogenesis in vivo |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presented our recent research on African Swine Fever Virus at the Roslin Institute. This lead to discussions regarding future collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Showcase for Pirbright-Diamond collaboration in virus imaging |
| 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 | Researchers from The Pirbright Institute, the University of Oxford's Division of Structural Biology and Diamond Light Source have showcased their expertise at the Harwell Open Day, which highlights UK science and innovation to the public. Staged for the first time in eight years, the event gave the public behind-the-scenes insight into leading-edge research and the chance to meet scientists and technicians who deliver discoveries that make the news. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.pirbright.ac.uk/news/showcase-pirbright-diamond-collaboration-virus-imaging |
| Description | Southern England Virology Network (SEVN) , Animal & Zoonotic Viruses (Joint APHA/ TPI meeting) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The meeting took part at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and involved a total of 8 presentations from both The Pirbright Institute and APHA. These presentations were followed by very interesting questions and networking, raising the possibility of future collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Southern England Virology Network meeting (Animal and Plant Health Agency, Weybridge) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented a science talk to researchers from research organisations (government and academia) in South England. The event also included networking activities. Future meetings have been organised. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Talk at JGV Roadshow, Guildford |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation at JGV roadshow in Guildford, titled: Understanding tissue tropism shifts in SARS-CoV-2 variants |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://microbiologysociety.org/event/society-events-and-meetings/journal-of-general-virology-roadsh... |
| Description | Talk at Microbiology Society Roadshow 16th October 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Lab presented research at Microbiology Society Journal of Virology Roadshow in Guildford. Attendance supported development of Virology research network in South East England. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://microbiologysociety.org/event/society-events-and-meetings/journal-of-general-virology-roadsh... |
| Description | Talk on ASF subunit vaccines at 'Human and Veterinary Vaccinology' 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 the challenges of developing vaccines against African swine fever virus as part of the Talk on ASF subunit vaccines at 'Human and Veterinary Vaccinology' course organised by the Jenner Institute |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| 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 | Presentation of African swine fever virus to MSc students as part of the Pasteur Institute's virology course |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Translation UK 2024 |
| 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 | Co-organised the Translation UK 2024 conference. Translation UK 2024 successfully brought together over 130 scientists examining protein synthesis and its regulation at the University of Surrey to share recent developments and breakthroughs through a series of talks, poster presentations and networking events. Scientists from the UK and abroad presented recently published and unpublished work of the highest quality. With a strong focus on providing opportunity for early career researchers to contribute, ECRs were selected to chair sessions and invited to attend a careers session. Translation UK 2024 showcased the strength, diversity and potential of the UK's mRNA translation research and provided a crucible for new and exciting collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.biochemistry.org/media/z4uhjhjq/translation-uk-2024-flyer.pdf |
| 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 | remote talk Antimicrobial Chemotherapy society |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Gave remote talk at Antimicrobial Chemotherapy Society seminar series entitled: H5N1 in mammals: what evidence do we see for human and mammalian adaptation |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.isac.world/meetings/webinars/latest-on-demand-webinars |