Benedict Karani
- University of Glasgow
My name is Benedict Karani from Kenya. I have a BSc. in Microbiology from the University of Kabianga, Kenya and a MSc. in Tropical Animal Health from the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp. My research skills have been largely shaped by past research experiences in multi-institutional collaborative projects that focussed on infectious agents in human and animal health. These experiences greatly influenced my interest in one health as well as transboundary animal diseases.
My PhD project is looking into how different treatment approaches influence the evolution of anthelmintic resistance (AR) in sheep flocks in the UK. There are currently five classes of anthelmintic in the UK market for the treatment of parasitic gastrointestinal helminths in livestock. Four out of the five have developed resistance and this is a big threat to the sustainable control of the worms. In this study I hope to identify some of the key genetic markers involved in AR and show how different treatment strategies impact them. This will be a key step that will help us assess the current anthelmintic treatment approaches, improve diagnosis as well as the surveillance of AR.