School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine

Further Research Council funded research projects relevant to ZELS include projects on bacterial zoonoses, foot-and-mouth disease (held jointly with TPI) and vector ecology, all in Tanzania; five (two leads) BBSRC-Indian Department of Biotechnology (IDB) projects under the Farm Animal Health and Disease (FADH) call; and MRC grants for rabies research in Africa and Asia (with this work contributing to two impact case studies in the 2014 REF).

Since 2010, UoG has received research funding in excess of £14 million for research projects related to the ZELS remit. The high quality of UoGs research on zoonotic and livestock diseases in Africa was highlighted by the award of the Queen’s Anniversary for Higher and Further Education in 2014. UoG has shown substantial institutional commitment to excellence in this field through ten appointments over the past 7 years. UoG has also committed institutional funds to support research infrastructure in Tanzania, including establishment of a research support centre at NM-AIST.

Training and international experience: ZELS students registered at UoG will join a community of over 60 PhD students studying in the Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health and Comparative Medicine. Existing synergies within the consortium are reflected by the fact that 6 PhD students registered at UoG are currently conducting their studies at Pirbright. The UoG ZELS team has substantial institutional experience of graduate student training in Africa, having supervised ten Tanzanian PhD students and at least 20 Tanzanian MSc students. These doctoral scientists are all still engaged with research in Tanzania, and several will play a key role as co-investigators and supervisors on ZELS research projects. UoG has acquired critical experience through its key roles in several research capacity building consortia in Africa funded through the Wellcome Trust’s African Institutions Initiative, acting as the primary northern partner to AfriqueOne and providing supervisory support and training for graduate students within Southern African Centre for Infectious Diseases and Surveillance (SACIDS).

Interdisciplinarity: UoG provides an excellent environment for interdisciplinary research, supported by cross-College centres such as the Boyd Orr Centre for Population and Ecosystem Health and the Glasgow Centre for International Development. This is reflected in the joint award of a BBSRC grant for research and training in bacterial zoonoses, as well as two of the ZELS research grants, which are jointly led by the College of Medical, Veterinary and and Life Sciences and the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences.

As a constituent member of the London International Development Centre, RVC plays an active role in a number of interdisciplinary research and training programmes to address complex international development challenges. Established in 2009, the Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agricultural and Health (LCIRAH) brings together an international ensemble of researchers to develop new approaches and methodologies that integrate agricultural and health research.

RVC researchers lead two BBSRC/DFID CIDLID projects, two BBSRC-IDB FADH projects and a Gates-funded initiative on vaccines against East Coast Fever; they are also involved in the MRC program on Environmental and Social Ecology of Human Infectious Diseases (ESEI). RVC has shown substantial institutional commitment to research in one health, zoonoses and livestock systems through at least 5 appointments over the past 5 years including academic posts in one health and agricultural economics. As detailed above, RVC has very actively engaged in multi-institutional partnerships to generate the multidisciplinary platforms needed to address complex animal and public health issues such as those under the scope of ZELS.

Training and international experience: The RVC ZELS team has substantial experience in training and capacity building in Africa and Asia, having successfully supervised PhD students from African and Asian countries addressing questions within the ZELS remit. In the last 10 years, the RVC ZELS team has delivered capacity building for veterinary services in 70+ countries.

Graduates from the RVC programs are currently playing key roles in animal health and zoonosis control in the target countries and some are included as co-investigators in our ZELS projects. The RVC is currently involved in international capacity building consortia such as the Wellcome Trust–funded SACIDS and the FAO Field Epidemiology Training Programs for Veterinarians in Asia. Of relevance to the ZELS initiative is the RVC expertise in delivering high-quality post-graduate training through distance learning education, as part of the University of London International Programmes – the world’s most experienced provider of distance and flexible learning.

Currently, the RVC offers two MSc programs (Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health, and Livestock Health and Production) comprising 17 240-hour modules available to our PhD students for distance learning. Since 2008, 60 African and Asian students have enrolled in these programs with support from the Commonwealth Commission. As a reflection of the pre-existing collaborations within this consortium, 6 PhD students currently conducting studies at The Pirbright Institute are registered with the RVC.

Interdisciplinarity: RVC provides a first-class environment for interdisciplinary research and training through formal, long-standing collaborations such as the MSc programs jointly offered with London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine as well as more recent Centres supporting cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research within the ZELS remit: CEED and LCIRAH. RVC is part of the London Interdisciplinary Doctoral Programme, and the UCL-led BBSRC funded DTP.

There are also major programmes in food borne zoonoses such as Salmonella and Campylobacter as well as Streptococcus suis. Excellent laboratory facilities up to BSL3 underpin the programme of work in Veterinary Medicine. UoC has shown substantial institutional commitment to research and capacity building in Africa, as evidenced by its multi-million pound Cambridge-Africa programme, which also has support from the Wellcome Trust, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the A.G Leventis Foundation and the Alborada Trust. Strengths in veterinary epidemiology, have been recently enhanced by the appointments of Restif, Conlan and Trotter into lectureship positions.

Training and international experience: ZELS students at UoC will be part of a community of 40-50 PhD students registered within Veterinary Medicine, most of whom study infectious diseases. The Department plays a central role in the Interdisciplinary BBSRC DTP and the Wellcome Trust Infection and Immunity Programme. There is a strong recent history of joint studentships with research institutes, including with TPI and AHVLA. The UoC ZELS team is also experienced in supervision of graduate student training in Africa.

Interdisciplinarity: UoC research programmes in Veterinary Medicine related to our ZELS project are firmly rooted in interdisciplinary approaches to research, especially combining mathematical and biological sciences, but more recently also incorporating very strong social science elements. These have been supported by a wide range of funders including ESPA, EU FP7 Antigone, Hefce and Defra, as well as a number of programmes in Social Anthropology.

Training and international experience: Group leaders have established research partnerships with many scientific institutions in developing countries, most within the ZELS focused research areas. These grants (worth over £24m) have been funded by the BBSRC, FAO, WHO, EU, DFID, DEFRA, Gates Foundation and industry. Research leaders at TPI have international experience in capacity-building through twinning projects that raise standards and support quality assurance of developing country laboratories to meet international guidelines.

TPI also provides extensive lab-based training on advanced molecular virology, epidemiology, immunology, vaccines and diagnostic technologies for many visiting scientists each year. Additionally, short disease-specific training courses on poultry health, foot-and-mouth disease and blue-tongue diagnosis, surveillance and vaccine matching are offered annually, empowering many researchers from developing countries with improved disease control strategies.

Above all, TPI places the highest emphasis on developing personal and professional skills for our PhD students. The training programme has been designed based on the requirements of the Vitae Researcher Development Framework, which is supported by RCUK. With the aim of supporting postgraduate career development towards world-class research leaders, the Institute provides an extensive (over 55) range of professional development training courses for our PhD students.

Interdisciplinarity: TPI delivers scientific advances through interdisciplinary and transnational collaborations. Training of next generation scientists with multi- and inter-disciplinary skill bases and collaboration with other research and commercial organisations, as well as undertaking bidirectional engagement with the Institute’s stakeholders are core activities of the Institute. TPI is a member of the National Institutes of Bioscience, the umbrella organisation for research institutes strategically funded by BBSRC. This provides strategic links, most notably with the Roslin Institute.

Training and international experience: LSTM offers a number of postgraduate programmes leading to University of Liverpool Masters, Diploma and Certificate awards, together with a variety of its own diplomas, certificates and shorter courses including its globally renowned courses in Tropical and Infectious Diseases. PhD students are embedded within research programmes, contributing towards delivery as well as receiving training in a broad range of skills. LSTM’s quality framework covers a wide range of strategies and policies to ensure that we continue to develop and maintain high standards of academic excellence.

Interdisciplinarity: The Wellcome Trust Liverpool Glasgow Centre for Global Health is a collaborative Centre between LSTM, the University of Liverpool and UoG. Funded by the Wellcome Trust, it provides support for on-going international research in a wide range of specialist areas. The Centre has delivered the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme (MLW), which supports the development of PhDs, creates opportunities to exchange ideas and offers training in the scientific, financial and administrative skills necessary to run an overseas PhD. LSTM is also a key partner in the South African Consortium for Research Excellence (SACORE) to strengthen research capacity in sub-Saharan Africa, developing south-south and strengthening existing north-south networks.