The Department provides a unique environment for interdisciplinary research in animal health, welfare and food science. Internationally recognised research groups provide the framework for this environment - in particular in the areas of Animal Behaviour & Welfare; Food Science & Food Safety; Matrix Biology - encompassing research from molecular and cellular to whole organism level. These groups are advertising PhD projects for October 2010.
The Animal Behaviour & Welfare group is the largest of its kind in the world. Current research includes pioneering studies of domestic animal cognition and novel approaches to assessing animal emotion, influential work modelling the dynamics of group behaviour, studies of early detection of humane endpoints in GM mice, and development, with subsequent knowledge transfer to industry, of validated 'in situ' welfare assessment tools. New chair and lectureship appointments in biostatistics and mathematical modelling provide a more sophisticated quantitative approach.
Infection & Immunity: A major focus of the infection biology group is the response of host animals and zoonotic pathogens (e.g. Salmonella, Campylobacter) to the environment, how these are affected by host stress, and how these affect host-pathogen interactions at molecular level. A special interest is invasive disease which leads to food contamination and is a major threat to public health. The mucosal immunology group researches the induction and regulation of immunological responses at mucosal surfaces, the immunopathogenesis of infectious diseases, and immune development and susceptibility to infection in young animals.
A major focus of the Department's Matrix Biology group is research into the molecular basis of connective tissue diseases, including welfare issues such as cattle lameness and laying hen bone health. The group seeks to understand mechanisms of diseases (e.g. osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, chronic ulcers, colitis), how system properties emerge from molecular elements, and ultimately to quantify health and welfare in the whole organism.
PhD students work in a large and interactive Department in which they are exposed to researchers from different disciplines working together in the general area of animal health and welfare, and also to the wider context of their research through the work of clinical colleagues. Students receive training in state of the art techniques including immune spectratyping, flow cytometry, behavioural and cognitive testing, DNA cloning and other molecular genetic techniques. The research environment is well resourced and offers the students the possibility to link up with collaborating Departments within the University and external organisations to learn new techniques.
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