FULLY FUNDED PROJECT: Associations between anthelmintic treatment, species composition and genetic diversity of gastrointestinal nematodes on organic and conventional dairy farms in Scotland

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Gastrointestinal nematodes infect all grazing livestock and their control is essential for animal health and production. However, drug (anthelmintic) resistant nematodes render treatment ineffective in many parts of the world, particularly in nematodes of sheep.

Anthelmintic resistance in cattle has received much less attention, although there are increasing reports of reduced drug efficacy on UK farms.

The aim of this project is to develop genetic tools to study gastrointestinal nematodes of cattle and apply these to improve diagnosis and control of anthelmintic resistance.

This project will measure anthelmintic resistance on Scottish dairy farms using standard parasitological and high-sensitivity molecular techniques and assess the impact of treatment on nematode species composition. Genetic analyses of nematode populations will be undertaken to investigate the emergence and spread of anthelmintic resistance on UK farms. Herd-level findings will be reported to farmers and vets involved in the study, and broader findings will be communicated to the livestock industry.

This project is multidisciplinary and the student will learn a variety of approaches including veterinary parasitology, molecular biology, bioinformatics and population genetics, spending time on dairy farms throughout Scotland and in the molecular biology and parasitology labs in Glasgow.

The student will join a supportive and friendly team with extensive experience in undertaking clinical research on Scottish farms.