Latest news

June 2025: Scottish Government has announced that it will provide up to £100,000 in match-funding to support commercialisation of a new vaccine against Louping Ill, a serious viral infection affecting sheep.

June 2025: Researchers from the University of Edinburgh and Leiden University analysed data from multiple studies and identified nearly 4,000 genes linked to the immune response to Staphylococcus aureus. These findings could guide the development of immune-based therapies to support or replace antibiotics in treating serious S. aureus infections.

June 2025: Research into basic protein structure has identified a new molecule that could lead to novel treatments for neurological disease, and open up applications in parasitology.

June 2025: Congratulations to Amy Pickering, Sophie Giguere and Nelly Olova from the University of Edinburgh who have been awarded fellowships from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) as part of a £9 million investment in future science leaders.

June 2025: Professor Rowland Kao, an expert in infectious diseases in animals, is being made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the King’s Birthday Honours marking a career spent in research and government service.

June 2025: A team of researchers from the University of Edinburgh travelled to Nepal to join colleagues from Research Institute for Bioscience & Biotechnology (RIBB) on an extensive data collection trek through the Himalayas as part of a project aiming to understand antimicrobial resistance in Yak milk.

May 2025: A collection of publication highlights from Edinburgh Infectious Diseases over the past month.

May 2025: Many congratulations to Professors Melita Gordon and Rob Semple who are among 54 new fellows recently annnounced.

May 2025: Wellcome Trust-funded ARTIC-2 project will build on research that facilitated thousands of diagnostic laboratories to gain sequencing capacity for COVID-19 during the pandemic and permit the characterisation of future infectious threats.

May 2025: On Friday 16 May colleagues gathered at the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh for Edinburgh Infectious Diseases' 14th Annual Symposium. It was a successful day sharing research and building connections.

May 2025: A team of researchers have been awarded £2.13 million from the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) Applied Global Health Board to develop sustainable strategies for controlling Taenia solium, a zoonotic tapeworm in pigs that poses a significant health and economic burden in sub-Saharan Africa.

April 2025: Many congratulations to Catherine Oke, from the Reece lab in the School of Biological Sciences, for her PhD on development and transmission of malaria parasites.

April 2025: A collection of publication highlights from Edinburgh Infectious Diseases over the past month.

April 2025: A new BBSRC grant is set to explore the genetic factors influencing variation in host infectiousness. By using fruit flies as a model, researchers aim to uncover genetic and immune pathways that impact how individuals transmit pathogens.

April 2025: The Edinburgh AMR Forum recently hosted Dr Maneesh Paul. S, CEO Microvioma, who delivered an exclusive lecture on the Indian experience in "Inventing an Anti-Infective Drug.”

April 2025: Researchers from the Digital One Health Laboratory in the The Roslin Institute led by Dr Adrian Muwonge have been investigating the role of haulage during the Delta wave of COVID-19 in Uganda with results suggesting a role in disease introduction.

April 2025: The World Health Organisation has issued its first-ever reports on tests and treatments for fungal infections, highlighting the growing threat and impact of these conditions.

March 2025: Professor Amy Buck, EID member in the School of Biological Sciences, has been elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh for her cross-disciplinary research to understand how pathogens use RNAs to survive inside their hosts.

March 2025: A collection of publication highlights from Edinburgh Infectious Diseases over the past month.

March 2025: A newly formed partnership between the Roslin Institute and the University of Ghana is set to enhance scientific collaboration in data science and animal health.

March 2025: Dr Aidan O'Donnell and Dr Petra Schneider from the Reece Lab in the Institute of Ecology and Evolution have been awarded the 2025 Tam Dalyell prize for their work in bringing the world of mosquitos to schools, museums and the wider public.

February 2025: A collection of publication highlights from Edinburgh Infectious Diseases over the past month.

February 2025: Dr Prerna Vohra from the School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, in collaboration with Dr Gemma Langridge from the Quadram Institute, have been awarded funding to investigate a dangerous bacterial strain of Salmonella often found in cattle.

February 2025: Researchers came together at the Edinburgh Futures Institute to discuss the impact of climate and environmental change on vector borne disease.

February 2025: Four researchers from the School of Biological Sciences have received Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) grants to push the frontiers of environmental research.

January 2025: A collection of publication highlights from Edinburgh Infectious Diseases over the past month.

January 2025: The University of Edinburgh is looking forward to hosting 22 visitors from Kenya, Uganda and Malawi, for two weeks of training and collaboration.

January 2025: Researchers from School of Biological Sciences have collaborated with Game Developers 'Then Try This' to create 'Nergal' - a game designed help understand how people's social networks and decision-making, change how diseases spread through communities.

January 2025: As the world marks Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day, researchers from The University of Edinburgh are collaborating with the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases to host a free, public exhibition.

January 2025: 2024 was a very busy and productive year for Edinburgh Infectious Diseases. Here are some highlights!