January 2025: 2024 was a very busy and productive year for Edinburgh Infectious Diseases. Here are some highlights! 2024 Edinburgh Infectious Diseases Symposium EID Symposium at the Royal College of Physicians. The highlight of the calendar is the EID annual symposium and 2024 was no exception. Held in June at the Royal College of Physicians, it was a packed day full of research and insights into infectious diseases.The 2024 Ker Memorial speaker was Professor Iruka Okeke from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Professor Okeke discussed her insights from the genomes enteric bacteria which are isolated in Nigeria.There were also talks from researchers from the University of Edinburgh and early-career researchers, as well as a large poster competition with over 40 posters! Professor Iruka Okeke Royal College of Physicians Last Wellcome Trust PhD cohorts In October 2024, we welcomed the last Wellcome Trust PhD student in the One Health Models of Disease and Hosts, Pathogens and Global Health programmes.Across both programmes 13 students joined the University from all over the world.Both cohorts with aim to complete their PhDs by 2028 and we hope they have a fantastic time at the University of Edinburgh. Wellcome Trust PhD programmes The Fleming Fund Fellowship Scheme The University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh Infectious Diseases have been working with the Fleming Fund Fellowship Scheme for the past 4 years as a Host Institution.Phase 2 began in Autumn 2024 with Edinburgh being host to fellows from four countries: Uganda, Zambia, Kenya and Malawi. Fellows from Uganda and Zambia visited Edinburgh for training and to build partnerships in November 2024, with fellows from Kenya and Malawi arriving in January 2025. The Fleming Fund Scheme continues to be vital in antimicrobial resistance awareness and training. Fleming Fund Fellowship Schemes at the University of Edinburgh Fleming Fund website Joint symposium with One Health Genomics Edinburgh In September 2024, Edinburgh Infectious Diseases organised a joint symposium with One Health Genomics Edinburgh - another cross-college network based at the University of Edinburgh.The symposium 'Infectious Diseases Genomics' was a huge success. The highlight of the day were the two keynote presentations from Professor Johannes Krause (MPI Leipzig) on using archaeogenetics to understand the origins of the Black Death, and Professor Mara Lawniczak (Sanger Institute) on how genomics can be used in the control of malaria.Members of the Edinburgh Infectious Diseases and One Heath Genomics Edinburgh communities heard a series of talks from researchers using the genomics of hosts and/or pathogens in humans, animals and plants. One Health Genomics Edinburgh Winter Lecture 2024 Professor Holmes delivering the annual Edinburgh Infectious Diseases Winter Lecture. This years Winter Lecture was delivered by Professor Alison Holmes.Professor Holmes is Professor of Infectious Diseases and the Director of both the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare Associated Infections and AMR and the Centre for Antimicrobial Optimisation (CAMO), at Imperial College London.Her talk 'Protecting healthcare, preventing infection and preserving antibiotics' was a huge success with audience members spanning academia, healthcare professionals and even school pupils.Professor Holmes was an engaging speaker and her talked prompted a large number of questions in the Q&A afterwards. Professor Alison Holmes New social media and a new website Edinburgh Infectious Diseases Bluesky account 2024 was also a year of change for our website and social medias.The IS Team successful migrated the Edinburgh Infectious Diseases website into the new 'Edweb2' software which is what you are currently reading this on. We are using this migration as an opportunity to rework the website, to organise our members better and ultimately to make it more user friendly.In addition to the website, we also used this year to reevaulate our social media presence, opting to create two brand new accounts on Linkedin and Bluesky. We have seen great success so far on both of these accounts and will continue to build them in 2025. Follow us on Linkedin! Follow us on Bluesky! 2024 news from around the network Not only has 2024 been busy for Edinburgh Infectious Diseases, but also for our wider network members. Here are some news highlights from around the network. Light-sensitive drug acts as Trojan horse to kill drug-resistant bacteria Scientists from the Centre for Inflammation Research found that combining the tiny bacteria-killing molecule with a chemical food compound can trick bacteria into ingesting the drug. The molecule – called SeNBD – is smaller than existing light-sensitive treatments, which means it can pass through the cell’s defences more easily. Researchers say further tests are needed to show if the drug is a safe and quick method of treating early stage cancers and drug-resistant bacteria. This study was carried out in zebrafish and human cells. Read the full article here Professor Josephine Pemberton receives the British Ecological Society’s highest honour Professor Josephine Pemberton has been awarded honorary membership by the British Ecological Society, for her research on wild animal populations which has led to ground-breaking insights into the natural world. Honorary membership is the highest honour given by the British Ecological Society (BES), the oldest ecological society in the world, with 7,000 members from more than 120 different countries. Read the full article here World-class medical science facility opened by The Princess Royal Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, has opened the Institute for Regeneration and Repair South building (IRR South). Rheumatoid arthritis, lung cancer and reproductive health issues are just some of the medical conditions being tackled by more than 500 scientists at the new £110m facility at Edinburgh BioQuarter. The new building along with the IRR North building is home to flagship centres carrying out research in inflammation, reproductive health and regenerative medicine, as well as a dedicated pandemic science hub. Read the full article here Moredun Research Institute awarded £1.2M grant to tackle resistance to sheep scab treatments The Moredun Research Institute, in collaboration with leading partners, has been awarded a £1.2M grant to explore the mechanism of resistance to the macrocyclic lactone (ML) injectables in the sheep scab mite, Psoroptes ovis, and how this resistance has spread across the UK. The three-year award involves project partners from the University of Glasgow, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), and the Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep (SCOPS) Industry Group. Read the full article here Mutation drives bacterial adaptation to immune response Researchers have uncovered a genetic mutation that helps common bacteria affecting humans and animals to survive against immune defenses and antibiotics. A team of Roslin Institute scientists has developed a model to study how Staphylococcus aureus, a major pathogen associated with human and animal diseases, adapts to antibiotics and immune responses. Researchers designed a framework to repeatedly expose different strains of bacteria to immune cells, known as macrophages, which resulted in changes in bacterial characteristics over time. Read the full article here Patterns of inflammation detected in long COVID blood samples People with long COVID have distinct patterns of inflammation detectable in the blood, which could potentially be targeted with immune therapies. Usher Institute researchers Nazir Lone, Matthew Thorpe, Annemarie Docherty, Ewen Harrison and Kenneth Baillie are among the co-authors of the latest study shedding light on long COVID inflammation patterns. Published in Nature Immunology, the study reveals distinct inflammation patterns in the blood of long COVID patients, offering potential targets for immune therapies. Read the full article here Related links More news from Edinburgh Infectious Diseases More news from the Roslin Institute More news from the School of Biological Sciences More news from the Centre for Inflammation Research More news from the Moredun Research Institute More news from the Usher Institute Publication date 17 Dec, 2024
