2020 news

As this incredible year draws to a close, we would like to share with you some of the highlights for Edinburgh Infectious Diseases over the past 18 months.

All the talks from the 9th Annual Edinburgh Infectious Diseases Symposium are now available to watch again.

2020 Edinburgh Infectious Diseases Winter Lecture: We are delighted to invite you to our Annual Winter Lecture, which this year will be given by Dr Kenneth Baillie on Wednesday 25 November at 5.30 pm.

On the eve of the 2020 World One Health Congress, the University of Edinburgh has launched an online showcase of our One Health approach to improving livelihoods around the world.

A drug first developed more than 30 years ago is to have its effectiveness at reducing the progression of Covid-19 trialed in people who are self-isolating after testing positive for the disease.

A collaboration between scientists in Scotland and The Netherlands has found that a lack of ‘social distancing’ between sheep is almost exclusively responsible for the spread of the virus that causes the chronic viral disease maedi-visna.

Edinburgh Infectious Diseases is delighted to announce that we are now accepting applications for the 2021 cohorts of students on two Wellcome Trust funded 4-year PhD programmes.

We are delighted to announce that participants can now register for the 9th Annual Edinburgh Infectious Diseases Symposium on 10 and 11 November 2020.

The secret of how the Dantu genetic blood variant helps to protect against malaria has been revealed for the first time by scientists at the University of Edinburgh, in collaboration with colleagues at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Cambridge and the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kenya.

A grant worth almost half a million pounds has been awarded to the Moredun Research Institute to develop a novel way of studying poultry red mites which greatly reduces the number of hens required.

The management of fungal infections in plants and humans could be transformed by a breakthrough in understanding how fungi develop resistance to drugs.

People who are admitted to hospital with Covid-19 can be divided into four distinct groups, according to data from the world’s largest study of patients with the disease.

Children and teenagers are less likely than adults to develop severe Covid-19 or die from the disease, according to the world’s largest study of hospital patients with Covid-19.

Detailed knowledge of the genetic code of the novel coronavirus could support efforts to develop a vaccine.

Roslin Technologies, the UK’s specialist AgTech venture builder, is developing a unique vehicle to deliver vaccines to sheep and goats, using technology generated from a harmless single cell parasite found on a remote island in the North Atlantic.

Leading scientists from Universities of Edinburgh and Dundee have joined a €77.7 million initiative to find a treatment for Covid-19 and are optimistic progress can be made.

People who wear a face mask significantly lower the risk of spreading Covid-19 to others through speaking and coughing, suggests research from the University of Edinburgh.

Nylon manufacture could be revolutionised by the discovery that bacteria can make a key chemical involved in the process, without emitting harmful greenhouse gases.

Global wildlife experts are calling for improvements to how pathogens are tested and tracked in wildlife, to reduce the risk of future pandemics.

Moredun Research Institute and Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) are working together to support the NHS by providing extra capacity for vital testing of samples within their laboratory facilities at Pentlands Science Park in Midlothian.

Key research involving the University of Edinburgh, into Covid-19’s impact on the nervous system, shows stroke is the most commonly reported neurological complication affecting patients hospitalised by the virus.

A simple salt water solution may help to reduce the early symptoms and progression of Covid-19, research suggests.

The second Edinburgh Coronavirus workshop – Covid-19: three-months on – was held on 23 June 2020, to discuss work that is contributing to our understanding and response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Discovery of why timing matters to malaria parasites reveals a vulnerability that could be exploited for future treatment strategies.

On Tuesday 23 June 2020 Edinburgh Infectious Diseases will host a second workshop on the current research and clinical activities in Edinburgh that are addressing the SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19 pandemic.

New treatments for flu could emerge from find of human genes targeted by flu viruses.

Young people aged from 12 to 17 years old in Scotland are being asked to share their views and experiences of how the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting their lives.

A majority of people living in Scotland are confident the Scottish Government is capable of stopping a further outbreak of Covid-19, a survey suggests.

The Edinburgh Protein Production Facility (EPPF) has joined a national consortium to provide medically important proteins that will aid coronavirus research.

New work by University of Edinburgh PhD student and the EcoHealth Alliance has provided the first broadly applicable model to estimate patterns of viral sharing globally – for all mammal species and all known viruses.

Easing the UK’s Covid-19 lockdown could begin by strengthening protection for the most vulnerable while relaxing restrictions for everyone else, experts suggest.

Members of Edinburgh Infectious Diseases have made translations of the presentations at the Edinburgh Coronavirus Workshop available in over twenty five languages.

Reduced lung function and inflamed tissue under the skin and around internal organs could be linked to the increased risk, researchers say. Both factors can trigger a life-threatening over-reaction of the body’s immune response that causes harm to patients, the study suggests.

Keith Matthews, Professor of Parasite Biology in the Institute of Immunology and Infection Research at the University of Edinburgh, has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of his outstanding contribution to science.

Innovative face shields for key workers fighting Covid-19 can be made more quickly than other guards thanks to laser-cutting technology.

Scientists, laboratory space and equipment from the University of Edinburgh are being used to support NHS Lothian’s testing efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

A survey has been launched to capture how Covid-19 is affecting the mood of the nation.

Academics from CAHSS are contributing informed opinion and comment about the Covid-19 pandemic on a new blogsite.

Up to 150 researchers at the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Inflammation Research are being re-deployed to work on a project that aims to test existing and experimental drugs to find a treatment for Covid-19.

Students from the Wellcome Trust PhD programme in Hosts, Pathogens and Global Health at the University of Edinburgh are taking on projects to help answer key questions in the Covid-19 pandemic.

The University of Edinburgh has made a number of its courses available online for free in a bid to support frontline NHS staff in the fight against Covid-19.

David Tollervey, from the Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology and Sara Macias from the Institute of Immunology and Infection Research will take part in a twinning project with the Central European Institute of Technology and other partners, to share research expertise on RNA biology.

Four Edinburgh researchers have joined a group providing expert advice to the Scottish Government on its response to Covid-19.

Edinburgh researchers are joining forces with commercial companies to quickly develop new technologies to help tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

Scientists from the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian have joined a UK consortium analysing the genetic code of Covid-19.

On Wednesday 25 March Edinburgh Infectious Diseases hosted a workshop on the current research and clinical activities in Edinburgh that are addressing the SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic.

Researchers from across the University are rallying to support global efforts to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

The University of Edinburgh has received nearly £5 million to tackle the coronavirus pandemic from the government’s rapid response call.

A team of academics at the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian are part of national consortium that will look for breakthroughs that help the UK respond to this and future pandemics, and save lives.

Large Animal Research and Imaging Facility builds on animal science expertise at Easter Bush campus.

An exciting partnership has been launched between Moredun and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) to tackle the problem of louping ill.

Huge congratulations to three members of Edinburgh Infectious Diseases who have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh!

In a new article published in Science magazine, Prof Mark Woolhouse discusses how a global system for the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance would exploit sewage

It is a spectacular butterfly breed with an intriguing back story … now scientists have revealed how male-killing bacteria are helping to create a dazzling hybrid of the African monarch.

Resistance to a deadly disease that is affecting the second most farmed fish in the world has been found to be mainly due to differences in genes between families of the same fish.

Understanding the role played by a key immune cell could inform the development of vaccines.

A method of sampling tissue could aid research into therapies for chicken lung diseases.

Antimicrobial resistance gene counts did not change in response to antibiotic treatment.

Tuberculosis in cattle and badgers passes between members of the same species at least twice as often than between cow and badger, a study has found.