Academic institutions across China have signed an agreement with The Pirbright Institute to develop a five-year programme of joint research.
The partnership strengthens ongoing work to tackle a range of avian diseases that affect the poultry industry in the UK and China.
The collaboration builds on research by the UK-China Centre of Excellence for Research on Avian Diseases (CERAD), established in 2015 and led by The Pirbright Institute.
CERAD brought together the Shandong Binzhou Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine Academy and other Chinese academic institutions to focus on research into avian diseases.
The seven-year Newton-funded collaboration produced extensive research into different aspects of avian diseases, leading to scientific publications, the development of vaccines and diagnostic tests, international meetings and training on poultry disease research for students and post-doctoral scientists.
A new agreement, signed at The Pirbright Institute, now underpins a collaborative research framework supported by funding from the Institute and each of the participating Chinese Academic Institutes.
Institute Director, Professor Bryan Charleston, said: “Today’s agreement brings together Pirbright, Shandong and 10 Chinese academic institutions, reinforcing CERAD’s commitment to innovative approaches in avian health, using emerging technologies such as genomics, AI and single cell biology for improving animal health capabilities.”
Professor Bing Zhang, Director, Shandong Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine Academy, said: “The agreement will expand the cooperation members to eight provinces in China, covering the major poultry production areas in China, which is of great significance in comprehensively promoting the research and control of poultry diseases in China and the UK. This successful cooperation experience and model will also lay a solid foundation for us to promote the international layout and global development of avian disease prevention and control.”
Pirbright researcher Professor Venugopal Nair said securing joint funding for avian disease research from national and international funding agencies will be a top priority for CERAD.
“Enhancing connectivity among UK and Chinese academic institutions, CERAD will emphasize capacity building and knowledge transfer through exchange visits, training programs, scientific conferences and through developing educational resources.”
Representatives of all the collaborating Chinese academic institutions joined the signing ceremony online and will sign the agreement at a later date.
Designed as a virtual Research Institute, CERAD is equipped with state-of-the-art laboratory capability for avian disease research for scientists from academic institutes in both countries.