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Pirbight's Plowright building from afar with wild plants in front

15 November 2024

Pirbright welcomes two successful Doctoral Landscape Awards in life and environmental sciences

The Pirbright Institute is celebrating two major doctoral training initiatives funded by the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), each offering unique opportunities for the next generation of scientists. These programmes…

Close up of a pipette tip in a well of gel electrophoresis. Blue liquid is visible in the wells.

14 November 2024

Nurturing emerging leaders in science

Two talented Pirbright researchers have been awarded with Strategic Career Development Awards (SCDAs) to advance their research and career trajectories. Dr Rory Fortes de Brito, a Senior Postdoctoral researcher in the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) Immunology group and Dr Lidia…

Latest news

Goats, sheep and cattle at a Nigerian market

25 February 2020

Pirbright estimates the impact of pox viruses on Nigerian farms

Scientists from The Pirbright Institute have shown that outbreaks of lumpy skin disease (LSD), sheeppox and goatpox (SGP) have an immediate and long-lasting impact on the livelihoods of farmers in North-East Nigeria. Researchers analysed data from a study conducted with Bauchi State College of…

RNA polymerase transcribes RNA from DNA.

20 February 2020

Pirbright and UCL scientists map African swine fever genome

Scientists from The Pirbright Institute have worked with UCL to map the expression of genes across the entire African swine fever virus (ASFV) genome, which has helped to establish their order of activation as well as uncovering new genes. The research could provide vital information for those…

Bluetongue virus (BTV) cores

05 February 2020

Pirbright determines bluetongue strain and origin in 2016 Cyprus outbreak

Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have used genetic analysis and wind modelling to show that the 2016 bluetongue outbreak in Cyprus was caused by bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV-8). The virus most likely crossed over to Cyprus in midges blown from the coastal regions of Syria, Lebanon or Israel…

infectious bronchitis virus infecting cells

24 January 2020

Pirbright’s livestock coronavirus research – your questions answered

The Pirbright Institute is aware that misinformation regarding the Institute and its research is circulating on social media following an outbreak of a new (novel) coronavirus that infects humans in Wuhan, China. These are the facts regarding our coronavirus research and funding. The Pirbright…

22 January 2020

Scientists working on pig and poultry diseases visit Pirbright

On 15 January 2020 The Pirbright Institute hosted Newton Fund Swine and Poultry Research Initiative delegates from the UK, China, Thailand and the Philippines. The projects funded through the initiative have been underway for almost two years and the meeting served as part of a midway point workshop…

Genetic differences between FMD viruses cause variation in capsid proteins, shown by red dots.

09 January 2020

Pirbright scientists shed new light on foot-and-mouth disease virus evolution

New research from The Pirbright Institute has shown that different populations of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) swap sections of genetic material at a far higher rate than originally thought. The information will help scientists to understand how the frequency of these changes can shape virus…

Andrew Broadbent

03 January 2020

Science Spotlight: Dr Andrew Broadbent

Dr Andrew Broadbent’s research is focussed on birnaviruses, economically important viruses that have a large impact on aquaculture and poultry industries. His group are currently investigating infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), which attacks the immune system of birds, resulting in sickness and…

23 December 2019

Rinderpest destruction, what happens next?

In June 2019 The Pirbright Institute destroyed the last samples of rinderpest virus held in the World Reference Laboratory for rinderpest. This completed a major milestone in the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) programme to…

Image shows clumps of red blood cells forming around cells infected by the vaccine virus, showing it has been successfully genetically modified

20 December 2019

Bird flu and Marek’s disease vaccine developed by Pirbright scientists

Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have used genetic engineering to develop a vaccine that protects birds against both Marek’s disease and avian influenza, also known as bird flu. The process is faster and more efficient compared to previous methods, which will allow poultry vaccine producers to…

10 December 2019

Pirbright study uncovers replication sites of emerging pig disease

A recent study carried out at The Pirbright Institute has uncovered the sites within the cell where porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) makes new copies of itself during replication. Using electron microscopy, Pirbright scientists demonstrated that the virus creates replication organelles that are…

06 December 2019

Pirbright student wins award to study the role of insects in lumpy skin disease infection

First year PhD student Charlotte Cook was recently thrilled to learn that she is being given an In Vivo Skills Award from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation. Only three such awards are offered by the BBSRC UKRI-funded Oxford…

pig lying in hay pirbright

29 November 2019

Pigs can be used to test human flu vaccines say Pirbright scientists

A new study from researchers at The Pirbright Institute suggests that pigs may be a good model for evaluating the effectiveness of vaccines designed to protect against seasonal human flu. In a paper published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology the study, led by Dr Elma Tchilian, Head of the…