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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

IAH welcomes NFU to discuss Schmallenberg virus

Representatives from the NFU toured the Institute for Animal Health this week to hear of progress in understanding Schmallenberg virus (SBV). Among the delegation touring IAH, the Institute for Animal Health at Pirbright in Surrey, was NFU president Peter Kendall, NFU vice president Adam Quinney and…

Livestock Scientists in Parliament

Three early-career researchers from the Institute for Animal Health at Compton near Newbury had the chance to present their science to parliamentarians at the House of Commons on Monday (12 March). All three work on diseases of livestock that can cost the UK economy a great deal of money and…

03 February 2012

Schmallenberg causing deformities in east of England lambs

An emerging livestock disease caused by the Schmallenberg virus that was first detected in Germany late last year has been causing deformities in newborn lambs, goat kids and calves on farms in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and now the UK. Schmallenberg – named after the place in Germany where…

26 January 2012

How to make better vaccines for humans and animals

Researchers at the Institute for Animal Health and collaborators at the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, have discovered why some vaccines are not as effective at stimulating an immune response as we would hope and have investigated ways in which improvements could be made. The research was…

16 January 2012

Foot-and-mouth pioneer retires from IAH after almost 40 years

Dr Nigel Ferris MBE has retired after almost 40 years at The Pirbright Institute in Pirbright. Dr Ferris is at the forefront of diagnostics for foot-and-mouth (FMD) and other diseases, with his kits leading the field for at least 20 years and a new generation of kits on the horizon thanks to his…

11 January 2012

Science Minister highlights IAH role in rinderpest eradication

In a speech at Policy Exchange, Westminster, Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts referred to IAH as one of the UK’s “outstanding independent research institutes” and highlighted our role in the eradication of rinderpest. The Minister spoke about the opportunities for the UK that are…

06 January 2012

World-class facilities for virus research

Multi-million pound laboratory completed at Institute for Animal Health "Now if you want to come and film these areas you'll have to take your camera out via the quarantine facility... which means it may be fumigated and lost forever." Dr Michael Johnson, Head of Estates at the Institute for Animal…

02 December 2011

Minister visits Institute for Animal Health in Pirbright

Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts MP, visited The Pirbright Institute's Pirbright campus today (Friday 02 December 2011) to welcome the news of an additional £80M investment from government. The funding will be made available to the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research…

29 November 2011

£100M+ investment to protect UK food security and rural economy

Major sectors of the UK economy and food chain have received a significant boost following the announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer of £80M of capital investment for the further development of research facilities at The Pirbright Institute at Pirbright, which receives strategic funding…

25 November 2011

New insight into important chicken virus

Fresh discoveries about Marek's disease could have major implications for the poultry industry, making it possible to breed birds with greater resistance to the disease. Scientists analysed thousands of genes to pinpoint those that play a role in Marek's disease - a viral infection that costs the…

25 November 2011

New insight into important chicken virus

Fresh discoveries about Marek's disease could have major implications for the poultry industry, making it possible to breed birds with greater resistance to the disease. Scientists analysed thousands of genes to pinpoint those that play a role in Marek's disease - a viral infection that costs the…

25 October 2011

Minister celebrates progress on new high containment lab

David Willetts, Minister of State for Universities and Science, led a ‘topping-out’ ceremony on 24th October, marking a milestone in the progress of the construction of the IAH’s new £100M+ high containment laboratory. The building has reached its maximum height, just a year after construction…