Dr Mark Henstock

Mark Henstock studied for his Bsc(hons) in Biochemistry with Biotechnology and MPhil(res) in Molecular and Cellular Biology at The University of Birmingham before moving to The University of Bath to undertake a PhD studying the genes essential for stationary phase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (a species of yeast) in the lab of Dr Alan Wheals.

After graduating from Bath University Mark started working for The Microbiology Laboratories, a small north London based laboratory engaged in bacterial and serological screening contract work. The majority of work at The Microbiology Laboratories was the monthly screening of European university small animal units for the presence of various bacteria and viruses.

Mark then moved to the Non-Vesicular Reference Laboratories (NVRL) at The Pirbright Institute where he continued working in the veterinary diagnostics field. The NVRL is a national, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) andWorld Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) diagnostic and reference laboratory for a number of viruses exotic to the UK including bluetongue virus, African horse sickness virus, African swine fever virus and Capripox viruses.

Mark now has a more desk-based role working for both the NVLR and Vesicular Diseases Reference Laboratories (diagnostic and reference laboratories for viruses such as foot-and-mouth disease virus) working on the reference laboratory websites, but still maintains his competence as an active laboratory diagnostic scientist for the reference laboratories.