Integration of Functional Genomics and Immunology and Their Application to Infectious Disease in Rumminants

Recent disease outbreaks in the UK livestock industry have highlighted limitations in current control measures. New molecular technologies offer potential for development of diagnostics and vaccines, but progress has been hampered by a lack of understanding of the immunology of many of the target diseases. Advances in functional genomics, coupled with an expanding set of immunological tools, have created new opportunities to dissect host responses in ruminants at a level of detail hitherto considered impossible. <P>
We bring together international expertise in functional genomics and associated bioinformatics and will establish an integrated programme of research and training on the immunology of endemic infectious diseases in ruminants using these modern research tools. <P>
The programme will provide veterinary undergraduates with insights into the contributions that research makes to the diagnosis, surveillance and control of infectious diseases of livestock and the maintenance of national biosecurity.<P> It will train a cohort of veterinary scientists in research utilising molecular and cell biological approaches and functional genomics to understand disease pathogenesis and host immunity. <P>
It will strengthen links between basic researchers and those involved in investigation and surveillance of disease in the field, in order to enhance the capacity for clinical application of the research findings.<P> It will ensure that the resources and expertise developed in functional genomics are disseminated nationally to researchers investigating infectious diseases of livestock.