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www.moredun.org.uk

Moredunm a g a z i n eI S S U E 9 | S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 1 5

Launch of Barbervax®

Aquaculture Research Group

Crown Estate Partnership

Moredun Magazine | Spring/Summer 2015

In this Issue:

p1 Edinburgh Napier andMoredun sign MOU

p2-3 New diagnostic tests for sheepscab and Chlamydial abortionnow available

p4 New Aquaculture Research Group

p6 Moredun launches Barbervax® - a vaccine forBarbers Pole Worm

p8 Edinburgh InternationalScience Festival

p10 Moredun scientists awardednew grants

p12 Focus On…Regional Advisors Workshop

p13 Crown Estate PartnershipMoredun Scholarship

Moredun magazine is produced twice a year and is available free of charge.

Designed and Produced by MoredunCommunications Centre © 2015.

All images, unless otherwise stated, are © Moredun.

To subscribe, contact: Moredun Communications Team, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0PZ

Comments, ideas, suggestions?Get in touch and let us know.

Please contact:Moredun Communications Team, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0PZ

tel: +44 (0)131 445 5111fax: +44 (0)131 445 6111

e-mail: [email protected]: www.moredun.org.uk

The Moredun Foundation is a companylimited by guarantee, registered in Scotland No. SC151865.

The Moredun Foundation is a charity registeredin Scotland, No: SC022515Address: Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan,Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland, EH26 0PZ.

Cover image: Sheep and lamb by Jim Mackintosh

Moredun Magazine

ContentsThe incidence of disease outbreaks has

significantly hampered the aquaculture

industry and pathogens and parasites are

estimated to cost the global industry £4-5

billion annually in lost revenue. Vaccination is a

preferable option to prevent disease in fish

compared to using anti-microbials.

Our scientists have been very successful in

winning new research funding for a range of

different projects looking at: development of

new parasite vaccines; understanding

resistance of cattle to cryptosporidiosis;

testing variation of host responsiveness to

recombinant worm vaccines; determining the

inflammatory processes involved in ovine

footrot and looking at the efficacy of different

worming regimes in horses (pages 10-11).

These projects involve collaborations with

other scientific organisations and industry

partners both in the UK and Europe and

emphasise the importance Moredun places on

partnership working.

I would like to add my personal thanks to

all our staff for their significant contributions

and in particular our fantastic Regional

Advisors who give their valuable time to work

with us to ensure that our research outputs

and outreach work remain useful to those

working in the livestock industry (page 12).

We do hope that you enjoy this issue of the

magazine and thank you for your continued

interest in and support of our work.

A very warm welcome to the Summeredition of the Moredun Magazine. Weare particularly pleased to report thelaunch of Barbervax®, the firstcommercially available vaccineagainst Haemonchus contortus, themost important roundworm parasiteof sheep and goats worldwide. Thishas been a major achievement for ourscientists and the culmination of over25 years research (pages 6-7).

Two of our diagnostic tests, against sheep scab

and chlamydial abortion, are also now

commercially available (pages 2-3) and we

hope these will make a significant impact to

improve the prevention and control of

livestock disease.

We are delighted to welcome the new

Aquaculture Research Group to Moredun

which is an exciting collaboration with

Benchmark Animal Health to produce vaccines

for the global aquaculture industry (page 4).

Director’s comment

Julie Fitzpatrick

Scientific Director and Chief Executive

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Moredun Magazine | Spring/Summer 2015 1

NEWS

The Veterinary Vaccinology Network aims

to address the unmet needs in veterinary

vaccinology, continuing in the fight against

animal diseases and consequently those that

have the potential to spread to humans.

The network aims to enhance

collaborations between scientific researchers,

industry, policy makers and regulators to

design, develop and deliver safe and effective

next-generation vaccines against new and

(re)-emerging diseases.

The collaborative approach of the network

will facilitate sharing of existing knowledge

and resources in relation to veterinary

vaccinology as well as provide a forum for

innovative thinking.

Moredun is represented on the network’s

Coordination Group by Professor Gary Entrican.

www.vetvaccnet.ac.uk

Professor Lee Innes awarded an MBEMoredun is very proud to announcethat Professor Lee Innes, Director ofCommunications and a PrincipalScientist at Moredun, was awarded anMBE in the 2015 New Year’s Honoursfor services to scientific research andcommunication.

Lee has made a significant contribution to

improve livestock health and welfare both in

the UK and internationally and she is

particularly interested in science

communication and education.

Professor Innes commented, “This is an

extraordinary honour, which I am delighted to

accept in recognition of our brilliant research

and communications teams here at Moredun. I

have been fortunate to have worked with

some very talented people throughout my

career”.

Veterinary Vaccinology Network launch website A new website has been launchedfollowing the creation of amultidisciplinary network ofveterinary vaccinology experts. The network will provideopportunities for researchers andindustry alike to produce newveterinary vaccines and createefficient development pathways.

Edinburgh Napier and Moredun sign MOUMoredun has signed a Memorandumof Understanding with EdinburghNapier University that will seegreater collaboration between theinstitutions’ researchers. The twoorganisations have already workedtogether on a number of projects –from examining farmers’ attitudes toemerging livestock diseases such asthe Schmallenberg virus to testingvaccines to combat parasites.

New strands of research will also focus on land

management issues, specifically with regard to

livestock health and long term food security,

and understanding the sociological implications

of new policy and uptake of new interventions.

Professor Julie Fitzpatrick, Moredun

Research Institute Scientific Director & Group

CEO, said: “We are delighted to be working

more closely with Edinburgh Napier University

and can see real benefits from the opportunities

provided by interdisciplinary collaboration to

enable both organisations to make a real

impact in enabling new technologies and

developments to be used effectively where they

are most needed.”

Professor Lee Innes MBE


News

MoredunGroup winsBest GreenBusinessAwardThe Moredun Group won the awardfor Best Green Business for 2014 atThe Midlothian and East LothianChamber of Commerce’s AnnualBusiness Partnership Exhibition andAwards held at the end of October.

Best Green Business is awarded to a business

that has made significant environmental

improvements and has committed to improving

and demonstrating their green credentials.

Pentlands Science Park Manager, George

Walker commented, "The Moredun Group was

delighted to win the Best Green Business Award

ahead of the other excellent nominees. It is

fantastic that the hard work that has been put

in by many people across the Group in

developing and implementing our

Environmental Management System has been

recognised in this way”.

By developing a formal Environmental

Management System, Moredun has been able

to deliver a wide variety of improvements to its

business conduct. This has delivered

environmental, financial and corporate

responsibility benefits to the organisation, and

has enhanced Moredun’s reputation as a world

leading organisation with quality at the heart of

its operations.

The award sponsors Anderson Strathearn

commented, “It’s important that local

environmentally-focused, sustainable businesses

are celebrated and recognised for their

achievements. A green approach to growth is

crucial for the future of the Scottish economy”.

Our congratulations to all those involved at

Pentlands Science Park especially our colleagues

in the Environmental Policy Advisory Group.

New Moredun Sheep ScabTest now available at APHA Scientists at Moredun have developeda novel diagnostic blood test forsheep scab infestation, which is nowbeing used by the Animal and PlantHealth Agency (APHA).

Sheep scab, caused by the mite Psoroptes ovis, is

one of the most important parasitic diseases of

sheep in the UK and is a notifiable disease in

Scotland. During the early stages of sheep scab,

infestations are not obvious and animals often

appear clinically normal. This sub-clinical stage

can last for several weeks during which animals

can act as a source of infection for other sheep.

For control or eradication programs to be

successful, it is crucial that all infested animals

are identified as quickly as possible, including

sub-clinical cases and this is now possible using

the new Moredun blood test.

The test detects host antibodies to a specific

protein found only in the sheep scab mite,

which means that the test can accurately

detect that an infestation is due to the scab

mite and not another ectoparasite. The test

can detect infested animals at an early stage

and before the onset of clinical symptoms,

which will be important in the effective control

of the parasite.

APHA currently offers veterinary surgeons

ectoparasitic examinations of skin scrapings

taken from sheep. It is hoped that integrating

the results of the skin scrapings with this new

blood test will provide a more powerful and

reliable diagnostic service for sheep scab. The

blood test will be offered free of charge for an

initial period.

For this enhanced diagnosis, veterinary

surgeons are asked to submit clotted blood

samples (Vacutainer®, red top) along with skin

scraping samples from the same sheep to

APHA’s Centre in Shrewsbury. APHA will then

report the results of the diagnostic tests to the

veterinary surgeon.

Dr Stewart Burgess who leads the sheep

scab research group at Moredun commented:

“The development of a sensitive and specific

blood test provides an important tool to aid

control strategies for sheep scab and crucially,

by using this new test it is now possible to

detect the infection much earlier, at the sub-

clinical stage. We are very pleased to

collaborate with APHA to make the test

available to support farmers and vets in the

control of the disease.”

Amanda Carson, Veterinary Lead Small

Ruminant Expert Group at APHA said: “We

support the efforts of the sheep industry to

control sheep scab through effective diagnosis

of the disease. We welcome new diagnostic

developments such as the Moredun test which

will provide a vital tool to improve our

diagnostic efforts.”

We are very sad to report the passing in

April of Robby Lennox after a short illness.

A farmer from Luss, Robby joined ADRA

early in his farming career, and then as a

strong supporter of Moredun, he chaired

the North of Scotland Regional Board, and

contributed to the Moredun Foundation

Board for many years, in his own quiet but

effective way. He was widely respected in

Robby Lennox Obituary

the wider farming fraternity being a

respected valuer and arbiter, a leading light

in the ATB for a number of years, for which

he was awarded his OBE. He also spent

some time on the Agricultural Wages Board

and the Home Grown Timber Authority,

as well as being a Director of the

Caledonian Mart.

His son Bobby became a Moredun

Regional Advisor last year continuing the

family connection. We would like to express

our heartfelt condolences to Bobby and the

rest of the family.


NEWS

Chlamydial abortion test kit now available

New diagnostic test launched to combatchlamydial abortion in sheep. Scientists at Moredun havesuccessfully developed a newdiagnostic test for Chlamydia abortusthe causative agent of ovine enzooticabortion (OEA).

OEA, also known as enzootic abortion of ewes

(EAE) or ovine chlamydiosis, is a major cause of

lamb mortality across the world and accounts

for 44% of diagnosed infectious abortions in UK

sheep. C. abortus invades the placenta during

pregnancy which can lead to abortion or the

birth of weak lambs.

The new test will allow for more accurate

diagnosis of the disease by offering higher

specificity and sensitivity of detection in

comparison to other serological tests. It works

by detecting the presence of antibodies to

C. abortus in blood samples from infected sheep

using an indirect ELISA technique.

Launched in April, this new diagnostic is

being marketed to veterinary diagnostic

laboratories by MV Diagnostics Ltd. The product

is manufactured by Enfer Scientific.

Dr David Longbottom, the principal scientist

who led the development of the test at

Professor Julie Fitzpatrick announced as Vice Chair of the new Scottish Food Commission We are delighted that Professor Julie Fitzpatrick, Moredun’s ScientificDirector and Chief Executive, will bethe vice-chair of the new ScottishFood Commission following anannouncement by Richard Lochhead,Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs,Food and Environment, earlier this year.

The Scottish Food Commission will address the

existing, and potential future, challenges facing

Scotland’s food culture. The group will

establish a network to champion good food

issues locally and will work in close partnership

with key stakeholders to advocate the

importance of good food to Scotland’s health

and wellbeing, environment and quality of life.

The Commission is made up of industry

experts from various areas, including

environment, food security, retail, food

production, education, public health and food

safety, and will be led by Shirley Spear.

Shirley, the founder, co-owner and former

head chef of Michelin-starred restaurant the

Three Chimneys, on the Isle of Skye, will guide

the group in its deliberations and efforts in

improving the country’s attitude to eating

fresh and healthy produce.

Mr Lochhead said, “I’m delighted to be able

to announce Shirley Spear as Chair and

Julie Fitzpatrick as Vice-Chair, alongside 14

other extremely knowledgeable and influential

industry experts, who will help pave the way

to Scotland becoming a Good Food Nation.

By 2025 we want people from every walk of

life to take pride and pleasure in the food

served day by day in Scotland.”

Moredun, commented: “I am delighted that the

test is now commercially available providing

farmers, vets and diagnostic laboratories with

access to an improved tool that allows a more

accurate diagnosis of this devastating

sheep disease.”

Professor Gordon Harkiss and Dr Neil Watt,

directors of MV Diagnostics said: “We are very

pleased to have collaborated with Moredun to

bring the new test to the market supporting

the diagnosis and management of OEA in

sheep flocks.”


Research

New Aquaculture Research GroupThe Aquaculture Research Group wascreated in 2013 as a collaborationbetween Moredun Research Institute(MRI) and Benchmark Animal Health(BMAH) to produce vaccines for theglobal aquaculture industry. BMAH ispart of the Benchmark HoldingsGroup, developing solutions for theanimal health, food, agriculture,aquaculture and sustainabilitybusiness sectors. They are an ethicalcompany with an explicit policy basedon the “3E’s” definition ofsustainability – ethics, environmentand economics.

Fish are an important source of protein,

contributing around 6% of the protein

consumed globally, and with the world

population expected to increase to 9 billion by

the end of 2050, aquaculture has the potential

to meet increasing demands for protein. The

aquaculture industry is growing rapidly, and it is

estimated to produce around 85 million tonnes

of farmed produce by 2030. Atlantic salmon is a

major aquaculture species farmed in Europe

(particularly Norway and Scotland), Chile and

Northern America. It is the number one food

export for Scotland, with a retail value of over

£1 billion, making it a major player to the

Scottish economy.

The incidence of disease outbreaks has

hampered the expansion of the aquaculture

industry. As well as reducing the supply of

marketable produce, it can result in substantial

economic losses to the farmer. Pathogens and

parasites are estimated to be responsible for 5-

7% annual losses in finfish aquaculture,

representing somewhere in the region of £4-5

billion in lost revenue, globally. Although

antibiotics and chemotherapeutants are used to

control disease outbreaks, there is concern

about their use because of drug residues in

food, the development of antimicrobial drug

resistance, and their detrimental effect on

water microbial ecosystems and populations.

Attention is now being given to disease

prevention as a means of controlling disease

outbreaks based on improved fish husbandry

and biological control methods such as

vaccination and immunostimulation.

The first commercial vaccines for

aquaculture were licensed in the USA in the

1970’s, while the introduction of vaccines to

aquaculture in Scotland and Scandinavia,

followed later in the mid 1980’s. Vaccination is

now a routine part of disease management in

many aquaculture systems. Atlantic salmon are

often vaccinated against three to five diseases

during their production cycle, often with a

multivalent vaccine, and in 2011 nearly 50

million fish were vaccinated in Scotland alone.

The strategy of vaccination has been so

successful that the use of antibiotics in

aquaculture has fallen dramatically.

Early vaccines were based on formalin-killed

preparations of bacteria, administered by

immersion. The furunculosis vaccine, offering

protection against Aeromonas salmonicida,

proved less effective than the bacterin vaccines

produced for enteric redmouth or vibriosis, and

was therefore mixed with an adjuvant and

administered by injection to improve its

immunogenicity. Since then, fish vaccine

development has become more sophisticated

with an increasing trend for the development of

sub-unit recombinant vaccines. This has been

necessary for some diseases, because the

simpler bacterin approach has been

unsuccessful, and until recently attenuated

vaccines were generally not encouraged from a

safety point of view. Technologies such as

recombinant and DNA vaccines, reverse

vaccinology, RNA silencing, proteomics and

epitope mapping are powerful tools for future

vaccine development as these enable the

identification and isolation of potential

protective antigens.

The Aquaculture Research Group is focusing

on the development of new generation vaccines

for BMAH, through the support of MRI and

where possible using MRI technology in their

vaccine development.

Two different aquaculture systems:

(a) a pangasius farm in Vietnam (photograph courtesy of Wanna Sirimanapong, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand);

(b) Atlantic salmon farm site in Scotland (photograph courtesy of Benchmark Animal Health).

Atlantic salmon being injection vaccinated in Chile


Pentlands Science Park/Moredun Scientific

PSP getting back to full occupancy One of the challenges for PentlandsScience Park, and indeed all scienceparks with wet labs, is the cost of re-fitting laboratories when a changeof tenancy occurs. Laboratories areoften bespoke designed for theoccupier and you are fortunateindeed if the incoming tenant doesnot require any modifications.

This has been true of PSP’s Doherty Innovation

Centre, the largest multi-occupancy buildings `

on site.

The building was, originally, funded by

Scottish Enterprise when built in 1996 and was

acquired by The Moredun Foundation four

years later. The ground floor area on one half

of the building, extending to some 7,000 sq ft

was bespoke designed and fitted out for

Viragen who occupied the premises from 1996

until 2007. In the intervening period, Alba

Bioscience occupied a large part of the space

before moving into Douglas House, Genecom

occupied the offices for a while and Edinburgh

Laser Optics occupy a small lab. It has been a

challenge to find a major occupier given the

difficulties of the current fit-out and layout.

However, we are now in discussions with

one of our existing tenants to consolidate into

this area from the four areas it currently

occupies. This will be of significant advantage to

the company in being together in one space. To

achieve this, a substantial fit-out and change of

layout is underway costing in the region of

£100,000 but this will secure occupation of a

space which has been vacant for too long and

the four smaller units freed up will be easier to

let. Indeed, we are already in discussions with

a potential tenant to take on some of the

new space.

The end aim is to assist our tenants and

increase overall occupancy of the Park which

will generate improved revenues to the

Foundation. Win, win all round.

Biosafety Testing Over the last few years MoredunScientific has developed a businessunit focussed on contract biosafetytesting for the biopharmaceuticalindustry. This involves testing a rangeof biological materials including celllines used in the manufacturing ofbiological medicinal products. Inaddition to vaccines we are now alsotesting advanced therapy medicinalproducts such as gene and stem cellbased treatments.

The testing is essential to ensure that the

biopharmaceuticals are free from any

contaminating materials and infectious agents

(e.g. bacteria or viruses) that may be carried

over from the cells used to produce them or

during the manufacturing process. The tests are

carried out under tightly controlled conditions

regulated in the UK by the Medicines and

Healthcare Regulatory Authority (MHRA).

The business requires our long established

skills in microbiology, animal studies and

regulatory studies and tests.

This is a rapidly growing area for us as an

increasing number of biopharmaceuticals are

launched onto the market with the

manufacturers outsourcing this specialised

testing to companies such as ourselves. There is

also a growing demand for testing of vaccine

products. We work with clients across the globe

including companies based in the Far East.

To learn more please contact us:

[email protected] or visit our

website: www.moredun.org.uk/moredun-

scientific-homepage/biosafety-testing

Pentlands Science Park


Research

Moredun launches Barbervax® - a vaccine for Barber’s Pole Worm

Scientists at Moredun, led by Dr David Smith, have successfullydeveloped the first vaccine for theBarber's Pole Worm (Haemonchuscontortus), the most importantroundworm parasite of sheep andgoats in the world.

Barber’s Pole Worm is a voracious blood

sucker causing anaemia which can readily

become fatal. Fortunately for UK farmers it

prefers warmer conditions and so is only a

sporadic problem, but in parts of Australia,

South Africa and South America it presents a

real difficulty for commercial sheep farmers,

compounded by the fact that worms resistant

to anthelmintic drugs are common

and widespread.

Barbervax®, the first vaccine in the world

for a worm parasite of sheep and a

revolutionary new tool for farmers to combat

Barber’s Pole was registered for use in

Australia in October 2014. The first batch of

vaccine, consisting of 300,000 doses, sold out

within 10 days just by word of mouth.

The vaccine contains tiny amounts of

protein purified from the lining of worm

intestines. Like all vaccines, Barbervax® works

by stimulating the natural immune response in

the animal after injection. The antibodies

produced circulate in the sheep’s blood, so

that the parasites drink antibodies with their

blood meal. These antibodies attach to the

lining of the worm intestine, blocking

digestion and starving the worm so that it

produces far fewer eggs and dies.

The basis for Barbervax® was devised

after many years of research at Moredun and

commercialised during the last five years

through a collaboration with the Albany

laboratory of the Department of Agriculture

and Food, Western Australia, where it is

made by Wormvax Australia, a subsidiary

of Moredun.

Please visit www.barbervax.com.au

for further information.

Dr David Smith (MRI) producing Barbervax®


RESEARCH

In response to a recommendation inthe 'Doing Better Initiative toReduce Red Tape in Agriculture'report, by Brian Pack the livestocksector is working with the ScottishGovernment to review currentpractice regarding CTS linkedholdings.

As part of an ongoing consultation with the

industry, farmers are being encouraged to

respond to an online survey which aims to

elicit farmer opinion and better understand

current use of CTS links. The survey has been

designed by EPIC, in partnership with NFUS.

EPIC (www.epicscotland.org) is a Scottish

Government-funded initiative that brings

together expertise on animal diseases from

Scottish Universities (Edinburgh and

Glasgow) and Institutes (Moredun Research,

SRUC and the James Hutton).

The survey should take a maximum of 10

minutes to complete and all Scottish cattle

farmers are encouraged to respond, whether

or not they have experience with CTS links.

All responses will be anonymous and the data

you give will be of immense value to NFUS

and the Scottish Government. Please follow

the link below to add your opinions and

experience to the consultation.

https://eh.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/cts-links-2

If you would like any further information

on the survey, please contact

Dr Emily Hotchkiss on

[email protected].

Cattle Tracing System (CTS) Links – your opinions matter

Sections of Barber’s Pole worm obtained from a sheep

vaccinated with Barbervax®. Antibodies stained yellowish

green have attached to the lining of the worm intestines

Haemonchus contortus (Barber’s Pole Worm) Producing the vaccine in Australia


Out and About

Tuesday 19th May

NSA Welsh Sheep, Newtown

Thursday 21st May

Beef Expo, York

Wednesday 27th May

Scottish Beef Event, Blairgowrie

Wednesday 3rd June

NSA North Sheep, Cockermouth

Tuesday 9th June

NSA Highland Sheep, Fearn

Thursday 18th to Sunday 21st June

Royal Highland Show, Edinburgh

Forthcoming Shows& Events 2015

AHDAConferenceIn January, as part of our partnership with

AHDA, we were pleased to attend their 30th

Annual Conference in Birmingham. This two

day event saw over 300 SQPs and

pharmaceutical representatives participate in

a programme of presentations including an

update of Moredun’s parasitological research

from Professor Jacqui Matthews.

Edinburgh InternationalScience Festival 2015Moredun were delighted to take part in the

Edinburgh International Science Festival in April.

‘Disease Explorers’ at the Royal Botanic Garden

Edinburgh was an interactive exhibition for

children with hands on activities about

detecting and diagnosing disease. The children

helped our very own Farmer Fred to diagnose

what was wrong with his flock by collecting and

testing samples in the lab. It proved to be a

highly popular event with children and adults

alike and received some excellent feedback.

Student VisitIn April, Moredun were delighted to welcome

Agriculture students from Bishop Burton

College, East Yorkshire.

The students enjoyed a tour of Moredun’s

facilities and a practical lab session on intestinal

parasites. All the staff involved welcomed the

opportunity to engage with the industry’s next

generation.

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Young participants at Moredun’s event at the EISF


OUT AND ABOUT

Help wanted with EquineQuestionnaireThe Horse Trust have recently fundeda research project which focuses onanthelmintic (dewormer) resistanceand the distribution of worms inhorses across the UK. This project,being carried out by Moredun inpartnership with Liverpool andBristol Universities and Bell EquineClinic, aims to identify if any long-term issues arise from using targetedworming versus traditional intervaldeworming treatments.

Do you have a spare 15 minutes to help with a

survey? The project requires horse owners and

those that manage horses to complete a

questionnaire that will help us explore the use

of dewormers in horses and their potential

impact on the worms that are present.

Many thanks in advance

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/horseworms

Go Jo!Jo Watts of the Moredun Comms

Team is taking part in 12 challenges

in 12 months to raise both awareness

of Motor Neurone Disease and as

much money as possible for the

MND Association.

Jo says that when a family member was

recently diagnosed with the disease, she needed

to do something to help.

Despite a severely twisted ankle in February,

Jo has battled on and has already raised more

than £4,000.

If you would like to support this wonderful

fund raising effort, please go to :

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Team-watts

Here is a list of the 12 challenges:

10th January: Great Winter Run, Edinburgh

15th February: Half Marathon, Barcelona

29th March: Kilomathon, Edinburgh

26th April: London Marathon

23rd to 24th May: London2Brighton

100 km Challenge

14th June: 2 Mile Great Swim, Lake Windermere

18th to 19th July: Three Peaks Challenge

8th August: London Triathlon

19th to 20th September: Equinox 24 – 24 hour

Relay, Leicestershire

18th October: Survival of the Fittest, Edinburgh

November: 10 km, Leeds

December: Santa Run, Edinburgh


Research

Moredun scientists awarded five newgrants to help improve the health andwelfare of livestock and horses

Moredun scientists have recently wonfive new externally funded projectsto help improve the health andwelfare of livestock and horses.These have been funded from theEuropean Union Horizon 2020programme, the BBSRC’s AnimalHealth Research Club in collaborationwith the Scottish Government andThe Horse Trust.

Professor Julie Fitzpatrick, Scientific Director

of Moredun Research Institute said, “We are

delighted to have won these competitive

grants to help support our work to prevent

and control endemic diseases and we are

particularly pleased that the projects are

involving so many scientific and industry

partners both in the UK and across the world.”

Three of the grants were awarded through

the BBSRC’s Animal Health Research Club

(ARC) initiative which aims to understand and

combat endemic disease in farmed cattle,

sheep, pigs, poultry and fish. The ARC initiative

is a consortium between the BBSRC, the

Scottish Government and leading companies

from the animal health, breeding and farming

sectors to encourage research approaches that

are relevant to industry needs. The three

Moredun projects are focusing on: resistance

to cryptosporidiosis in cattle where the team

are looking at the immune responses to this

important protozoan parasite and developing

some innovative in-vitro systems to enable

detailed studies on host-pathogen interactions;

diversity in immune responses to a

recombinant worm vaccine in sheep where

scientists will investigate individual variation in

immune responsiveness and the effect on

vaccine efficacy; and improving our

understanding of inflammatory responses in

sheep footrot involving a study of how the


RESEARCHP

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Cryptosporidiosis oocysts (small spheres) on the surface of cattle gut villi

bacteria causing footrot are recognised by the

immune system of the sheep to enable a

better understanding of disease pathogenesis.

The three projects are being conducted in

collaboration with the Roslin Institute,

Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland, the

University of Glasgow and the University of

Nottingham. These endemic diseases are of

significant economic and welfare concern to

the livestock industry.

The European Union project involves 17

scientific and industrial partners from around

the world working to develop novel vaccines

to help prevent and control helminth and

ectoparasite infections of ruminant and poultry

production systems. The 9 million euro

PARAGONE project aims to provide sustainable

and environmentally friendly forms of disease

control through vaccination and thus reduce

reliance on anti-parasitic drugs, where there

are increasing reports of drug resistance and

reduced efficacy.

The Horse Trust have recently funded a

project to enable Moredun scientists to

conduct a study to look at the efficacy of using

a targeted worming strategy versus a

traditional interval worming treatment in

horses. The project will focus on the

distribution of worms in horses across the UK

and the extent of resistance to common

treatments.


Focus On...

“

A valuable asset : Our Regional Advisors

The Moredun Foundation has fiveregional boards covering: South ofEngland, North of England, Wales,South of Scotland and North ofScotland. On each regional board,farmers, veterinarians, SQPs,industry representatives, youngfarmers and students collectivelyrepresent a wide cross section ofstakeholders within the livestockindustry. The chairs of each regionalboard sit on the main MoredunFoundation Board.

In December last year, we held our first

Regional Advisors Workshop here at Moredun

and looked at how we might improve our

collaborative working and tried out some new

engagement and outreach activities. The

workshop was a great success: scientists heard

more about the work of the regional advisors

and the advisors gained a much better

understanding of life at the coal face for the

scientists and of some of the challenges and

opportunities facing Moredun.

One of Moredun’s greatest assets is,

without doubt, it’s secret army of regional

advisors, who are our ambassadors out in the

field and help Moredun retain its roots and

strength within the livestock industry.

”

Moredun can take great pride from the

healthy relationship it has across the

spectrum of the livestock industry ….. Much

of that success, I would say is down to the 2

way street of knowledge passed both ways

between Moredun and its stakeholders.

Scott Brown, farmer and SQP,

South of Scotland Regional Board.

Moredun’s relationship with its core

membership is unique because it was

founded by farmers for farmers ….

The fact that it is farmer owned as well

makes the relationship with the farming

industry so special.

Sandy Tulloch, farmer,

North of Scotland Regional Board.

The independent scientific information from

the Moredun is the most up to date and

unbiased a livestock producer can have

access to in order to make business

decisions in the short or long term.

Frank Langrish, farmer,

South of England Regional Board.

Moredun’s relationship with its stakeholder

community enables end users and

prescribers to have a unique insight to what

happens during the development of new

products in the UK. This flow of information

will help those of us in UK agriculture keep

ahead of the game in an increasingly

global market.

Sally Harmer, SQP, Wales Regional Board

Roddy Dunse, Veterinary Surgeon, South of Scotland Regional Board

Regional Advisors Workshop at Moredun

Regional Advisors Workshop in the labs at Moredun


NEWS

Crown Estate Partnership

We are delighted to welcome theCrown Estate as associate membersof Moredun. The Crown Estate isleading the way as the first landowning estate to join us and we hopemany more estates and landownerswill follow suit.

The Crown Estate is a diverse portfolio of UK

buildings, shoreline, seabed, forestry,

agriculture and common land that generates

revenue for the government. As an

independent commercial business, created by

an Act of Parliament, The Crown Estate’s rural

portfolio includes 139,000 hectares (343,000

acres) and includes agriculture, forestry,

minerals, tourism, residential and commercial

properties. The agricultural interests include

both livestock and arable farming, including

traditional hill farming in Scotland and Wales

to large-scale commercial operations in the

eastern counties of England. All the

agricultural interests are leased under a variety

of tenure arrangements many of which involve

some form of livestock enterprise. As a

landlord, The Crown Estate supports its

tenants’ businesses wherever possible through

investment, advice and business support,

helping to enhance farming enterprises to

improve business profitability and efficiency.

The Crown Estate associate membership

will allow over 350 of their UK livestock

farming tenants to benefit from livestock

health advice via Moredun's extensive KTE

network and research expertise. We hope

many of the Crown Estate tenants will make

use of this facility to assist increasing

productivity and efficiency on their livestock

enterprises.

Building on existing research links and a

very well attended farmers meeting held in

Craigellachie last November, Moredun and the

Crown Estate are planning more farmer

focused events in other areas of the UK later

this year.

Applications are open for the 2015Moredun Foundation Scholarship.

The scholarship scheme offers a fantastic

opportunity for individuals to pursue a short

term project to broaden their education and

experience in areas relating to livestock health

and welfare and the agricultural industry.

Scholarship awards of up to £1,000 each will

be made in 2015. Projects are open to

Moredun members over the age of 18 living

in the UK and may involve work experience,

travel, or collaborations with science or

the arts.

Ian Duncan Millar, Chairman of the

Moredun Foundation, is delighted by the

quality of the scholarship projects that the

Moredun Foundation has supported so far.

He commented, “These scholarships are a

great way for those in the livestock industry to

pursue a short term project or further develop

their knowledge of livestock health. Recipients

of these awards to date have carried out some

fantastic diverse projects which have

broadened the horizons of the individual

involved, while adding useful knowledge to the

promotion of livestock health and welfare”.

The closing date for applications for a 2015

Moredun Foundation Scholarship is Tuesday 30

June 2015. Successful applicants will be

notified in writing by Monday 31 August 2015

and projects need to be completed by

31 August 2016.

Further information and an application form

are available to download from the Moredun

website www.moredun.org.uk/scholarship

Application forms and guidelines can also be

emailed to prospective applicants on request.

Email [email protected] for further

information.

Moredun FoundationScholarship

Bampton Society

Border Union Agricultural Society

Buckland Charitable Trust

Hybu Cig Cymru (Meat Promotion Wales)

Norbrook

Perth Ram Society

Quality Meat Scotland

RHASS

Romsey Agricultural & Horse Show Society

Zoetis

As a registered charity The MoredunFoundation is indebted to itsmembers and supporters fordonations to help ensure that vitalareas of our work can continue.Special thanks must go to thefollowing organisations, all of whomhave made donations to MoredunFoundation in the last twelve months.Their support is greatly appreciated.

Thank You

www.moredun.org.uk

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