Biomarkers and in vitro assessment of Johne’s disease of cattle
Supervisors
Robert Graham, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast
Ciaren Graham, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast
Irene Grant, School of Biological Sciences, Queens University Belfast
Mark McLaughlin, School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow
Lorenzo Viora, School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow
George King, School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow
Summary
The PhD project on Biomarkers and in vitro assessment of Johne’s disease of cattle aims to develop biomarkers that can be used by veterinarians to diagnose Johne’s Disease (JD). This important disease of cattle, caused by infection by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), has considerable health and welfare impacts on animals. The project also aims to investigate the biological causes of the infection on a cellular level using tissue culture and to monitor welfare issues to improve the on-farm support of infected animals.
The advanced analytical method of proteomics will be utilized to examine changes in the blood and faeces of infected cattle to develop protein profiles in blood and faeces in response to the infection. These will be used to detect early infection stages, which would be a valuable contribution to the diagnosis of this often fatal disease of dairy and beef cattle.
The project will provide training for research in advanced proteomics, in vitro tissue culture, phage-based diagnostics, diagnostic test development and critical assessment, and animal welfare assessment relating to health and disease. It will also introduce concepts of technology transfer with issues related to the introduction of novel technology to stakeholders and end-users.