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UCD

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

Departmental Staff

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Research

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Research

Goal

To maintain and further develop our research base to achieve further international recognition for the Department and Faculty by utilising ‘state-of-the-art’ methodologies and fostering strategic alliances with external partners.

Summary of Current Research Programmes

Research projects encompass the study of a diverse range of animal diseases and of animal models of human disease given the broad range of interests and skills of the Departmental academics. A common strand through all however is the central role of both morphological and clinical pathology in elucidating pathogenetic mechanisms.

Semliki Forest virus infection in mice as a model of multiple sclerosis and laterally as a vector system in vaccine development has been a major focus of research for many years. The pathogenesis of tuberculosis, paratuberculosis and bovine spongiform encephalopathy represent a second major area of interest and a third area has been animal health surveillance in regions in the vicinity of chemical/industrial plants. Research programmes into the pathogenesis of viral encephalitis and viral oncogenesis are also well established in addition to the investigation of aspects of asthma and ‘Whooping Cough’ pathogenesis in murine models.

Research is enhanced through strategic linkages both within and outside the Faculty with virologists, bacteriologists, immunologists, veterinary clinicians, zoologists and molecular biologists. Within the Faculty collaborations exist with the departments of large animal clinical studies, small animal clinical studies, surgery and microbiology and parasitology. Such involvements vary from collaborative projects to contributions on an ad-hoc basis to research projects or the provision of expertise in the development of case reports for publication. Institutions outside the Faculty with whom on-going collaborations exist include:

The Conway Institute, Trinity College Dublin,
The University of Glasgow,
Central Veterinary Laboratory, Abbotstown,
The Karolinska Institute, Stockholm,
The University of Vienna,
The Queen’s University of Belfast,
The Institute of Immunology, Maynooth,
The Statens Serum Institute, Copenhagen,
Veterinary Sciences Division, Belfast,
The Marine Institute, Cork County Council.

Currently there are also research projects on-going with Intervet Ltd (identification of putative agent causing a novel meningo-encephalitis in Greyhounds) and Chiroxia Ltd. (development of a novel method of oviduct occlusion in a rabbit model).