infectious disease
Infectious diseases are caused by pathogens such as viruses or bacteria that can be harmful to health and can spread between individuals. Infectious diseases can affect humans, plants, animals, fungi and even bacteria. The study of infectious diseases is crucial to allow us to gain a fundamental understanding of these pathogens, their effect on the host, and how to treat them.
This Strategic Group is sponsored by CENSIS
SULSA's Strategic Groups
SULSA’s Strategic Groups cover three key areas of strategic importance which have been directed by Scottish Government and funding agencies priorities. They are:
- Diagnostics and Therapeutics
- Environment, Bioeconomy and Sustainability
- Infectious Disease
These Strategic Groups are formed of senior academics with valued input from our early career researchers. They allow SULSA member universities to respond collaboratively to large multidisciplinary funding bids and drive multidisciplinary knowledge exchange.
Strategic groups will be changed every three years and will be inclusive of human, plant, animal, and microbe researchers.
Strategic Group Overview
Infectious diseases are caused by pathogens such as viruses or bacteria that can be harmful to health and can spread between individuals. Infectious diseases can affect humans, plants, animals, fungi and even bacteria.
This is a key area that life science researchers have put a lot of focus into. The study of infectious diseases is crucial to allow us to gain a fundamental understanding of these pathogens, their effect on the host, and how to treat them.
Training and idea generation and sharing has been identified as a key factor to support multidisciplinary research and a holistic approach to studying infectious disease.
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meet our strategic group members
Prof Carol Anne Munro
Personal Chair in Microbiology at the University of Aberdeen
Research Interest: Fungal Pathogens, Antifungal Drug Resistance, Antifungal Therapeutics, Fungal Cell Wall
Dr Soumya Palliyil (Deputy)
Head of Scottish Biologics Facility at the University of Aberdeen
Research Interest: Anti-Infective Biologics, Antibody Engineering, Biologics Drug Discovery, Immunodiagnostics, Novel Therapies against AMR, Antifungal mAbs, Preclinical Development
Dr Manu De Rycker
Head of Translational Parasitology at the University of Dundee
Research Interest: Drug Discovery, Cell-Based Assays, Imaging, Kinetoplastid Parasites, Fungi, Chagas Disease, Leishmaniasis
Dr Beatriz Baragana (Deputy)
Senior Lecturer at the University of Dundee
Research Interest: Infectious Diseases, Malaria, Tuberculosis, Schistosomiasis, Cryptosporidiosis
Prof Sarah Reece
Chair of Evolutionary Parasitology at the University of Edinburgh
Research Interest: Malaria, Plasmodium, Chronobiology, Ecology, Evolution, Life History Strategy, Transmission
Dr Alasdair Nisbet (Deputy)
Director of Research & Innovation | Head of Vaccines and Diagnostics Department at Moredun Research Institute
Research Interest: Parasitology, Endemic Disease, Livestock, Vaccines, Diagnostics, Mites, Nematodes
Dr William Johnston (ECR Chair)
Postdoctoral Researcher at Glasgow Caledonian University
Research Interest: Microbiology, Biofilms, Microbiome, Infections, Healthcare, Pathogens, Probiotics
Dr Lilach Sheiner
Dr Lilach Sheiner at University of Glasgow
Research Interest: Cellular Biology, Molecular Biology, Parasitology, Infectious Diseases, Mitochondria, Toxoplasmosis, Malaria
Dr Helen Louise Bridle
Associate Professor at Heriot-Watt University
Research Interest: Waterborne Pathogens, TB, Sample Processing, Microfluidics, Detection Systems, Antimicrobial Resistance
Dr Donald Morrison
Lecturer in Microbiology at Edinburgh Napier University
Research Interest: Antibiotics Resistance, Epidemiological Typing, Environment Microbiology, Resistant Pathogens
Prof Giovanna Bermano
Professor in Metabolic Nutrition at Robert Gordon University
Research Interest: Metabolic Nutrition, Micronutrient Metabolism and Obesity
Prof Craig W. Roberts
Professor of Parasitology at the University of Strathclyde
Research Interest: Toxoplasma, Acanthamoeba, Immunology, Antimicrobials, Sex Differences
Dr Helina Marshall (Deputy)
Chanellors Fellow at the University of Strathclyde
Research Interest: Microbiology
Prof Terry Smith
Director of Biomedical Sciences Research Complex at University of St Andrews
Research Interest: Biosynthesis, Parasites, Lipidomics and Neglected Diseases
Dr David J Hughes (Deputy)
Lecturer at St Andrews University
Research Interest: Virology, Innate Immunity, Interferon, Virus-Host Interactions, Signalling, Viral Persistence, Ubiquitin-like Proteins
Dr Jamie Whitelaw
Lecturer at the University of Strathclyde
Research Interest: Parasitology, Toxoplasma, Microscopy, Host-Pathogen Interactions, Cytoskeleton, Cell Migration, Actin
Dr William Gordon Mackay (Deputy)
Reader in Infection Control and Research Lead at University of the West of Scotland
Research Interest: Infection Control, Microbial Ecology, Infectious Disease, Antimicrobials
Dr Jorunn Bos
Research Leader / Reader at the James Hutton Institute and University of Dundee
Research Interest: Understanding how aphids modify their host plants at the molecular level to enable successful infestations
Prof Gordon Ramage
Professor of Infection Prevention and Control
Research Interest: Biofilm Detection and Control
