Tackling animal & zoonotic infections together

传染病深刻影响养殖动物的生产力和福利，威胁可持续农业和全球粮食安全。此外，从养殖动物传播给人类的人畜共患病造成了高昂的社会和经济代价，并具有大流行的可能性。这些挑战与我们时代的许多最紧迫的问题交织在一起，包括抗菌素耐药性的上升以及畜牧业对气候和环境的影响。此外，随着病原体的进化以逃避疫苗介导的免疫，药物变得不那么有效，动物和人畜共患疾病的控制正变得更加具有挑战性。这项提议将两个由BBSRC赞助的研究所结合在一起，这两个研究所提供了抗击动物和人畜共患疾病的国家能力。我们提供独特的基础设施、专业知识和资源，并在整个研究和创新体系中建立了深厚的联系。我们的组织在培养应对动物和人畜共患传染病所需的下一代科学家、技术专家和研究专业人员方面具有全球重要性。在这样做的过程中，我们解决了UKRI定义为脆弱的技能和能力。我们将利用这一地位促进跨部门和跨学科的知识交流和合作。特别是，我们将利用我们与企业(特别是动物制药和养殖公司)以及公共或第三部门组织的广泛合作网络来增强孔隙度，并培养不同类型和职业阶段的员工，包括那些支持研究(例如，在商业发展、法律咨询、动物使用、生物安全、设施管理等方面)的员工。我们的组织研究优势包括：但不限于：对宿主和病原体相互作用的世界级基础研究，以设计新的或改进的疾病控制解决方案。开发和评估兽用疫苗(由我们的联合免疫学工具箱和国际兽疫学网络支持)。疫苗制造和平台技术的创新(例如，皮尔布赖特兽用疫苗创新和制造中心)。与育种公司合作，选择培育对传染病具有增强抵抗力或韧性的动物。工程生物学，赋予对传染病的抵抗力(例如，通过基因组编辑或转基因)。开发抗生素的替代品。开发特异和敏感的诊断测试，以快速检测病原体和抗药性。研究传染病的3R新方法。追踪新病原体的进化和传播并模拟干预的影响。使用人工智能来预测新病原体的取向和风险。我们与企业的广泛合作伙伴关系为在全球范围内实施进展提供了一条关键途径。此外，我们与低收入和中等收入国家的公共和第三部门组织合作，为小农提供收益，以减轻贫困和营养不良(例如，与国际畜牧研究所合作)。

Infectious diseases profoundly affect the productivity and welfare of farmed animals and threaten sustainable agriculture and global food security. Moreover, zoonoses that transmit to humans from farmed animals exert high societal and economic costs and have pandemic potential. These challenges intersect with many of the most urgent issues of our era, including the rise of antimicrobial resistance and impacts of animal agriculture on the climate and environment. Moreover, control of animal and zoonotic diseases is becoming more challenging as pathogens evolve to escape vaccine-mediated immunity and drugs become less effective.This proposal brings together two BBSRC-sponsored Institutes that offer national capability to combat animal and zoonotic diseases. We offer unique infrastructure, expertise and resources and have deep connections across the research and innovation system. Our organisations are globally important in training the next generation of scientists, technical specialists and research professionals needed to tackle animal and zoonotic infections. In doing so, we address skills and capacities defined by UKRI as vulnerable. We will harness this position to catalyse knowledge exchange and collaboration, both across sectors and disciplines. In particular, we will use our extensive network of collaborations with businesses (particularly animal pharmaceutical and breeding companies) and public or third sector organisations to enhance porosity and develop staff of diverse types and career stages, including those who support research (e.g. in business development, legal advice, animal use, biosafety, facility management, etc)Research strengths our organisations include, but are not limited to:World-class fundamental research on host-pathogen interactions to design new or improved solutions for disease control.Development & evaluation of veterinary vaccines (supported by our joint Immunological Toolbox & International Veterinary Vaccinology Network).Innovation in vaccine manufacture & platform technologies (e.g. Centre for Veterinary Vaccine Innovation & Manufacturing at Pirbright).Selective breeding of animals with enhanced resistance or resilience to infectious diseases in partnership with breeding companies.Engineering Biology to confer resistance to infectious diseases (e.g. via genome editing or transgenesis).Development of alternatives to antibiotics.Development of specific & sensitive diagnostic tests for rapid detection of pathogens & drug resistances. Novel 3Rs approaches to study infectious diseases. Tracing the evolution & spread of novel pathogens & modelling the impact of interventions.Use of Artificial Intelligence to predict the tropism & risk of emerging pathogens. Our extensive partnerships with businesses provide a key route to implement advances at global scale. Moreover, we partner with public and third sector organisations in low- and middle-income countries to deliver gains for smallholder farmers to alleviate poverty and malnutrition (e.g. in collaboration with the International Livestock Research Institute).