Dr Alexander Corbishley
Senior Lecturer in Farm Animal Practice
Contact details
Address
- Street
-
The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute
Easter Bush Campus
Midlothian - City
- Post code
- EH25 9RG
Availability
Willingness to take Ph.D. students: Yes
Background
Alex studied veterinary medicine at The University of Cambridge. He intercalated in Natural Sciences and after graduating in 2008, he worked as a farm animal vet in private practices in Northamptonshire, Shropshire/Cheshire and Lancashire. During his time in private practice, he also developed a number of web based herd health reporting tools to monitor milk quality and composition.
In 2012, Alex undertook a PhD at the Roslin and Moredun research institutes. His project was sponsored by Bioniche Life Sciences (Canada) as part of their public health vaccine programme to characterise the cellular immune response of cattle during Escherichia coli O157:H7 colonisation. He undertook an industrial secondment with Bioniche in 2014, where he learned about industrial vaccine development, Good Manufacturing Practice and the public health vaccine market.
He started working as a lecturer at the R(D)SVS in 2015 and now divides his time between clinical and teaching responsibilities in the Farm Animal Division and research in population health. He has a particular interest in zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance, immunology/vaccinology and metabolic status.
Qualifications
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Edinburgh: Cellular immune responses of cattle to Escherichia coli O157:H7
Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge: An investigation into the relationship between early lactation milk composition and days from calving to first insemination and conception
Bachelor of Arts, University of Cambridge: Pharmacological investigation of ion channel function in the 9.5 day murine embryonic heart
Professional Qualifications
2016 Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, FHEA
2015 Official Veterinarian, OV
2012 Member of the Royal Society of Biology, MRSB
2008 Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, MRCVS
Responsibilities & affiliations
Production Animal
Dairy Herd Health and Productivity Service
School
Farm Animal Teaching, Student Support (PT), Admissions (MMIs), Infection Control Committee (Chair), Veterinary Ethics Review Committee, Year Director (4th Year)
Postgraduate teaching
Year 1
Animal Husbandry
Year 3
Professional & Clinical Skills 3
Year 4
Farm Animal (Course Organiser), Professional & Clinical Skills 4
Year 5
Final Year Preparation, Final Year Rotations, Student Selected Component 2
All Years
Professional Development
SRC Projects
Biomedical Sciences
Diagnostics and Therapeutics for Infectious Diseases Honours Elective
MVetSci (online taught masters)
Recent Advances in Production Animal Practice
Mastitis
Research summary
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Clinical farm animal veterinary medicine
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Population health and metabolic status
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Immunology and vaccinology
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Zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance
Current research interests
Our role as farm animal veterinary surgeons is to support the farming community to profitably produce food that is safe, in a manner that contributes positively to the environment and is respectful of animal welfare. Infectious diseases in farm animals have a substantial impact on productivity and welfare, whilst also acting as a source of infection for humans. In addition, the use of antibiotics to treat infectious diseases in farm animals is under intense scrutiny as a selector of antibiotic resistance genes in both veterinary and human pathogens. My research aims to contribute to our ability to better control infectious diseases in farm animals. I am particularly interested in: 1) The interaction between metabolic status and immune function in livestock 2) How improved management and new technologies can be used to improve immune function and vaccine performance in farm animals 3) The quantitative assessment of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes in commercial production systems and how this information can inform best practice and policy 4) The control of zoonoses in livestock. During the COVID19 pandemic, I used my experience in population health and zoonoses to lead work to establish the surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater in Scotland.Research activities
- Responsible antibiotic use on beef farms
- IGMM 'Science Insights' Work Experience Programme
- Ruminant Immunology Webinar
- Quantifying, benchmarking and rationalising farm medicine use in the beef industry – Novel best practices in communicating with food system stakeholders
- The Value of Health Planning
- World of Work
- Management of the suckler cow and calf around calving
- Veterinary Research (Journal)
- Veterinary Research (Journal)
- Livestock (Journal)
-
Effect of neonatal immunoglobulin status on the outcomes of spring-born suckler calves
In:
Veterinary Record, vol. 192
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.2587
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels in Scotland’s wastewater
(9 pages)
In:
Scientific Data, vol. 9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01788-3
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
The cost of host genetic resistance on body condition: evidence from divergently selected sheep
In:
Evolutionary Applications, vol. 15, pp. 1374-1389
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13442
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Comparative assessment of filtration- and precipitation-based methods for the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses from wastewater
In:
Microbiology Spectrum, vol. 10
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01102-22
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Site specific relationships between COVID-19 cases and SARS-CoV-2 viral load in wastewater treatment plant influent
In:
Environmental Science and Technology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c05029
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Veterinary interventions to improve neonatal survival on British beef and sheep farms: a qualitative study.
In:
Frontiers in Veterinary Science
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.619889
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Risk factor analysis for beef calves requiring assisted vaginal delivery in Great Britain
In:
Veterinary Record, vol. 188
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.8
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia secondary to haemotrophic mycoplasma infection in a pet ewe
In:
Vet Record Case Reports
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/vetreccr-2020-001172
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Making waves : wastewater-based epidemiology for COVID-19 - approaches and challenges for surveillance and prediction
In:
Water Research
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2020.116404
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Shedding of SARS-CoV-2 in feces and urine and its potential role in person-to-person transmission and the environment-based spread of COVID-19
In:
Science of the Total Environment
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141364
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print)