Dr Jacqueline Smith
Group Leader

Contact details
Address
- Street
-
The Roslin Institute
Easter Bush Campus
Midlothian - City
- Post code
- EH25 9RG
Availability
Willingness to take Ph.D. students: Yes
Background
After obtaining my PhD in genetics from St. Andrews University I started working as a post-doc at The Roslin Institute, where I’ve been ever since. During this time, I worked alongside Prof Dave Burt in the field of avian genomics and now lead my own group in the same area. My interests lie primarily in examining the host response to avian viral infections and trying to understand the genetic mechanisms of resistance; particularly with regard to Marek’s Disease Virus and avian flu. I also work as part of the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and health (CTLGH), which is a collaboration between Roslin, SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College) and ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute) in Africa.
Area of Expertise
Research Expertise: Avian Genomics
Collaborative Activity
-
Dr. Janet Fulton, Hyline International, Iowa, USA
-
Dr. Rachel Hawken, Cobb-Vantress, Arkansas, USA
-
Prof. Jim Kaufman, Cambridge/Edinburgh, UK
-
Dr. Andrew Mason, York, UK
-
Dr. Kirsty Short, Queensland, Australia
-
Dr. Laurent Frantz, Munich/London
-
Dr. Lingzhao Fang, Edinburgh, UK
-
Prof. Emiliano Lasagna, Perugia, Italy
-
Prof. Morris Soller, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
- Prof. Olivier Hanotte, ILRI, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia/Nottingham, UK
-
Prof. Zhuo-Cheng Hou, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
Qualifications
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of St Andrews Bachelor of Science, University of St Andrews
Qualifications
PhD - Genetics - University of St. Andrews (1997)
BSc - Biochemistry with Microbiology - University of St. Andrews (1992)
Responsibilities & affiliations
Editorial Board of Genes
Senior Editorial Board Member for BMC Genomics
Section Editor for British Poultry Science
Associate Editor for Cytogenetic and Genome Research
Open to PhD supervision enquiries?
Yes
Past PhD students supervised
Research students
Joshua Mountford (MScR) (2020-2021)
Callum Donnelly (PhD student) (2017 to 2020)
Elvire Berthenet (internship from ENSTBB, Bordeaux) (2013-2014)
Research summary
Genomics of Avian Viral Infections
Current research interests
Development and improvement of avian genomes; Genetics of host resistance to avian influenza in different avian species; Identification of candidate genes for resistance to Marek’s Disease Virus; Analysis of genotypes and phenotypes for backyard poultry production in sub-Saharan Africa; Investigating seasonal genomics of wild sparrows-
RNA-seq analyses reveal environmental stress response genes in Lapland longspu
Research output: Contribution to Conference › Paper (Published) -
Network meta-analysis of chicken microarray data following avian influenza challenge – a comparison of high and lowly pathogenic strains
In:
Genes
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Accepted/In press) -
A high-quality genome and comparison of short- versus long-read transcriptome of the palaearctic duck Aythya fuligula (tufted duck)
In:
GigaScience, vol. 10
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giab081
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Whole genome sequences of 234 indigenous African chickens from Ethiopia
In:
Scientific Data
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Accepted/In press) -
Heterogeneity of Early Host Response to Infection with Four Low-Pathogenic H7 Viruses with a Different Evolutionary History in the Field
In:
Viruses, vol. 13
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/v13112323
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Parental methyl-enhanced diet and in ovo corticosterone affect first generation Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) development, behaviour and stress response.
In:
Scientific Reports
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99812-w
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Following the Trace of HVS II Mitochondrial region within the nine Iranian ethnic groups based on genetic population analysis
In:
Biochemical genetics
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10528-021-10141-z
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Three chromosome-level duck genome assemblies provide insights into genomic variation during domestication
In:
Nature Communications
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26272-1
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Correction to: Avian Immunome DB: an example of a user‑friendly interface for extracting genetic information
In:
BMC Bioinformatics, vol. 22, pp. 472
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12859-021-04388-x
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Comment/debate (Published) -
Transcriptomic analysis of caecal tissue in inbred chicken lines that exhibit heritable differences in resistance to Campylobacter jejuni
In:
BMC Genomics
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-021-07748-2
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
In the press
Media articles:
- Poultry World: https://www.poultryworld.net/Genetics/Articles/2020/6/DNA-insights-help-poultry-producers-in-developing-countries-595096E/ (June 2020)
- AnimalPharm: https://animalpharm.agribusinessintelligence.informa.com/AP017487/New-DNA-insight-could-help-poultry-farmers-in-developing-nations (June 2020)
- WATTAgNet: https://www.wattagnet.com/articles/40609-viral-dna-findings-could-better-protect-poultry-health?v=preview (June 2020)
- The Poultry Site: https://www.thepoultrysite.com/news/2020/10/genetics-breakthrough-could-help-treat-mareks-disease
- Food and Farming: https://www.foodandfarmingfutures.co.uk/Library/content/Detail.aspx?ctID=ZWVhNzBlY2QtZWJjNi00YWZiLWE1MTAtNWExOTFiMjJjOWU1&rID=MjQxODA=&sID=MQ==&bckToL=VHJ1ZQ==&qcf=&ph=VHJ1ZQ==
- Feedstuffs: https://www.feedstuffs.com/nutrition-health/gene-findings-suggest-mareks-disease-treatment-targets
- VetCommunity: https://vetcommunity.com/vc/newsitem/?story=19721
- MRCVS: https://mrcvs.co.uk/en/news/19721/DNA-discovery-could-help-treat-Marek's-disease"
- FarmingUK: https://www.farminguk.com/news/gene-findings-could-help-treat-costly-poultry-virus_56725.html
- Interview: DDI – women in data (https://ddi.ac.uk/women-in-data/)
- Interview: Meet our scientists (https://www.ed.ac.uk/roslin/news-events/meet-our-scientists/dr-jacqueline-smith)