Professor Simone Meddle
Personal Chair of Behavioural Neuroendocrinology
Contact details
Address
- Street
-
The Roslin Institute
Easter Bush Campus
Midlothian - City
- Post code
- EH25 9RG
Availability
Willingness to take Ph.D. students: Yes
Behavioural Neuroendocrinology, Neuroscience, Animal Welfare
Background
Professor Simone Meddle is Head of The Division of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences has a Personal Chair in Behavioural Neuroendocrinology and is the Mary Dick Chair of Physiology at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Medicine. Simone became a Lecturer in Veterinary Biomedical Sciences at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Medicine in 2005 and was promoted to Senior lecturer in 2008 and Reader in 2011. Simone is a Group Leader at the Roslin Institute and was the Lead of the BBSRC Institute Strategic program Improving Animal Production and Welfare (2017- 2022). She leads a research group funded by the BBSRC, NSF, NC3R's, The Leverhulme Trust and The Royal Society that investigates how environmental and social cues can trigger functionally important behaviours such as response to light, stress, food intake, reproduction, photoperiodism and aggression by examining the neuroendocrine system and behaviour. She is also investigating the neurobiology of positive welfare (environmental enrichment) and behaviour. Simone served on BBSRC committee A member as a Chair and as a core member. Simone teaches extensively on a number of undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
Simone graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Zoology from the University of Bristol in 1991. Under the supervision of Prof. Sir Brian Follett she researched photoperiodic time measurement in birds and was awarded a PhD from The University of Bristol in 1995. She then undertook a post-doctoral research project with Prof. Gareth Leng and Prof. John Russell in the Department of Physiology, Medical School at The University of Edinburgh where she investigated the neural pathways controlling parturition. In 1996 she went to work in the laboratory of Prof. John Wingfield at the University of Washington, USA, to study hormone, brain-behaviour interactions in wild song birds, including in those breeding in the Arctic. Simone returned to the UK in 1999 to take up research positions back at The University of Edinburgh, where her research focused on topics that included stress physiology, maternal behaviour and learning and memory.
Collaborative Activity
Current external collaborators include:
Professor John Wingfield (UC Davis, USA)
Professor Sue Healy (University of St Andrews, UK)
Dr Jesse Krause (University of Nevada, USA)
Dr Jonathan Perez (University of South Alabama, USA)
Professor Michele Johnson (Trinity University, USA)
Dr Jess Martin (University of Newcastle, UK)
Professor Karen Spencer (University of St Andrews, UK)
Professor Alistair Lawrence (Scotland's Rural College, UK)
Professor Oliver Bosch (Universität Regensburg, Germany)
Professor Tyler Stevenson (University of Glasgow, UK)
Area of Expertise
Research expertise includes: Behavioural Neuroendocrinology, Neuroscience, Animal welfare, Field work, Avian Physiology
Qualifications
1992 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Bristol, UK
1991 Bachelor of Science (BSc (Hons) Zoology), University of Bristol, UK
Responsibilities & affiliations
Fellow of The Royal Society of Biology
Undergraduate teaching
2020-2021: Director for Second Year BVM&S.
2005-2020: Director for First Year BVM&S.
2007-2021: Director for Intercalated Degrees for BVM&S.
2010-2014: Exam Board Chair for BVM&S Animal Body 1 & Animal Body 3 spot exam organiser.
2018-2021: BVM&S Board of Studies
2004-2011: Course Organiser for Hormones Emotionality and Behaviour, Medical Biology BSc. (Hons). I designed, developed and gave all lectures on the course.
2005-present: Section Organiser for BVM&S Animal Body 3.
2005-present: Personal Tutor for BVM&S students.
2005-present: Exam Board Member for the following BVM&S courses: Animal Body 1, Animal Body 3 .
2004-2011: Exam Board Member Medical Biology BSc. (Hons).
2006-2011: Staff / Student Liaison Officer for Medical Biology BSc. (Hons).
Past and current teaching on the following courses:
BVM&S: Animal Body 1, Animal Body 3, Animal Body 4, professional & clinical skills and graduate entry. MSc. / Diploma in Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare. MSc. Research Animal Biosciences. Reproductive Biology (BSc. Hons). Medical Biology (BSc. Hons) Neuroendocrinology module, Physiology (BSc. Hons) and Neuroscience (BSc. Hons) and Medical Biology first year.
1995-present: Supervisor for Physiology Hons BSc. and Neuroscience Hons BSc. Research Projects. Supervised laboratory research projects at undergraduate level.
2005-present: Supervisor of BVM&S undergraduate Student Research Component Projects.
1995-present: Supervisor of Undergraduate Vacation Research Projects.
1995-present: Supervised field based and laboratory projects for visiting undergraduate and postgraduate students from the UK, Japan, USA, Malaysia, Kuwait, Nigeria, Thailand, Germany, France and Greece.
2016: Designed and delivered training for East Bio DTP Students.
Information correct as of 2024
Open to PhD supervision enquiries?
Yes
Current PhD students supervised
Louisa Kosin. The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh, East Bio DTP (2023-2027).
Past PhD students supervised
Principal Supervisor for PhD students
Ailsa Mackay. Centre for Integrative Physiology Studentship, The University of Edinburgh (2005-2008).
Sarah Caughey. Centre for Integrative Physiology Studentship, The University of Edinburgh (2006-2010).
Yana Aleksandrova. The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh, East Bio DTP (2013-2017).
Emma Tivey. The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh, (2018-2021).
Second Supervisor for PhD students
Zoe Hodgson. Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh (2001-2004).
Olivia Haggis. Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh (2006-2010).
Zachary Hall. The University of St Andrews (2011-2014).
Natalia Grundwald. The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh (2011-2015).
Yu-Ting Lai. The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh (2011-2015).
Doris Bayer. The University of Regensburg, Germany (2012-2015).
Sophie Edwards. The University of St Andrews, East Bio DTP Studentship (2015-2019).
Tayla Hammond. SRUC and The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh (2018-2021).
Elisabetta Tolla. The University of Glasgow (2018-2021).
Research summary
Adaptations of the neuroendocrine system: hormonal and neural regulation of reproduction and behaviour. Animal Welfare: Neurobiology of positive welfare and behaviour.
Current research interests
I have several lines of research currently underway all related to my specific interest in behavioural neuroendocrinology. My neuroendocrine research focuses on how environmental cues can trigger the expression of functionally important behaviours. This is a question of significant importance in neuroscience and animal welfare. Neuroendocrine-related behaviours are thought to be initiated or enabled by peripheral hormone secretion, and appear to involve specific neurohormonal actions of peptides within the brain. The exact mechanisms by which hormones affect the apparent organisational changes in neuronal circuitry and the specific chemical signals involved in sustaining the resulting behaviours, are questions fundamental to understanding behavioural disorders. Hormonal and neural regulation of social behaviour including aggression and reproductive behaviour including maternal behaviour. Supported by BBSRC. Neuroendocrine control of reproduction, pregnancy and parturition. Supported by The Welcome Trust and BBSRC. Hormonal and neural regulation of food intake.Supported by the BBSRC. Adaptations in neuroendocrine stress response mechanisms in wild free living birds. Effects of light and early life stress in later life in birds. Supported by BBSRC. Animal welfare; neurobiology and Indicators of positive animal welfare. Collaborative research with Prof. Alistair Lawrence, SRUC. Supported by BBSRC and NC3R's. The circadian system, photoperiodism and seasonality. Physiological and neuroendocrine adaptations to breeding in the Arctic. Collaborative research with Prof. John Wingfield, UC Davis, USA. Supported by NSF and BBSRC. Neural and endocrinological bases of nest building, spatial learning and memory in food-storing birds. Collaborative research with Prof. Sue Healy, University of St Andrews. Supported by BBSRC. Identification of the photoreceptor for light detection in the avian brain. Collaborative research with Prof. Tyler Stevenson, The University of Glasgow. Supported by The Leverhulme Trust.Current project grants
£394,110 BBSRC Mid-range equipment for biosciences research: ALERT 2023 (2024-2025) “Unravelling challenges to lifelong health by next generation Mass Spectrometry” Co-Investigator.
£25,000 Roslin Institute International Institutional Award (2024) “Expression and structure of non-visual opsins in the green anole lizard (Anolis carolinensis) in relation to seasonal breeding biology” Principal Investigator.
£721,966 BBSRC Research Grant (2023-2026) “The transition from a sexual to a parental brain via nest building” Co-Investigator.
£701,985 BBSRC Research Grant (2023-2026) “Breathless Birds: Does air hunger impact the welfare of poultry at slaughter?” Co-Investigator.
£718,122 BBSRC Research Grant (2021-2024) “Light in early life: understanding the mechanisms of embryonic photoreception to improve poultry welfare and production” Principal Investigator.
£643,979 BBSRC Research Grant (2021-2024) “Understanding the resilience of wild birds to climate change: seasonal genomics of the annual migratory breeding cycle” Co-Investigator.
Past project grants
£30,000 BBSRC Impact Acceleration Account (2023-2024) “Investigation into chick welfare following hatching: Are feed restricted broiler chicks hungry?” Principal Investigator.
£15,400 Animal Welfare Foundation (2022-2023) “Light during incubation: A significant, and understudied, welfare challenge for poultry” Co-Investigator.
£19,142 Roslin Institute Strategic Program Pump-priming (2022-2023) “Synchronising hatch with light: investigating the effects of light on chicken brain development using cell-type-specific transcriptomics” Principal Investigator.
£341,227 NC3Rs Research Grant (2021-2023) “Refinement of tickling protocols to improve positive animal welfare in laboratory rats” Co-Investigator.
£2,440 British Society for Neuroendocrinology Vacation Studentship (2023) “Investigation into the neuroendocrine control of avian food intake in early life”. Principal Investigator.
£8,312 Roslin Institute Strategic Program Pump-priming (2020-2021) “Bringing light to avian neurobiology: demonstration of a light activated neural switch in a genome edited chicken” Co-Investigator.
£534,948 BBSRC Research Grant (2019-2022) “Hungry, stressed chicks? Understanding hypothalamic regulation of appetite in birds” Principal Investigator.
£17,679 Roslin Institute Strategic Program Pump-priming (2019-2020) “Trans-generational effects of dietary methyl donors and early life stress on quail and implications for poultry management” Co-Investigator.
£23,258 BBSRC Flexible Talent Mobility Award (2018-2019) “Understanding appetite in birds to transform food production: When do chicks become hungry after hatch?” Principal Investigator.
£57,447 Institutional Strategic Support Fund (ISSF3) (2018-2019) “Priming the development of an interdisciplinary Edinburgh centre of excellence in pig neuroimmune research supporting agricultural, animal bioscience and human translational medicine applications”. Co-Investigator.
£3,345,150 BBSRC Institute Strategic Program Grant (2017- 2022) ISP3 Improving Animal Production and Welfare. Lead.
£246,909 The Leverhulme Trust (2017-2020) “Identification of the photoreceptor for light detection in the avian brain” Co-Investigator.
£743,257 BBSRC Research Grant (2016-2019) “Unravelling the networks that regulate seasonal rhythmicity in the epigenome”. Principal Investigator.
£3,300 BBSRC EASTBIO In vivo skills award (2016) “Consequences of early life stress on social behaviour and reproduction in birds”. Principal Investigator.
£3,300 BBSRC EASTBIO In vivo skills award (2016) “Physical cognition and nest building in birds”. Co-Investigator.
£436,000 National Science Foundation, USA Research Grant (2016-2019) “Modulation of the Adrenocortical Responses to Perturbations of the Environment”. Co-Investigator.
£2,170 British Society for Neuroendocrinology Vacation Studentship (2016) “The neuroendocrine control of maternal behaviour in the domestic hen”. Principal Investigator.
£1,200 World’s Poultry Science Association Vacation Studentship (2016) “Developmental programming of bone growth using a prenatal corticosterone exposure protocol in Japanese quail”. Principal Investigator.
£1,200 World’s Poultry Science Association Vacation Studentship (2016) for “The control of maternal behaviour in the domestic hen”. Principal Investigator.
£600 British Society for Neuroendocrinology Vacation Studentship (2016) for “The Avian Paternal Brain: A Seasonal Comparison of the Mesotocin System” Principal Investigator.
£600 British Society for Neuroendocrinology Vacation Studentship (2016) “Investigating the Role of Mesotocin in Altered Social Behavior of Prenataly Stressed Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica)”. Principal Investigator.
£90,000 The Roslin Foundation (2015-2017) “Optogenetic elucidation of neural circuits underlying feeding behaviour in poultry”. Principal Investigator.
£2,170 British Society for Neuroendocrinology Vacation Studentship (2015) “The neuroendocrine control of maternal behaviour in the domestic hen”. Principal Investigator.
£2,250 Society for Reproduction and Fertility Vacation Studentship (2015) “To investigate the role of mesotocin in regulating reproduction in a brood parasite, the brown headed cowbird”. Principal Investigator.
£40,940 BBSRC Japan Partnering Award (2015-2019) “Regulatory mechanisms of parental behaviour by neuropeptides and neurosteroids” Principal Investigator.
£74,000 BBSRC DTP PhD Studentship (2015-2019) “Consequences of early life stress on social behaviour and the reproductive system in birds” Principal Investigator.
£74,000 BBSRC DTP PhD Studentship (2015-2019) “Physical cognition and nest building in birds” Co-Investigator.
£76,204 BBSRC DTP PhD Studentship (2013-2017) “The neuroendocrine and genetic control of maternal behaviour in the domestic hen” Principal Investigator.
£75,945 BBSRC 3 year Research Grant (2011-2015) “The Cognition of Nest Building”. Co-Investigator.
£511,768 National Science Foundation, 3 year Research Grant (2010-2013) “Hormonal Interactions in a Vertebrate Forebrain Pathway” Co-Investigator.
£597,309 BBSRC 3 year Research Grant (2008-2011) “The role of vasopressin in olfactory processing” Co-Investigator.
£253,822 BBSRC 3 year Research Grant (2005-2008) “Neuroendocrine Mechanisms Underlying Female Aggression” Principal Investigator.
£5,500 British Council Academic Research Collaboration (2008-2010) “Regulation of maternal aggression by the neuropeptide vasopressin” .
£3,600 British Council Academic Research Collaboration (2007-2009) “The role of vasopressin in olfactory learning and memory” .
£14,840 Royal Society Research Grant Award (2005-2006) “The effects of maternal investment in the embryonic environment on later offspring development” Co-Investigator.
£90,000 The Welcome Trust VIP Award (2003) Principal Investigator.
£2,000 University of Edinburgh Development Trust Small Project Award (2004) Co-Investigator.
£1,000 National Science Foundation, USA Ebird grant (2005) Principal Investigator.
£1,000 National Science Foundation, USA Ebird grant (2006) Principal Investigator.
£1,000 National Science Foundation, USA Ebird grant (2007) Principal Investigator.
£1,400 Royal Society Travel Award (2004) Principal Investigator.
£1,441 Royal Society Travel Award (2002) Principal Investigator.
£1,000 University of Edinburgh Development Trust Small Project Award (2010) Principal Investigator.