The Roslin Institute
Roslin logo

UK's Chief Veterinary Officer visits the Institute

Christine Middlemiss, the UK’s chief spokesperson on animal health and welfare issues, visited the Institute to hear about our research.

Christine Middlemiss and Campus Operating Officer Val White

On 27 July, the UK's Chief Veterinary Officer, Christine Middlemiss, visited The Roslin Institute. Her role includes acting as Head of Profession for all veterinary surgeons in the government’s employment and shaping UK animal health policy, including for the control of animal diseases.

Christine was particularly interested to hear about how researchers at the Institute are using genome editing and selective breeding to protect animals from diseases and to explore opportunities for joint working on collection and sharing of data on livestock health and disease across the UK.

The day included a series of talks about these areas as well as strategies for control of bovine tuberculosis, foodborne zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance, followed by a tour of the campus and discussions with Professor David Argyle, head of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and Professor Geoff Simm, head of the Global Academy for Agriculture and Food Security.

We are delighted to welcome Christine Middlemiss to The Roslin Institute and to introduce her to our research at Roslin. In particular, we were able to explain recent advances in animal breeding and  genome editing as powerful tools to control infectious diseases of livestock and aquaculture species in the UK and beyond.

Professor Eleanor RileyDirector, The Roslin Institute

This was a great opportunity to demonstrate to a key stakeholder how our research across varied disciplines can help farmers to improve agricultural productivity and animal welfare, and to underline the importance of long-term investment in our expertise and infrastructure.

Professor Mark StevensDeputy Director, The Roslin Institute

Related links

New video: Dr Simon Lillico on uses of gene editing

Gene-edited pigs are resistant to billion dollar virus, study finds

Martin Whitfield MP visits the Institute and Science Outreach Centre

New UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer appointed