Our staff

My main research interests focus on transcriptomics and genomics in farmed animals in both temperate and tropical regions. I am particularly interested in functional annotation of farmed animal genomes and the transcriptional control of complex traits in small ruminants.

My group researches the functional relationships between the microbiota, host and environment in various animal species, with a particular focus on avians. 

The development of simple-to-use systems for handling and reformatting data for genetic analyses.

Comparative & functional genetics, genome biology, avian and mammalian craniofacial biology and genetics

I work in the field of avian genomics with a particular interest in ‘resilience’ of birds, whether that be with respect to disease resistance (with a focus on Marek's disease and avian flu) or environmental adaptation. I also work as part of  the Centre for Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH), investigating the genetics of indigenous African chickens.

The understanding on how vertebrate genes are switched on and off during differentiation to control cell fate and to specify different lineages is the molecular basis for any biological phenomenon. My research area is focused on many aspects of chromatin biology with a specific focus on epigenetic regulators. Chromatin Biology is a very strong research area at the University of Edinburgh and the research conducted at the Roslin Institute will take advantage of using many species to develop comparative (epi)genomics approaches to understand the complexity of gene regulation during evolution.

We are trying to understand how aquatic animals respond to challenges such as disease and environmental stressors, and the molecular regulation of those pathways to make them more resilient to those challenges. The ways in which fish and prawns respond to stressors might be shared with other animals, while many others will be unique and it’s understanding those mechanisms, and understanding how these amazing creatures respond and thrive in a dynamic marine environment, that I’m passionate about.