£14m facility to aid poultry research
Work has begun on a £14 million research facility at the University of Edinburgh's Easter Bush campus. Resources at the new National Avian Research Facility (NARF) will be made available to both national and international researchers studying issues affecting avian health, including the spread of infections.
The key aims for the new centre include improving sustainability in poultry production and benefitting human health through reducing food-borne diseases. The facility is in collaboration with the Roslin Institute, and will enhance research in areas such as avian immunology, vaccine development and the role that genes play in disease resistance.
Professor David Hume, Director of The Roslin Institute, said: "This build...reflects the growing portfolio of research that The Roslin Institute is undertaking with the aim of improving the health and welfare of chickens."
The NARF will include sterile areas for poultry with different genetic compositions that are resistant to viruses, bacteria and parasites. The centre will also include conventional avian accommodation and laboratories for research.
Professor Pete Kaiser of The Roslin Institute, who will head up the new facility, said: "Chicken is a production animal of major economic importance around the world with 50 billion birds being bred every year. This facility will provide The Roslin Institute and its partners with an outstanding environment for undertaking the studies that will lead to major improvements in poultry health and welfare."
Construction of the facility is due to be completed in late 2014, and is being funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Roslin Foundation and the University of Edinburgh.
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