Supporting veterinary vaccinology research
Image of BSI Director of External Affiairs Dr Jennie Evans presenting at the event

Supporting veterinary immunology research is a core part of the BSI’s remit. Advocating for increased investment and support for veterinary immunology has been a central part of the BSI’s policy work ever since 2021, when we published a joint report with the International Veterinary Vaccinology Network (IVVN), which provided recommendations on how the UK could maintain its leading role in veterinary vaccinology research.

New funding call

Given this background, it has been very pleasing to see one of the recommendations from this report – for strategic long-term investment in veterinary vaccinology research – come to fruition through a recent funding call. The call was developed jointly by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to provide £12.5 million to fund projects that aim to engineer next-generation veterinary vaccine technology platforms.

Addressing unmet veterinary vaccine needs 

Animal vaccination plays a vital role in protecting UK and global health, wealth and security. Progress in veterinary vaccinology has underpinned significant advances in vaccines for both animals and humans, including in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Infectious diseases in livestock and wild animals pose a significant risk to food security and human health, both within the UK and beyond our borders, with new threats continually emerging. Worldwide, the cost of tackling these diseases adds up to many billions of dollars every year, with a disproportionate burden falling on low- and middle-income countries. 

The UK has a rich legacy of cutting-edge veterinary vaccinology research, supported by our innovative biotechnology industry and leading role in global vaccine research networks. However, despite current progress, there are still some significant gaps that remain in our ability to produce new vaccines at pace. This funding call aims to help overcome this by supporting ‘plug and play’ veterinary vaccine platforms, leveraging transformative technologies, interdisciplinary approaches, and cross-sector partnerships, focusing on the entire platform technology pipeline from antigen discovery to delivery and underpinned by immunological understanding to address unmet veterinary vaccine needs.

Supporting applications

As this new funding has a focus on bringing together researchers and partners with diverse skills, the BSI agreed to collaborate with the IVVN to co-host an in-person workshop in Nottingham in June to support potential applicants. Working with colleagues from the BBSRC and Defra, the workshop aimed to: 

  • Bring together researchers from across disciplines and sectors (e.g. AI, structural biology, engineering biology, immunomics) to facilitate networking and knowledge exchange and the formation of new interdisciplinary research collaborations
  • Allow participants to develop a richer understanding of the vaccine technology platform research in the UK and internationally
  • Ensure the readiness of the veterinary vaccinology research and innovation community to generate successful applications for a funding call.

The event saw approximately 80 researchers from around the UK and from many different disciplines come together to learn more about the funding call, network and explore collaboration opportunities. The day started with presentations from research leaders, including Dr Michael Francis, Professor Gary Entrican, Dr Joanne Del Rosario and Professor Linda King, providing insightful and thought-provoking talks around different aspects of veterinary vaccinology research, including immunology, artificial intelligence and engineering biology. The afternoon saw all participants take part in structured and informal networking sessions, which provided the opportunity for attendees to learn more about each other’s expertise, exchange ideas and explore potential future collaborations. 

Looking ahead

The energy in the room was palpable and we hope that the event helped to build lots of new connections that will result in successful applications to the grant call. Our thanks go to all the speakers, participants and colleagues from the funding bodies who helped to make the day such a success. 

As the funding call is now closed, we await with anticipation the announcement of the successful projects which will no doubt harness expertise from across the bioscience community and beyond to catalyse innovation and research in this crucial area. 

Jennie Evans
Director of External Affairs, BSI

Further information