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Centenary

2020 is the year we celebrated 100 years of The Moredun Foundation.

From our humble beginnings in the 1920s as the Animal Diseases Research Association based in Moredun, Edinburgh, to the major research hub we are today at the foot of the Pentland hills, our ethos has remained the same: to work in direct partnership with the farming community and address their needs with regards to livestock health and welfare.

This page collates some of the exciting projects we undertook as part of our Centenary celebrations.

Centenary film

Simon Cousins Media Ltd was commissioned to make a film that would be our centrepiece for our 2020 Centenary celebrations.

The film charts the history, scientific breakthroughs and ethos of the organisation set up by Scottish Farmers to find treatments, cures and vaccines for diseases affecting farm livestock health and welfare.

Watch the video in our Resources section:

100 Years of The Moredun Foundation

HRH The Princess Royal - Celebrating 100 Years of Moredun

In November 2021, HRH The Princess Royal joined Moredun staff and special guest speakers in celebrating 100 years of research and education regarding livestock health and welfare.

Watch the video in our Resources section:

Centenary +1 event

The Moredun BioBus - Our new outreach bus and mobile laboratory

When Moredun was first established in the 1920s, some of the work was carried out on board a refurbished bus that housed a mobile laboratory. The bus became something of an iconic image for Moredun over the years, and so we are pleased to announce that it has made a comeback in celebration of our Centenary in 2020… With a few updates!

The Moredun BioBus is now parked up at its new home outside the Moredun Research Institute, ready to go on the road in 2021 and beyond.

The  BioBus will be used for outreach events where mobile technology will be taken out to the field, onto the farm and into schools. Our aim is to educate the wider public about our research and to promote the benefits of raising livestock with a high level of health and welfare.

The Moredun BioBus parked outside of the Moredun building.

OnFarm Podcast

In Moredun’s 100th year, OnFARM’s Monty is learning about the history and heritage of this little-known Scottish success story over the course of a 6-episode podcast mini series.

Listen to them in our Resources section.

Centenary Podcasts

Science Stories

In celebration of 100 years of research and education, we are publishing a special series of ‘Science Stories’ written by Prof Julie Fitzpatrick.

All are available to view and download in our Resources section.


Science Stories – Vol. 1

In Volume 1 of our very special centenary “Science Stories”, we cover some of our greatest work in recent time:

  • Malignant Catarrhal Fever (MCF)
  • Poultry Red Mite vaccine development
  • Enzootic Abortion in ewes
  • Foodborne Pathogens
  • Cryptosporidiosis
  • Sheep Scab

 

Science Stories – Vol. 2

We contine our journey through key research carreid out at Moredun over the years in Volume 2.

  • Liver and rumen fluke
  • Vaccine studies for Teladorsagia circumcincta and Ostertagia ostertagi
  • Progess towards eradication of BVD Virus in Scotland
  • Johne’s Disease
  • OPA – ‘Jaagsiekte’
  • Developing a ‘food safety’ vaccine for E.Coli 0157
  • Moredun’s role in the past, present and future in livestock vaccines and diagnostics

 

Science Stories – Vol. 3

We continue our journey through key research carried out at Moredun over the years in Volume 3.

  • A Tale of Two Squirrels
  • Anthelmintic Resistance – The Worms Are Turning!
  • A Novel vaccine for Pasteurellosis Pheumonia in Ruminants
  • Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies
  • Neosporosis – A Major Cause of Abortion in Cattle
  • Smart Sheep for Smarter Farming
  • Moredun’s Role in the Past, Present and Future of Livestock Disease Control

 

Science Stories – Vol. 4

Final edition of our journey through key research carried out at Moredun over the years in Volume 4.

  • Toxoplasmosis
  • Barbervax
  • Moredun’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
  • Louping Ill
  • Controlling Immunity
  • All Creatures Great and Small
  • One Health

Livestock Disease Fact Sheets

In celebration of 100 years of research and education, we are making some of our Livestock Disease Fact Sheets publicly available that would normally only be accessible to paying members of the Moredun Foundation.

All are available to read and download in our Resources section.


Sustainable parasite control: Test, don’t guess!

Parasite infections are an economic as well as an animal health and welfare concern in livestock systems. Many are endemic in the UK, and in this fact sheet we explore the control of three major parasites: liver fluke, roundworm and sheep scab, focusing on their sheep and cattle hosts.

 

Equine Grass Sickness: A research update and look to the future

Grass Sickness is a devastating disease of horses, ponies and donkeys in which there is damage to parts of the nervous system which control involuntary functions, producing the main symptom of gut paralysis. The Moredun Foundation Equine Grass Sickness Fund (EGSF) is the only registered charity in the UK raising funds specifically for research into Grass Sickness.

Research Fellowships

In our Centenary year we are very keen to fund raise to develop new opportunities for early career researchers with a passion and interest in finding new solutions to combat livestock disease through research, innovation and knowledge exchange.

We will be setting up various initiatives to help us towards this goal and if you would like to help or find out more about the project please do get in touch with us at: Lee.Innes@moredun.ac.uk or info@moredun.org.uk

More information about Moredun’s Research Fellowships

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