Craig Watkins

Craig graduated with a degree in Microbiology from Aberdeen University and worked at the James Hutton Institute in Dundee (formally SCRI) before attaining a DPhil at the University of Oxford.

After a postdoctoral position on gene therapy at Leeds University, he joined the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh for the next 5 years, working on Orf virus vaccines and host (sheep) responses to Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP, the infectious agent responsible for Johne’s disease in ruminants).

Craig joined the Moredun Research Institute as a postdoctoral scientist in 2003. Over the past 18 years, Craig’s interests have applied molecular approaches to the understanding of host immune responses to disease and, bacterial genomics, with respect to (MAP). Recently his research has extended to studying the microbiota of the ruminant intestine infected with MAP and/or co-infected with parasites.

Craig supervises a number of postgraduate students and is also closely involved in preparing and presenting science to the public through the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) network and the Communications team at the Institute.

He is a member of the Microbiology Society, International Association for Paratuberculosis, British Society for Immunology, STEM Ambassadors, International Veterinary Vaccinology Network (IVVN) and Bacterial Vaccines Network (BactiVac).