Stewart Burgess
(PhD)Job Title:
Head of Department: Vaccines and Diagnostics
Contact Email:
stewart.burgess@moredun.ac.uk
Contact Number:
0131 4455 111
Address:
Moredun Research Institute,
Pentlands Science Park,
Bush Loan,
Penicuik,
Midlothian EH26 0PZ
Biography
Dr Stew Burgess is the Head of the Vaccines and Diagnostics Department at the Moredun Research Institute, Edinburgh. He also leads the sheep scab research group, which focuses on developing novel tools for the control of sheep scab, caused by skin infestation with the sheep scab mite, Psoroptes ovis.
Recent developments include a commercially available sheep scab blood test, which can detect infested animals before the appearance of clinical signs and also the first prototype sheep scab vaccine, which significantly reduces mite numbers and the size of the skin lesions, offering a more sustainable method of scab control in the future. Stew also leads several sheep scab control programmes across the UK, including the Rural Development Programme England (RDPE)-funded sheep scab control programme in England, a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)-funded control programme in Northern Ireland and a Scottish Government-funded control programme on the Western Isles of Lewis & Harris.
Current Research
- The main area of research in the sheep scab group at Moredun is the development of novel methods of disease control and diagnosis for the ectoparasitic mite, Psoroptes ovis.
- Infestation of sheep skin with ovisresults in the development of a rapid cutaneous inflammatory response, leading to the crusted skin lesions characteristic of sheep scab. Little is known regarding the mechanisms by which the mites instigate such a profound inflammatory response and in order to identify novel vaccine and chemotherapeutic targets a better understanding of the host-parasite relationship is essential.
- Following the publication of the first cases of resistance to the macrocyclic lactone (ML) injectables used for the control of sheep scab, we have recently been awarded a BBSRC grant to further investigate the underlying mechanisms of this resistance in ovis. This project seeks to identify the genes involved in resistance and aims to identify diagnostic targets for the identification of ML-resistant mites to facilitate targeted use of the MLs in the future.
- The group have developed the first prototype vaccine for control of sheep scab. This is a recombinant subunit cocktail vaccine, which provides protection against sheep scab infestation, resulting in reductions in lesion size and mite numbers of between 70-80%. Current research, funded by the Scottish Government, is focussed on preparing the vaccine for commercialisation.
- We have also developed a highly sensitive and specific blood test (ELISA) for the diagnosis of sheep scab, which is capable of detecting the disease within 2 weeks of an infestation and more importantly prior to the emergence of clinical signs.
- The test is available through the following diagnostic lab partners:
- The sheep scab ELISA is also one of the intervention options available through the Scottish Government Preparing for Sustainable Farming (PSF) scheme
Selected Publications
- Adewale Henry Adenuga,
- Paul Crawford,
- Aurelie Aubry,
- Sharon Verner,
- Sam Strain,
- Stewart T. G. Burgess,
- Makepeace, C.,
- Nixon, E.J.,
- Burgess, S.T.G.,
- Stubbings, L.,
- Wall, R.,
- Jones, R.O.,
- Geddes, E.,
- Mohr, S.,
- Bell, I.R.,
- Brulisauer, A.G.,
- Pritchard, C.,
- Nisbet, A.J.,
- Burgess, S.T.G.,
- Busin, V.,
- Eilidh Geddes,
- Sibylle Mohr,
- Elizabeth Sian Mitchell,
- Sara Robertson,
- Anna M. Brzozowska,
- Stewart T. G. Burgess,
- Valentina Busin,
- Burgess, S.T.G.,
- Nunn, F.,
- Bartley, K.,
- Frew, D.,
- McLean, K.,
- Inglis, N.F.,
- McGeachy, K.,
- Taliansky, M.E.,
- Love, A.J.,
- Nisbet, A.J.,
- Bhat, S.A.,
- Walton, S.F.,
- Ventura, T.,
- Liu, X.,
- McCarthy, J.S.,
- Burgess, S.T.G.,
- Mounsey, K.E.,
- Burgess, S.T.G.,
- Marr, E.J.,
- Bartley, K.,
- Nunn, F.G.,
- Down, R.E.,
- Weaver, R.J.,
- Prickett, J.C.,
- Dunn, J.,
- Rombauts, S.,
- Van Leeuwen, T.,
- Van de Peer, Y.,
- Nisbet, A.J.,