THE UK’s Institute for Animal Health, which has a 100-year track record as a leading centre for surveillance and research into livestock diseases and the spread of viruses from animals to humans, has today (04 October 2012) been renamed the Pirbright Institute.
Institute director professor John Fazakerley explains: “We are undergoing major redevelopment and today marks a new era for us. The Institute will continue the excellent work to deliver better understanding and control of virus diseases of livestock and viruses that spread from animals to humans. The knowledge generated from our work will promote global health and economic and food security”.
The institute has operated under various guises and on several sites since its foundation in the 19th century, and since 2009 has consolidated around its Pirbright site at Woking, UK. The Institute’s avian research at the Compton Laboratory will continue until the necessary infrastructure is in place at the Pirbright campus.
Chair of trustee board Professor Joe Brownlie added: “It is in our nature to be constantly evolving, and at present we are undergoing a radical change to focus on viral infections. The new name, is a timely way to mark this transition and we can now look forward to the completion of major changes at the institute over the next few years.”
The institute is funded by the BBSRC, the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.