BAVP ECR MEETING
4TH - 5TH MAY 2023
Full Presentations:
Abstracts for oral presentations are invited from our student, postdoc and early-career members. This is a chance to meet other early career parasitologists and present your work to your peers in a friendly environment. Session themes will be decided based on themes emerging from submitted abstracts. However, we hope to have a good representation of parasite species, host species and research methods. Also, there are prizes to be won for the three best presentations!
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Introductory Presentations:
This year we are also inviting researchers in the early stages of their projects to present an “Introductory presentation”. This will be a 3-minute talk to introduce yourself and your research. Even if you’re just getting started and consequently don’t have many results this is a great opportunity to get yourself known within the BAVP community. These presentations are aimed at undergraduate, Master’s, first-year PhD students, and all other researchers in the early stages of a project.
Keynote Speaker
Dr Paul McVeigh
Can small RNAs help address the big issues in helminth parasite control?
Wells, D. [1], Wray, C. [1], Herron, C. [1], Morphew, R. [2], Atkinson, L. [1], McVeigh, P. [1]
[1] School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast
[2] Department of Life Sciences, Aberystwyth University
Understanding how parasites interact with and survive within their hosts is a key challenge for parasitologists. Much effort is directed towards decoding the parasite “secretome” – the repertoire of molecules secreted by parasites to aid their survival. Helminth parasite secretomes are now known to consist of several RNA species in addition to classically recognised proteins, lipids and sugars. These molecules are essential contributors to parasite-host communication, but also represent potential biomarkers which could contribute to improved detection and diagnosis of parasitic infections. Our team focuses on the secreted micro (mi)RNA component of helminth secretomes, through RNA sequencing of plasma from experimentally- and naturally-infected animals. I will present data from two representative species: Fasciola hepatica, a trematode liver fluke, and Strongyloides ratti, a gastrointestinal nematode. I will present our latest insights from longitudinal plasma miRNA sequencing datasets from both species, from the dual perspectives of how extracellular miRNAs could allow parasites to control host gene expression, and how we might apply these data to improved parasite diagnostics and control.
Student Awards
Winner
Michelle Reeves
Applying Qualitative Behaviour Assessment to study the impact of gastrointestinal parasitism on lamb welfare
Runners Up
Eilidh Geddes
FEC Check: Development of an online tool to aid farmer understanding of roundworm faecal egg counts
Saniya Crouch
To Per-Cyst or Not: unravelling the secrets behind an attenuated Toxoplasma strain.
Best Introductory Presentation
Phoebe Beal
Kindly sponsored by
