Barrett Centre for Helminth Control

An Interdisciplinary Research Centre leading the fight against helminth diseases

Established in 2016, the BCHC at Aberystwyth University brings together an internationally-recognised team of PIs and external associates to lead the research community in the fight against parasitic worms causing agricultural, veterinary and biomedical diseases.

About Us

Helminth-related infections present some of the most difficult to treat diseases on our planet and their sustainable control depends on increasingly sensitive diagnostics and biomarkers as well as the development of prophylactic vaccines and novel therapeutic drugs. The BCHC will underpin innovation in this area through new collaborations and partnerships spanning previously untapped disciplines.

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Our Staff & Expertise

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Our Partner Organisations

Activities at the BCHC are supported by the following external organisations:

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Funding Opportunities

To assist and promote the work of investigators addressing questions connected with helminthology, the BCHC is offering financial support for CPD, Events, Workshops & Fellowships.

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Facilities & Services

Aberystwyth University is opening up a new era of collaborative, interdisciplinary research in the fight against neglected tropical diseases of global importance.

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Our Research

Our research spans a broad variety of disciplines, including parasitology, chemistry, ecology, microbiology, mathematics, physics and computer science.

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News

April 2, 2020
Viva Success

The BCHC is very pleased to announce that on Monday 6th January 2020, Holly Craven a PhD student with Prof. Karl Hoffmann successfully defended her thesis entitled ‘Analysis of quadruplex DNA structures in Schistosoma mansoni and their potential as therapeutic targets’. Professor Christoph Grunau travelled from University of Perpignan via […]
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November 7, 2019
BCHC visit local primary school

During October, Dr Jo Forde-Thomas visited local primary school, Ysgol Gynradd Llanilar, to deliver 4 sessions on ‘The world of Parasites’. Dr Forde-Thomas talked with pupils ranging in age from 4 through to 11 about some commonly encountered parasites before leading students through a drug discovery experiment drawing parallels to […]
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November 6, 2019
BCHC welcomes new MRes students

At the beginning of October, Aberystwyth University welcomed the second cohort of MRes students enrolled in our Parasite control course. This course focuses specifically on parasites and the diseases that they cause. Over the next year our new cohort of students will gain expert knowledge in the detection, prevention and […]
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November 6, 2019
BCHC establishes new collaborations with the University of Oxford

Last Month the BCHC welcomed Professor Stuart Conway from the Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford for collaborative discussions. Professor Conway’s research focuses on the use of synthetic organic chemistry to enable the study of biological problems. Discussions focused around collaborations into the development of new anti-schistosomal agents. This proved […]
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