The BCHC deals with difficult datasets

In early May The BCHC welcomed Dr Matt Denwood, an Associate Professor in Quantitative Veterinary Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Copenhagen. Dr Denwood delivered a very interesting seminar in the development statistical methods that can be used for analysis of difficult data sets such as those commonly found within parasitology. Dr Denwood also…

Aberystwyth and Swansea Universities strengthen relations

At the end of March, the BCHC welcomed Professor Cathy Thornton from Swansea University along with members of her team for a one-day meeting focused on building collaborative relations between the two universities. This visit was hosted by Prof Karl Hoffmann and Dr Russ Morphew and discussions focused around knowledge exchange in EV-related biology and…

Aberystwyth University strengthens links with Dundee Drug Discovery Unit

At the end of January, members of the BCHC travelled to Dundee to meet with Ian Gilbert, Beatriz Baragana and their team at the Drug Discovery Unit at Dundee University. The one-day symposium brought together chemists and data-analysts from the Drug Discovery Unit at Dundee University with Parasitologists from Aberystwyth University. The aim of this…

BCHC Access Fellowship leads to new diagnostic test for parasitic infection in fish

Scientists from Swansea University, Aberystwyth University and Cardiff University have collaborated to develop a method to identify potential chemical cues associated with parasitic infection in fish. The collaborative team investigated chemical cues, in the form of proteins and peptides, released from the mangrove killifish, Kryptolebias marmoratus, in response to parasitic infection with the common fish…

Aberystwyth University hosts British Society for Parasitology Spring meeting

This April, Aberystwyth University hosted the British Society for Parasitology spring meeting. The meeting was last hosted by Aberystwyth over 30 years ago. 432 delegates travelled from as far away as New Zealand and Australia to present their work at this prestigious event. All 13 members of the Parasitology and Epidemiology Research Group here at…

The BCHC talks p-values

In late February 2018, the BCHC welcomed Prof. Daniel Berrar, Head of the Data Science Lab at Tokyo Institute of Technology for a 1-day visit to Aberystwyth. Daniel delivered a thought provoking seminar on parasites, paradoxes, and the use of p-values in research. Daniels talk generated a lot of interesting discussion points, thank-you Daniel for…

Prof. Russell Stothard visits Aberystwyth

In February 2018, the BCHC were delighted to host a 1-day visit by Prof. Russell Stothard, Chair in Medical Parasitology at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Russell delivered a fascinating seminar on the control of helminthiases in Africa and drew attention to a link between schistosomiasis and the spread of HIV in Africa. Thank-you…

Exciting collaboration between BCHC and the Oxford Protein Production Facility

A BCHC PhD student, Gilda Padalino, recently returned from a trip to Oxford where she was working in collaboration with Professor Ray Owens at the Oxford Protein Production Facility (OPPF). Their aim was to express some of the enzymes involved in histone methylation in Schistosoma mansoni the parasite responsible for the human disease Schistosomiasis. Large…

There’s gold on them there vesicles!

As part of the BCHC’s focus on extra-cellular vesicles (EV) in helminthology we recently hosted a visit from Allan Cameron, a 4th year PhD student from the Devitt Laboratory, Aston University. Allan is researching the role of apoptotic cell derived extracellular vesicles (ACdEV) on the immune system. He visited Aberystwyth University to utilise the expertise…