Craig Watkins

Craig Watkins joined Moredun in 2003 after 5 years working at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, at the University of Edinburgh. Over the past 16 years, Craig’s interests have been in applying molecular approaches to the understanding of host immune responses to disease and bacterial genomics, with respect to Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) – the infectious agent responsible for Johne’s disease. Recently his research interests have extended to studying the microbiota of the intestine of ruminants infected with MAP.

Previous Projects and Current Research Interests:

1. Functional studies of MAP genes, using gene knockout technology for vaccine development.
2. Fluorescent microscopy of in-vitro MAP infected immune cells, including macrophages
3. Immune responses in the host species, including RNA-seq (in collaboration with Roslin Institute)
4. SNPs in transcription factors and their receptors of immune genes in sheep (in collaboration with Roslin Institute, Edinburgh)
5. Co-infection studies using MiSeq sequencing of 16S rDNA to assess intestinal microbiomes in sheep under different environmental and health status conditions. (in collaboration with the School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh)
6. MAP transmission and contamination in milk products