School of Infection & Immunity

03/03/2026

🆕 | A new initiative to support students in Gaza has officially launched following a strong response from colleagues across Life Sciences in The University of Glasgow College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences.

Practical Resources for Gaza Students (PRGS) is an externally facing Moodle site established to share recorded practical teaching resources for ongoing online Life Sciences programmes delivered by the five Palestinian Universities in the Gaza Strip (PUGS).

The platform hosts materials such as laboratory demonstrations, fieldwork videos, virtual reality by proxy resources, and computer practicals.

These resources are designed to supplement lectures and tutorials that students continue to access locally, helping to address the lack of access to laboratories and fieldwork.

The launch follows a call issued to Life Sciences Course Coordinators and lecturers in November 2025, inviting colleagues to identify recorded practical teaching resources - many developed during the COVID period - that could be shared.

The generous response from staff has enabled the creation and population of the Moodle site, marking a significant collective effort across the College of MVLS community.

The initiative is being led by School of Infection & Immunity (Sii) colleagues Professor Olwyn Byron and Professor Adnan Al-Hindi.

The Moodle site was created by MVLS Education Hub colleagues Dr Lesley Hamilton (E-Learning Officer) and Bethany Mansfield (Administrative Assistant), both of whom will continue to curate and update the site as new resources are added.

🔗 More: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/infectionimmunity/newsevents/headline_1246470_en.html

02/03/2026

🎥 | WATCH | Dr Kirsty McWilliam (University of Edinburgh) discusses Genome-wide fitness profiling identifies novel regulators of Trypanosoma brucei life cycle development.

The full Centre for Parasitology seminar is available to view on our YouTube channel now for a limited time only:

📺 https://youtu.be/vQ8uKc4dACc?si=_Q42W7IaE7mCfsxO

25/02/2026

🆕 | A new study co-led by the School of Infection & Immunity's Professor Gwo-tzer Ho has identified a highly-specific immune signal of gut inflammation and translated it into a promising non-invasive diagnostic tool for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Working in collaboration with Professor Marc Vendrell and colleagues in the IRR Chemistry Hub at The University of Edinburgh, Professor Ho helped uncover the role of the enzyme granzyme A (GzmA) as a marker of immune-driven intestinal inflammation.

🔗 Full story: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/infectionimmunity/newsevents/headline_1248266_en.html

📜 Read the paper, A chemiluminescence assay targeting granzyme A activity for monitoring inflammatory bowel disease, in Nature Biomedical Engineering : https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-025-01588-1

🔬 Image: Emily Thompson

19/02/2026

🆕 | A cross-University of Glasgow Life Sciences team involving two School of Infection & Immunity colleagues has been recognised with a LearnSci Teaching Innovation Award for pioneering use of Smart Worksheets.

Sii pair Dr Laura. C. McCaughey and Dr Claire Donald, Dr Anna McGregor, Dr Denise Hough, and Dr Donald Reid (University of Glasgow School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine ), and Dr Pamela Scott (School of Molecular Biosciences) received the award for developing the first LearnSci Smart Worksheets specifically designed to support statistical programming in R.

R and statistical analysis are core skills for life sciences graduates, underpinning data interpretation, reproducible research and evidence-based conclusions.

At UofG, R/RStudio is taught to around 2,200 students across Years 1–5. However, for early-year students, programming and statistical theory are often entirely new, and large cohorts (200–700 students) can limit opportunities for individual feedback.

The team’s solution was to create customised Smart Worksheets that provide real-time feedback on coding errors and on the accuracy of commands, statistical tests and figures.

The Smart Worksheets were rolled out in three Year 2 courses, including BIOL2044 (Microbiology & Immunology, 320 students).

Students highlighted the value of real-time feedback, step-by-step structure and a focus on interpreting outputs rather than memorising code. The team also observed reduced demand for R drop-in sessions and more efficient marking processes.

Unexpectedly, the worksheets also supported students with social anxiety by reducing the need to seek help publicly during labs.

The LearnSci judging panel, meanwhile, praised the project as ‘exceptional’ and ‘a fantastic team effort’.

The team is now expanding Smart Worksheets into Year 1 and additional Year 2 courses, extending the benefits across the Life Sciences portfolio.

🔗 Read the full story: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/infectionimmunity/newsevents/headline_1246761_en.html

16/02/2026

13/02/2026

🎥 | WATCH | Dr Marina Papaiakovou (University of Cambridge) discusses genomic insights from poo!

Specifically, STH Diversity and Diagnostic Implications via Genome Skimming and Hybrid Capture.

The WCMP Glasgow seminar is now available to view in full on our YouTube channel for a limited period only:

https://youtu.be/NmZxnujqhWQ?si=QP5gbHHUeY61MxAJ

10/02/2026

🆕 | Over 150 colleagues attended our fourth annual School of Infection & Immunity Away day, held on Thursday, 29 January 2026 at the Glasgow University Union.

Staff and PGR students from Bacteriology, Immunology, Parasitology, and Virology delivered presentations on a variety of subjects, from latest research to news in their respective research areas.

The presentations were followed by a drinks reception networking opportunity, then everyone was invited to attend a quiz hosted by the Professional Services team in the Sir Graeme Davies Building Common Room.

The quiz was a great success with drinks and snacks enjoyed by all. Congratulations to the winning team: Table 2 (pictured below), consisting of Dr Ruby White, Dr Clíodhna Daly, Dr Anna Heawood, Dr Megan MacLeod, Dr Barbara Stokes and Miss Carla Johnson.

The lucky winners all received a special Sii-branded water bottle presented by Head of School Professor Julia Edgar.

🔗 More: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/infectionimmunity/newsevents/headline_1245005_en.html

06/02/2026

🥈 | The School of Infection & Immunity is proud to announce that our Athena Swan Silver Award has been successfully renewed, extending the status until January 2031.

The Athena Swan Charter was established to recognise and promote equality and diversity within higher education, particularly across science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM).

Managed by Advance HE, Athena Swan awards acknowledge continued progress in tackling structural and cultural barriers within academic institutions.

We first achieved Athena Swan Bronze in 2016 followed by the award of Silver status in 2020, and now, in response to our most recent submission in November 2025, Advance HE has confirmed that our Silver status has been retained.

The renewal reflects the school’s sustained commitment to advancing gender equality and fostering an inclusive working environment.

Credit for this accomplishment must go to the ongoing work of the Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team (SAT), as well as the wider Sii community in embedding positive practices across research, teaching, and professional services.

🔗 Full story: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/infectionimmunity/newsevents/headline_1244305_en.html

04/02/2026

25/12/2025

🎄 | Wishing all School of Infection & Immunity staff and students, and colleagues across The University of Glasgow College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences and University of Glasgow, a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy new year!

11/11/2025

👻 | A spooktacular trio of School of Infection & Immunity professors took part in the GU Infection and Immunity Society's recent Halloween-themed Terrifying Microbes event.

Held on Wednesday, 27 October 2025, in the Boyd Orr Building, the evening featured a series of short talks exploring the spooky side of microbiology.

Representing Sii were:

🎃 Professor Andrew Roe: The Many Faces of E. Coli

🦇 Professor Richard Burchmore: Leishmania: Ghosts and Exorcism

🕸️ Professor Edward Hutchinson (MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research): Influences from Beyond the Grave

The event was well attended, with students and staff enjoying an engaging mix of presentations, discussion, and pizza.

Afterwards, Gerardo Mateo Guio Archila, Vice President of the GUIIS, thanked the speakers for their contributions and expressed interest in future collaborations for talks and social events.

06/11/2025

🆕 | School of Infection & Immunity Lecturer in Microbiology Dr Leighann Sherry is part of a College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences team that has been shortlisted in the ‘Outstanding Industry Engagement’ category at the Brilliant Festival Awards 2025.

Alongside Fiona Stubbs, the University of Glasgow Careers and Employability Manager, and the UofG School of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Health's Nairn Scobie, Dr Sherry has been recognised for pioneering work in embedding internship projects into the final year of Life Sciences degrees.

The BRILLIANT Festival Awards are an annual UK-wide awards programme dedicated to recognising excellence in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) education and industry engagement.

The six award categories this year are Innovators in Science, Creative Visionaries in Art & Design, Tech Excellence, Outstanding Industry Engagement, Maths Mastery, and Engineering Changemakers.

The winners will be announced on Tuesday, 11 November in Liverpool, where our nominees will join colleagues from across the UK for the BRILLIANT Awards Ceremony.

🔗 Full story: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/infectionimmunity/newsevents/headline_1223002_en.html