معرفی
Dirk Werling is a Professor and Chair in Molecular Immunology at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), specializing in veterinary immunology. He is affiliated with the Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences at the Hawkshead campus. His research focuses on the ontogeny of the innate immune system across species, the role of SNPs in innate immune receptors, and the development of novel vaccine strategies targeting innate immune receptors like Toll-like receptors.
Dr. Werling's research interests span multiple areas of veterinary immunology and vaccine development:
- Ontogeny of the innate immune system in different species
- Species-specific recognition of pathogens
- Carbohydrate recognition and carbohydrate-based vaccines
- Dendritic cell-based vaccines for farm animals
- Development of novel vaccine delivery platforms
- Evolutionary questions associated with host-pathogen interactions
His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on vaccine development against parasitic and bacterial infections in livestock, particularly sheep and cattle. Key research themes include Haemonchus contortus (barber's pole worm) vaccines, Eimeria (coccidiosis) vaccines for poultry, and investigations into bovine immune responses to various pathogens. His work often involves multi-omics approaches, studying immune responses at the molecular level across different species.
Dr. Werling has received funding from multiple sources including BBSRC, EU (FP7 and EMIDA), and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He has produced over 100 peer-reviewed publications in international journals and has successfully supervised 8 PhD students (with 3 currently in progress).
His laboratory, the Werling Lab - Molecular Immunology Group, focuses on molecular aspects of veterinary immunology with particular emphasis on developing novel vaccine strategies for farm animals. Current projects include exploring the SweetAnimal project (studying sugar-binding receptors in farmed animals), developing yeast-based vaccine platforms, and investigating immune responses to Mycoplasma Hyopneumoniae in pigs.
