Research

Fibre is an important part of a healthy diet, as it is fermented by gut microbes to health-promoting compounds. We investigate whether agricultural and food-processing waste materials can be modified to increase their fermentability by gut microbes,. The aim is to explore whether food production waste materials can be developed into a novel source of fibre, thus improving the sustainability of agricultural practice. This not only contributes to reducing the environmental impact of Scotland’s food and drink sector, but will also identifies opportunities for innovation in the Scottish food...

Investigation of how pathogens responsible for key welfare and production-limiting diseases of Scottish livestock are transmitted to their host animal, determining the key pathogens that are important for infection and disease, and how they interact with the host immune system.

The Scotland’s Land Reform Futures project supports Scottish Government policy development regarding community land ownership and engagement in land use decision-making, and increases our understanding of roles of land ownership and land reform in achieving net zero emissions and reversing biodiversity decline. It advances social theory on community empowerment, social justice, and the potential for progressive property rights in Scotland.

The aim of this project is to identify the causes of ear tag losses for sheep and cattle in Scotland.  Ear tag loss incurs costs to individual farmers and there is a range of impacts to animal health and welfare. There is a lack of evidence about missing ear tags in sheep and cattle. This project aims is supporting the prevention of tag loss and to improving retention rates by identifying factors which cause tag loss and reasons for missing ear tags on different farm settings in sheep and cattle.