Ageing, Health and Welfare

Entry requirements

A 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent.

Months of entry

Anytime

Course content

We address key questions in the fundamental biology of ageing, animal welfare and food security. How and why does ageing occur and what are its impacts on health and well-being? How do animals cope with pollutants? How do we achieve sustainable animal production whilst protecting animal health and welfare?

Individual research projects are tailored around the expertise of principal investigators within our Schools. A variety of approaches are used, including experiments in field and laboratory conditions, epidemiology, mathematical, computational and statistical modelling, bioinformatics, physiology, molecular biology, parasitology, immunology and polyomics (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics). Basic and applied science projects are available for study, as are field-based projects with research programs underway in both the UK and overseas.

Specific areas of interest include:

• interplay between physiology, behaviour and life history
• wild immunology
• avian reproduction
• mammalian reproductive physiology and neuroendocrinology
• poultry science
• environmental factors, chemical exposure and reproductive function
• maternal smoking and development
• the effect of environmental stressors on ageing and longevity
• evaluating stress in companion animals
• organic production systems and animal welfare
• physiology, ecology and migration of birds
• annual and daily rhythms of wild organisms
• biological clocks and response to environmental change
• neuroendocrinology and steroid biochemistry
• livestock and wildlife management
• behavioural ecology, evolutionary ecology, life history strategies and environmental change
• thermal biology of temperature regulation and cold adaptation in marine mammals and birds.
• veterinary ethics and animal welfare assessment
• welfare and wildlife conservation
• ethics and welfare of wildlife interventions
• behavioural, physiological and ecological impacts on ageing
• maternal and transgenerational effects
• causes and consequences of variation in metabolic rate, mitochondrial functioning and oxidative stressGenetic and environmental interventions that extend healthspan and lifespan: dietary restriction, insulin/IGF1, mTOR
• resource allocation trade-offs
• mechanisms of ageing in animals: mitochondria, oxidative stress,proteostasis, telomere biology, stem cell function

Ageing affects almost all species, but the rate at which it occurs varies considerably among and within species. People are now living much longer than previous generations, with ageing being the major risk factor for many diseases. This has given rise to the concept of not only our ‘life span’ but also our ‘health span’ which is the length of a disease free life. We know that the environment we live in can influence how we age. It is now increasingly recognised that the ageing process and its' associated disease risk can be ‘set up’ or programmed by events experienced before we are born, ‘prenatal programming’, or during postnatal development i.e. pre and peripubertal as well as in adult life. Consequently, understanding why we age, how we age, the factors responsible for variation in ageing and longevity, and the impact ageing has on health and wellbeing is a major challenge in science today.

We are uniquely placed to employ a highly integrative, comparative and collaborative approach for the study of ageing, health and animal welfare. We study ageing at the molecular, cellular and organism level, in the field and in the laboratory, and combine mechanistic, functional and applied perspectives. We currently use a range of interventions and techniques to examine key issues in both laboratory and field settings. Using these approaches we are interested in a range of factors (e.g. stress, pollution, chronobiology, diet, growth pattern, metabolism, reproduction, epidemiology, immunity), how they are affected by ageing and their impact on human and animal health.

Given the rapidly expanding human population, a second major societal challenge is the requirement to produce sufficient safe, nutritious, affordable and sustainable foodstuffs. We are particularly interested in ways to sustain efficient animal production in a manner which protects animal health and welfare, while mitigating against pests and disease and reducing environmental impact. We have expertise in the development and application of behavioural, physiological and neurophysiological approaches to welfare assessment in managed and wild animals.

Health of managed and wild animals, as well as of humans, is also at risk from processes and products that arise during food production, for example endocrine disruptors and animal and human digestive end products. We investigate effects of such substances and of various other pollutants and stressors in projects at the intersection of animal biology and veterinary medicine.

To achieve these overall aims, this research theme actively collaborates with others in this university (e.g. biomedics, clinicians, veterinarians, Glasgow Polyomics facility) and elsewhere, including Government agencies (e.g. DEFRA), external institutes (e.g. The James Hutton Institute, Moredun Research Institute) and commercial partners.

Information for international students

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training)

• 6.5 with no sub-test under 6.0.
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.