VLA Divisional Directors

Chris Morrey

Business

One of the challenges for VLA over the next three years is to make significant efficiency savings, and as a first step, the Strategy Management Group (SMG) conducted a review of the structure of Business and Management support services.

Decisions to merge the two divisions under the responsibility of a single Director and to outsource the Accommodation unit’s services to form part of a Managed Service Contract with Defra will contribute to achieving the required efficiency savings.

Other areas of change within the new Division have been to continue the improvement of the service delivery of the Human Resources and Procurement units by more electronic means and to identify opportunities to increase the income from non-government sources.

As Defra is the lead Government Department for ‘Sustainable Development’, it was very pleasing that VLA Weybridge became
ISO 14001 certified this year. Environmental responsibilities are taken very seriously at VLA and plans to extend the Certification to the Regional Laboratories are already in place.

Last year saw good progress in increasing internal service standards and, whilst the Division and Agency face challenges from Efficiency Requirements and the Government Agencies Review, the work we are undertaking will ensure we are better placed to meet those challenges.

John Morris

Science Strategy

VLA’s scientific development programme has continued to go from strength to strength. Several new strategies have been developed and peer reviewed by senior VLA scientists, customers and external specialists. This has provided the framework for the development and integration of Veterinary Science, Biomic and Data Sciences into the science programmes.

These include:

A project to rationalise, back-up and store VLA array data in a format that is structured and adheres to recognised data standards.
The new Biomics Interest Group is improving and integrating a knowledge base for the application of genomics through a programme of seminars, visits and collaborations.
The Veterinary Sciences team has made significant progress on the production of a VLA Veterinary Surveillance strategy that aligns our thinking and systems with those developing in Defra. It will also provide maximum support for the implementation of Defra’s Animal Health and Welfare Strategy.
Developments in Data Sciences include the setting up of workshops to monitor new statistics, a GIS programme and an Inter-Agency Workshop on Predictive Science in Support of the Sustainable Development Agenda.

Next year, a new public health strategy is to be developed which will involve MED-NET-VET, a network of European laboratories working on zoonoses and the Health Protection and Food Standards Agencies.

Chris Thorns

Research

VLA’s many collaborative links are crucial to the maintenance and development of the high quality scientific activities across the Research Division.

These links include the establishment of a unique job opportunity to work for both the Health Protection Agency and VLA to further integrate our food borne zoonoses activities. Collaborations with Bristol University have resulted in new Campylobacter projects.

I am also proud of the many International Reference Laboratories and numerous consultancy functions throughout the Division. The TSE EU Community Reference Laboratory functions are very firmly established and VLA’s rabies experts were called upon to assist with a rabies vaccination programme, as part of the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme. This was regarded as having saved the Ethiopian wolf from extinction.

In the year ahead we are looking forward to being part of several new innovative collaborations including becoming a partner in the National Centre for Zoonosis Research at the University of Liverpool and joining a BBSRC initiative with Imperial College to understand the early events in pathogenesis of bovine tuberculosis.

I am also delighted that the ‘go ahead’ has been given for building a new VLA/IAH Virology Laboratory complex. Scientists from IAH and our Virology Department have already forged close working relationships.

Roger Hancock

Surveillance and Laboratory Services

The Departments in the Surveillance and Laboratory Services Division have had some significant successes in contributing to VLA’s surveillance and research science programmes.

Scanning surveillance in our Regional Laboratories detected a number of new or re-emerging diseases. Goose parvovirus, a disease which has not been reported in Great Britain for over 20 years was detected in south west Wales and Lancashire and a novel encephalomyelitis in cattle was investigated in the north west of England.
A spongiform encephalopathy in goats, indistinguishable from BSE was identified using new discriminatory tests. Firstly, in a case referred by colleagues in France and secondly in material from VLA’s own archives.
As part of the VLA’s strategy to enhance its portfolio of diagnostic tests, a programme of technology transfer projects was delivered successfully including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to improve the identification of Taylorella equigenitalis, thermophilic campylobacters and pathogenic E.coli virulence profiles.

A large group of the Laboratory Testing team moved into the new Stewart Stockman building enabling VLA to rationalise all of its serology testing and maximise efficiency and accuracy through the use of semi- automated (robotic) systems.