Research Initiatives

The proposals for co-ordinated research programmes have been guided by Technology Foresight Programme (TFP) recommendations, by the priority areas identified by SEERAD and other sponsors, and by the skill and expertise available within CHABOS. The aim is to build on the strengths within individual organisations, to create opportunities for enhancing international competitiveness, and to provide added value through collaboration and networking.

Several co-ordinated programmes are already in existence, with an established track record for cross-institute collaboration. Others represent new initiatives where there is particular scope for integrated effort that will lead to increased national prosperity or quality of life.

These research programmes occur in four main areas:

Biotechnology

• Lectins: nutrition and pathogens in relation to plant and animal biotechnology
• Peptides for pharmaceutical and related uses
• Membrane-antigen mapping: the biochemistry and molecular biology of cell surface protein
• Molecular tools for genetic characterisation of plants and animals
• Molecular tools for microbial communities and for diagnostic aids

Food, nutrition and health

• Microbial contamination in food chains
• Scotland's diet: free radicals and antioxidants in foods
• Control of adiposity
• Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), meat production and health

Animal production, health and welfare

• Animal welfare
• Control of food intake
• Enteric pathogen/host interactions
• Fetal programming

Biodiversity, sustainable systems and land use

• Biodiversity: A conceptual and practical framework
• Economic and biological aspects of sustainability
• Soil-plant-microbial interactions
• Vegetation dynamics
• Environmental pollution, and biological remediation
• Soil conservation