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Culex pipiens adult mosquito pirbright institute

23 October 2025

Pirbright researchers help uncover origins of London Underground mosquito

Institute fieldwork informs evolutionary biology study into Culex pipiens Research by scientists at The Pirbright Institute has supported an international study disproving the theory that London Underground mosquitoes – Culex pipiens form molestus - evolved in urban subways and cellars in northern…

20 October 2025

Pirbright contributes £50m a year to UK economy

A new report highlights how The Pirbright Institute contributes £50m a year to the UK economy. Commissioned by Pirbright and carried out by public policy analysts SQW, the evaluation shows this equates to a Gross Value Added (GVA) economic impact of £471m over the past decade. The Institute is a…

Latest news

pigs sleeping ASF african swine fever Pirbright

Centralised Immunogen Strategy for PRRSV Protection

Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have successfully developed a novel modified live vaccine candidate for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus type 1 (PRRSV-1), designed using a centralised immunogen approach. The research is a step towards achieving broader, more consistent…

John Hammond stood behind a lectern holding an award

Leading Pirbright scientist wins Diversity and Inclusion Award

A senior leader who has worked to embed diversity and inclusion across The Pirbright Institute has been recognised with a national award. Professor John Hammond, Director of Research, was presented with the British Society for Immunology (BSI) Diversity and Inclusion Award 2025 at a ceremony at The…

Young scientist shining a light on an egg in a green tray in a dark room.

CRISPR chicken cell study boosts potential for vaccine development

Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have created gene-edited chicken cells that produce significantly higher yields of influenza A virus and Newcastle disease virus (NDV). Poultry vaccines are the mainstay of disease prevention in the global poultry production industry, worth an estimated $420…

An empty CL3 laboratory at The Pirbright Institute. There are three Biological safety cabinets, two of which have yellow gloves that go into the cabinet

Launch of the Biorisk Advisor Training course

A new training course developed at The Pirbright Institute has been approved by the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) for continuing professional development (CPD) purposes. This approval recognises and underscores its relevance and value to those in the field and marks a significant milestone for…

Very large and close group of cattle in India. They all have horns

Scientists pioneer ‘early warning’ analysis for foot-and-mouth disease

A novel lineage of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) can have severe socio-economic impacts in Asia. Researchers at the FAO World Reference Laboratory for FMD (WRLFMD), based at The Pirbright Institute, have tracked an emerging FMDV lineage in the Middle East. Writing in the journal Infection…

Cattle being herded

Tools to assess the performance of FMD vaccines – driving improvements in quality

Despite widespread use of inactivated vaccines to control foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), there is no systematic approach to demonstrate the regional relevance of products against the specific serotypes and strains that circulate in endemic countries in Africa and Asia. A failure to adopt independent…

A Chef and a person stood on grass together looking at the camera. Behind them on the left is a green cylinder with metal legs. White words on the green composter read "ridan food waste composter. keeping the world turning."

Mulch ado about food waste

A new composter is helping The Pirbright Institute recycle its food waste, fertilise allotments and reduce its carbon footprint. The hot aerobic composter uses no power and blends wood pellets with canteen waste to produce up to 6.5 tonnes of mulch a year on site. For every 5 kg of combined food and…

Small herd of white cattle in South Africa on dried grass. The image has a sunset haze to it.

Pirbright expertise informs economic analysis for foot-and-mouth disease control

How much should policymakers invest in controlling animal diseases that spread across national borders, who should pay, and will intervention really work? A researcher at The Pirbright Institute is one of a team of seven authors who have drafted a new handbook for the Food and Agriculture…

Small young yellow chick on sawdust. Both legs have little loose yellow rings

Pirbright’s openness on animal research rewarded

The Pirbright Institute’s commitment to openness on animal research has been rewarded with continued recognition from Understanding Animal Research (UAR). The three-year reaccreditation of the Institute as a Leader in Openness to 2028 marks the third renewal of the award for Pirbright (2019-2022…

This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (yellow)—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19—isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells (pink) cultured in the lab.

Pirbright in £10m collaboration to fight animal and plant disease

The Pirbright Institute has joined a £10m advanced technology surveillance programme to strengthen the UK’s biosecurity and protect animals, plants, people and trade. Advanced genome sequencing technologies - a method that reads the complete genetic code of a living organism, including viruses…

Close up of two pink pigs lying on straw

Pigs provide insights into coronavirus-induced lung damage

Respiratory viruses are a major threat to global health, but why some people experience severe lung damage from infections like SARS-CoV-2 while others have mild symptoms is something that researchers have sought to understand. A new study lead by Pirbright researchers uses pigs to explore how the…

Group of six pink pigs on straw

Animal trials underway in quest for African swine fever vaccine

A vaccine candidate for African swine fever (ASF) is undergoing tests at The Pirbright Institute. Developed in partnership between the Institute and The Vaccine Group (TVG), the candidate is being clinically trialled in vaccinated pigs. “Vaccinated pigs will be challenged using a virulent ASF virus…