School of Biological Sciences

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A huge congratulations to biochemistry student Vidhya on this well-deserved founder spotlight by EMEEN! ✨ It’s inspiring to see how she is developing her company during her Year in Enterprise, and we can’t wait to see what comes next: emeen.co.uk/post/vidhya-s-…

Our colleague, Dr Ross Cuthbert, has been awarded over £1 million through the @BBSRC New Investigator Award to lead a major new research project on mosquitoes, their viruses, and disease risks in Northern Ireland. Read more: qub.ac.uk/schools/School…

Happy New Year from all of us at the School of Biological Sciences. We look forward to seeing you in 2026! ✨ #LoveQUB #HappyNewYear

That’s a wrap on 2025! 🎄✨ The University will be closed for the holidays from 23rd December – 5th January 2026. As we head into the winter break, we hope you take time to rest, recharge, and enjoy some well-deserved downtime. Look forward to seeing you in the new year!

This week we hosted a Collaborative Doctoral Training Entity showcase, highlighting PhD research from @QUADRATdtp, FoodBioSystems, OneZoo, NorthWestBio, @sustain_cdt, QUARTILES & NILab, and the collaborative, interdisciplinary training they offer: qub.ac.uk/schools/School…

Thrilled to celebrate 25 years of @QGI_QUB and our 4th consecutive Athena Swan Gold Award! This milestone supports @MHLSQUB as an all-gold faculty and showcases our ongoing commitment to equality. Thanks to everyone who made it possible!

Winter Graduation | 8 December 2025 What a start to Winter Graduation for our Class of 2025! 🎓🎉 Congratulations to everyone who graduated today. We hope you have had a wonderful time celebrating your incredible achievements. Who would you like to congratulate? See more of today's celebrations here: ow.ly/8iR150XFNEJ #LoveQUB #QUB #QueensUniversityBelfast #Graduation #WinterGraduation #UniversityGraduation #GraduationDay #StudentLife #UniversityLife #UniversityUK #UKUniversity #StudyUK #ClassOf2025 @qubbusiness @happatqub @qubbioscience @qubcce

“My time at Queen’s was a series of fortunate events. I was very lucky in that at every stage I was advised by experienced people who had my best interests at heart. It was the people I was surrounded by who put me in a position to take on a project as complex as this. “Bovine tuberculosis is an ongoing, chronic animal health problem across the UK and Ireland with a long history. The disease is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis, a close relative of the bug that cause tuberculosis in humans. I became increasingly invested in the disease itself as I learned more about its scale, impact and complexity. “The scale of the problem is substantial across Ireland. In 2024, herd incidence reached around 5% in the South of Ireland and over 10% in the North. A single positive test can prevent a farm from trading animals for long periods, and the financial strain on farmers, particularly those with large herds, can be severe.” Dr Ryan Magee helped analyse more than 1,000 whole-genome sequences of the bacterium, creating the most detailed genetic family tree of the pathogen in Ireland to date. The team identified the smallest number of genetic markers needed to reliably distinguish one variant from another. The result is a simple DNA test that can identify a bovine TB strain within hours using equipment already available at Queen’s. “Instead of reading all 4.3 million positions of the bacterium genome, our test reads just 28 of the most informative ones. It’s not a replacement for whole-genome sequencing, but it’s a really useful triage tool. It lets labs screen huge numbers of samples quickly and cheaply, which means clusters of infection can be spotted earlier and sequencing can be used where it’s most informative. “Bovine TB isn’t one big outbreak, it’s lots of small local micro-epidemics. Continuing to apply new science and methods and focusing on the regionalisation of control can make the system more effective and less disruptive for farmers and wildlife. My PhD has added evidence for that, and a new tool to help deliver it.” Congratulations, Dr Magee! You and your team have made a real impact to one of the UK and Ireland’s most persistent animal health challenges. Amazing work. 👏 Click here to find out more: ow.ly/l5YW50XCF1k #LoveQUB @QUBbioscience

Dr @LindaOyama dives into antimicrobial resistance in “A Future Without Researchers Is a Future Without Solutions” @QUBelfast | @QUBEngagement | @QUBbioscience | @QUBstaff #TEDxQUB #LoveQUB

Next, Kieran David Robertson reveals how insects are rewriting history in “Small Creatures, Big Impact: Rewriting History with insects.” @QUBelfast | @QUBEngagement | @QUBbioscience | @QUBStudents

Great to be at Newforge today for the QUB-AFBI Alliance PhD Conference. A really fantastic line-up of student presentations highlighting the diversity & depth of PhD research across @QUBelfast & @AFBI_NI @QUBbioscience @Arnottlab_qub @AFBILibrary @sharonhuws @ElizabethMagow1

The presence of bone injuries in dinosaur tails have led scientists to a major discovery – they believe they can now identify the bones as female. Our colleague, Professor Gareth Arnott, provided his expertise on animal behaviour: qub.ac.uk/News/Allnews/2…

🚨Tickets are now live for TEDxQueensUniversityBelfast🚨 We can't wait to welcome the famous red dot back to Riddel Hall on Wednesday 3 December when our speakers will take to the stage. Register now for you free ticket and we'll see you there ➡️ ow.ly/KkOw50Xn26K #TEDxQUB #TEDx #LoveQUB @QUBEngagement @QUBAlumni @QUBPsych @QUBbioscience @HAPPatQUB @qubschooloflaw

Today, I joined other experts in writing to the UK Government, urging it to update the UK's Toy Safety Regulation to better protect children from harmful chemicals. @QUBelfast @QUBbioscience @CHEMTrust 📄 Read the letter here ➡️ tinyurl.com/4ry6rj24

Our multidisciplinary team includes experts from @pharmacyatQUB and @QUBbioscience: @PMEze1, @juliannemegaw, @cggbamford, @Hairy_Llama, Neil Reid, @KCAL101, and me. We are honoured by this trust and look forward to working on this important challenge.

New blog! ✨ Heard about the Asian hornets spotted in NI? Wondering how non-native species can impact our lives? PhD researcher, Louis Simon, discusses invasive species and what they mean for our environment, our economy, and our health Read now ➡️ bit.ly/3Whe8Yr

Moving on up! We have officially been recognised as one of the top 9% universities in the world in the latest @timeshighered World University Rankings. Our top 200 placement in this prestigious list reflects our continued excellence in teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook - the four core pillars judged in these rankings. And it couldn't have come at a better time as we reflect and celebrate our 180th year! Who knows what new heights we'll climb to in the next 180 years. Thank you and congratulations to our students and staff, you really are world-class! Click here to learn more: ow.ly/OVQ550X8Y2Z #THEUniRankings #LoveQUB #LoveQUB180 #LoveQUBResearch #LoveQUBStaff #QueensUniversityBelfast #QUB #StudentLife #UniversityLife #University #UniversityRankings #WeAreInternational #StudyUK #InternationalStudy

Congratulations to all 45 @QUBstaff colleagues and teams who have been recognised in this year's QUB Teaching Awards @QUB_CED, presented in recognition of excellent teaching and learning support practice @QUBelfast. 👉The winners: qub.ac.uk/sites/StaffGat… #LoveQUBstaff

Making a splash! 🌊QUB is ranked #1 in the UK and 14th globally for UN SDG 14: Life Below Water by @timeshighered — recognising the contribution of our staff, students & partners to marine sustainability 🐟🐢 #ImpactRankings #SDG14