The Canine Genetics Centre has had something very special to celebrate this month. Our group leader, Dr Cathryn Mellersh, has been selected as the winner of perhaps the most prestigious award given annually as an international prize in canine health, the International Canine Health Awards (ICHA) Lifetime Achievement Award. Prizes in this, and a number of other categories, are sponsored by Vernon and Lesley Hill, founders of Metro Bank, and awarded annually by The Kennel Club Charitable Trust , whose independent adjudicators are world-wide experts. Continue reading
News
CGC Member represents the UK at Flyball World Cup
All of the CGC team are dog lovers and most have at least one pet dog. Our Bioinformatician, Ellen, is slightly different though as she has multiple dogs and competes in the sport of flyball outside of work. Ellen has recently competed at the Flyball Open World Cup in Germany where her team came 4th in the world! Continue reading
Five go to Finland Forum
Last week five members of the Canine Genetics Centre (CGC) team visited Helsinki, Finland, to attend the 12th International Conference of Canine and Feline Genetics and Genomics (ICCFGG) – a trip made possible by a ring-fenced donation to the CGC. Continue reading
Funding Update
Thank you to everyone who has donated to the Canine Genetic Centre’s “Fund our Future campaign“. As of the beginning of May we have received donations and pledges from around 100 different clubs, associations and groups, totalling almost £80,000. We have received approximately the same amount from individual donors, with sums donated ranging from £5, via our Text2Donate code, to a few extraordinary donations made by incredibly generous donors. Collectively, on top of some other sources of funding, these donations mean that the CGC team is now safe until the end of 2024. So I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has donated – it means such a lot to me and the whole team. Continue reading
Epilepsy study sample collection off to a flying start
Earlier this year the CGC announced the broadening of its idiopathic epilepsy (IE) project to include Beagles, English Springers, Giant Schnauzers, Hungarian Vizslas and Irish Setters. The IE team is pleased to report that the launch has met with a very enthusiastic response from dog owners: around 160 swab kits for the above five breeds have been sent out, with more kit requests coming in every day. Continue reading
Breeding with Carriers – yay or nay?
With the recent launch of the Paradoxical pseudomyotonia (PP) test in the Cocker Spaniel, we have seen an increase in breeders asking whether it is OK to breed with carrier dogs or not. This is not a simple yes/no question and we need to look at a lot more information than just the single CARRIER result that you might have received. Please read more from our experts to help you better understand this area and what is best for your personal breeding program. Continue reading
Paper detailing PRA modifier frequencies published
The Canine Genetics Centre has had an important study published, in collaboration with Wisdom Panel, on the genetics of progressive retinal atrophy in dogs. The paper describes the frequency of two genetics variants, called RPGRIP1ins44 and MAP9del, in 132 different breeds of dog. Both the variants were originally identified in Miniature Longhaired Dachshunds, and both are known to modify the development and progression of PRA. Continue reading
Text to Donate Poster
Can you help us safeguard the Canine Genetics Centre by helping us spread our “Text to Donate” message with other dog lovers? Continue reading
A Focus on Eyes
Last month we told you about an eye disease variant we recently identified in the English Shepherd Breed. Today we wanted to give you a bit more information on the research we do into inherited eye diseases (IED), all of which is now carried out under the CRIEDD (Consortium to Research Inherited Eye Diseases in Dogs ) project. Continue reading
Canine Genetics Centre researchers collaborate with specialist veterinary neurologist to identify genetic cause of dog’s illness.
Most of the researchers who work in the Canine Genetics Centre (CGC) are geneticists and we regularly collaborate with colleagues from the veterinary profession to ensure that we fully understand the diseases that we investigate, and that the dogs we include in our investigations have been robustly diagnosed. Continue reading
