Professor Ian H Brown, OBE, MIBiol PhD
Head of Virology at APHA
Professor Ian Brown has been working as Head of Virology for over 10 years and recently has covered a role Deputy Director of Scientific Services where he has led the Animal and Plant Health Agency Science Programme. As Head of Virology at the APHA - Weybridge Ian leads 100 staff carrying out diagnosis, surveillance and active programmes of research for avian and mammalian viral diseases, wildlife zoonoses and vector-borne diseases.
He is also a Director of OIE/FAO International Reference Laboratories for Avian Influenza, Newcastle Disease and Swine Influenza. Ian is the UK national expert on Avian & Swine Influenza, and Newcastle Disease and a designated OIE expert for the three diseases and has led science response for the AI outbreak 2021-2022.
He provides a broad range of disease consultancy at both international and national level to a wide range of stakeholders on all the aforementioned diseases, specialising in science evidence and laboratory application as directly relevant to disease control. Ian is an adviser to Poultry Health and Welfare Group and regular speaker for British Veterinary Poultry Association. Ian is also a founder member of the OFFLU Laboratory Network and has taken the lead on a number of key international issues related to the work of this group both on the avian and swine subgroups. He has recently been appointed chairperson of OFFLU. Ian has undertaken country specific missions to advise on the control of HPAI. His specific research interests include the epidemiology, pathogenicity, transmission and infection dynamics in relation to the control of influenza in animal hosts including zoonotic threat. Ian gained his PhD on ‘Epizootiology of influenza in pigs in Great Britain with emphasis on characterisation of viruses isolated since 1986’.
Ian holds a visiting Professorship position in Avian Virology at the University of Nottingham and Honorary Professorship in Pathobiology and Population Sciences with Royal Veterinary College, London.
He was awarded an OBE in the 2020 New Year’s Honours list for services to animal health and welfare.
The bird ‘flu risk to the UK has resulted in APHA confirming a record high number of cases this winter season. We have a major emergency impacting all corners of the UK: learn how we have ramped up to meet the demand and support swift control plus what you can do to help slow the spread of this disease.
We have all become used to hearing in the news about COVID-19 infection numbers but have you ever wondered about the scientists behind the scenes, testing samples and providing these all important results? We reveal more in our latest blog.
This year has seen the earlier than expected arrival of Highly Pathogenic H5 Avian Influenza Virus which is infecting both wild birds and poultry on small holdings and commercial production units. Find out how APHA detects and reacts to a bird ‘flu outbreak in the United Kingdom.
On Monday 27 May 2019, APHA scientists attended an event at the British Embassy in Paris to promote our international scientific capabilities to colleagues from around the world.
Ian Brown provides an update on this year’s international symposium on avian influenza that took place at the Grand Hotel in Brighton from 15 to 18 April.
Ian Brown talks about the forthcoming 10th International Symposium on Avian Influenza (ISAI 2018), 15 to 18 April 2018.
In the first of a series of videos highlighting how we safeguard with science, Prof Ian Brown, APHA's Head of Virology, talks about avian influenza (bird flu) and the work we do in our international reference laboratory at Weybridge.
Flu comes and goes in many guises but little did we know that the detection of H5N8 avian flu in swans in Hungary in October was to be the forerunner of one of the largest epizootics of this disease ever recorded in Europe.
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