Professor Sir Charles Godfray to deliver keynote address at bovine tuberculosis conference

The annual AberTB conference is a platform for collaboration in the fight against bovine TB.

Professor Sir Charles Godfray CBE FRS, Chair of the 2025 Review of the Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Strategy for England, will deliver the keynote address at a conference at Aberystwyth University later this month.

Hosted by the Sêr Cymru Centre of Excellence for Bovine Tuberculosis at Aberystwyth University, the theme of this year’s AberTB conference is ‘Vaccination’, reflecting the growing importance of immunisation strategies in the fight against bovine diseases.

The event will bring together leading scientists, policymakers, and stakeholders to discuss the latest developments in cattle and badger vaccination trials now underway in the UK.

In his keynote address, Professor Godfray will share insights from the Godfray Panel 2025, an independent expert group commissioned by DEFRA to assess new evidence and opportunities for enhancing England’s bovine tuberculosis eradication strategy. His address will explore the panel’s findings and their implications for future disease control policy.

Following the keynote, Professor Godfray will join a panel discussion alongside fellow members of the Godfray Panel 2025 - Professor Glyn Hewinson CBE FLSW (Aberystwyth University) and Professor James Wood OBE (University of Cambridge). The session will be chaired by Sharon Hammond, Chair of the Welsh Government Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Programme Board.

Additional speakers at the conference include Professor Helen McShane FRCP PhD FMedSci (University of Oxford), Dr Andy Robertson (DEFRA), and Maria Dominguez MRCVS and Ivelina Miteva DVM MSc (Animal and Plant Health Agency).

Looking ahead to the event, Professor Glyn Hewinson, Sêr Cymru Research Chair at Aberystwyth University’s Centre of Excellence for Bovine Tuberculosis, said:

“The 2018 ‘Godfray’ Review of Defra’s TB strategy has been instrumental in shaping the direction of bovine tuberculosis policy in England, and it will be a real privilege to welcome Sir Charles to this year’s AberTB conference. We are eager to hear his insights on the latest panel’s findings and their implications for tuberculosis eradication. 

“With a packed programme and the opportunity to hear from experts at the forefront of science-informed policy and disease control, AberTB 2025 is set to make a timely and constructive contribution to the ongoing effort to eradicate bovine tuberculosis from Wales and advance vaccination science.”

AberTB will be held on Wednesday 17 September at Aberystwyth University. The full programme is available at vethub1.co.uk/cms/events and tickets (£85) are available at: tinyurl.com/4wv2v3tp

The Sêr Cymru Centre of Excellence for Bovine Tuberculosis at Aberystwyth University was established in 2018 to provide a strong scientific evidence base for eradication of the disease and to grow and develop academic research expertise in Wales.

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