BVMS, PhD, DipECVP, FHEA, MRCVS
Chair of Veterinary Diagnostic Pathology
Professional history
Alun graduated from Glasgow University Veterinary School and after a short time in practice undertook a PhD at Cambridge on the pathogenesis of bacterial meningitis. He then worked as a MRC University Research Fellow in the Department of Paediatrics, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford and a Veterinary Research Officer, BBSRC Neuropathogenesis Unit, Edinburgh, before returning to Glasgow as Senior Lecturer and then Reader. Alun was appointed as Professor of Pathology and Infectious Diseases, Royal Veterinary College, in 2003. He was elected to his current Chair in Cambridge in 2009 and is also the Director of Teaching in the Department.
Special interests
Alun has particular interests in neuropathology and the cellular pathogenesis of neurological diseases, and in blast-induced injuries. He has wide-ranging experience of post-mortem examination of a wide variety of species – literally from mouse to elephant. He has a further interest in the communication of pathology and the role of pathologists in disease investigations. Please visit Alun’s research profile for further information.
Current research
Alun’s current research interests include: (i) trauma-induced changes to skin, muscle and the respiratory tract and the body’s compromised responses to secondary infection, and (ii) new therapies for the treatment of osteoarthritis, and their mechanisms of action. He maintains a research profile in the mechanism of neuronal degeneration in prion diseases (e.g.: mad cow disease), Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Recent publications
Bo C, Williams A, Rankin S, Proud WG & Brown KA (2014). Integrated experimental platforms to study blast injuries: A bottom-up approach. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 500 (PART 10). IOP PUBLISHING LTD, ISSN: 1742-6588 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/500/10/102001
Butler BJ, Bo C, Tucker AW, Jardine AP, Proud WG, Williams A & Brown KA (2014). Mechanical and histological characterization of trachea tissue subjected to blast-type pressures. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 500 (PART 18). IOP PUBLISHING LTD, ISSN: 1742-6588 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/500/18/182007
Ingham V, Williams A, & Bate C. (2014). Glimepiride reduces CD14 expression and cytokine secretion from macrophages. J Neuroinflammation, 11, 115. doi:10.1186/1742-2094-11-115
Simmons C, Ingham V, Williams A, & Bate C. (2014). Platelet-activating factor antagonists enhance intracellular degradation of amyloid-β42 in neurons via regulation of cholesterol ester hydrolases. Alzheimers Res Ther, 6(2), 15. doi:10.1186/alzrt245
Knudsen CS, Williams A, Brearley MJ, & Demetriou JL (2013). COX-2 expression in canine anal sac adenocarcinomas and in non-neoplastic canine anal sacs. Veterinary Journal, 197(3), 782-787. doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2013.05.005
Hicks DJ, Núñez A, Banyard AC, Williams A, Ortiz-Pelaez A, Fooks AR & Johnson N. (2013). Differential chemokine responses in the murine brain following lyssavirus infection. Journal of Comparative Pathology, 149(4), 446-462. doi:10.1016/j.jcpa.2013.04.001