The Roslin Institute

The Roslin Institute is a world-leading institute for animal genetics and genomics research, and veterinary and human medicine.

Roslin institute building

The Roslin Institute contributes to global food security, enhances the competitiveness of the UK animal research sector, improves animal welfare, enables scientific advances in human health and supports environmentally sustainable agriculture.  

The Institute works closely with breeding companies to help them improve agricultural productivity and farm animal welfare. 

The Institute works with governments and industry to address food safety and human health challenges. To do this, it conducts world-class research, advises public institutions on policy issues, supports a highly successful animal health cluster, and provides a wide range of training.  

The Department of Genetics and Genomics focuses on understanding complex animal systems and developing improved predictive models. We focus on how genes and genomes function to understand the basic biology of complex traits and improve the models they use to make decisions in livestock production, human health and animal welfare. 

The Functional Genetics and Development Unit studies the mechanisms and control of animal growth and development, from the molecular to the whole organism level. Our work focuses on stem and progenitor cell regulation, embryo patterning, tissue and organ development, and tissue damage and repair. 

The Institute also encompasses the Edinburgh Infectious Diseases, a hub for infectious disease scientists in Edinburgh.