Susan Christina Welburn

Susan Christina Welburn OBE
Alma mater	University of the West of England University of Bristol
Scientific career
Institutions	University of Glasgow University of Edinburgh
Thesis	The rickettsia-like organisms of Glossina spp  (1991)

Susan Welburn is a British epidemiologist who is a professor and Chair of Medical and Veterinary Molecular Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh. Her research considers the parasitic interactions that underpin sleeping sickness. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2025 New Year Honours.

Early life and education

Welburn was an undergraduate student at the University of the West of England. She earned a doctorate at the University of Bristol, where she researched the rickettsia-like organisms of Glossina. She started her career at the Bristol Tsetse Research Laboratories, before moving to the University of Glasgow. She has projects in Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia and Tanzania, focussing on interventions for disease control. ^[1]

Research and career

In 2000, Welburn joined the University of Edinburgh. Her research looks at the parasitic interactions that lead to the transmission of human sleeping sickness. She has investigated the complex mechanisms that underpin parasite differentiation, the transmission of disease and the epidemiology of sleeping sickness. ^[1]

Welburn has designed molecular diagnostic techniques to study sleeping sickness and other neglected zoonotic diseases, including anthrax, rabies, and tuberculosis. ^{[1] [2]} In 2006 she established the Ugandan Public Private Partnership to Stamp Out Sleeping Sickness. ^[3] She developed a One Health approach for medical and veterinary public health interventions. ^{[4] [5]} Welburn is the founding Director of the University of Edinburgh Global Health Academy. ^[6]

In 2015, Welburn was appointed Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. ^[7] She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2025 New Year Honours. ^{[8] [9]}

Selected publications

• Eric M Fèvre; Beatrix V Wissmann; Susan C Welburn; Pascal Lutumba (23 December 2008). "The burden of human African trypanosomiasis". PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases . 2 (12): e333. doi: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PNTD.0000333 . ISSN   1935-2735. PMC   2602597 . PMID   19104653. Wikidata   Q33395338.
• C Dale; S A Young; D T Haydon; S C Welburn (30 January 2001). "The insect endosymbiont Sodalis glossinidius utilizes a type III secretion system for cell invasion". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America . 98 (4): 1883–1888. doi:10.1073/PNAS.021450998. ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   29351 . PMID   11172045. Wikidata   Q34109059.
• S Welburn (1 January 2001). "Sleeping sickness: a tale of two diseases". Parasitology Today. 17 (1): 19–24. doi:10.1016/S0169-4758(00)01839-1. ISSN   0169-4758. Wikidata   Q57195903.

References

1. "Professor Susan Welburn". The University of Edinburgh. 2024-12-17. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
2. Welburn, S.C.; Beange, I.; Ducrotoy, M.J.; Okello, A.L. (May 2015). "The neglected zoonoses—the case for integrated control and advocacy". Clinical Microbiology and Infection. 21 (5): 433–443. doi:10.1016/j.cmi.2015.04.011. hdl: 20.500.11820/d6f94e1a-af2c-44b9-bb9f-58479f942d48 . PMID   25911990.
3. "Stamp Out Sleeping Sickness". The University of Edinburgh. 2024-09-24. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
4. "Conference - International Conference on One Health - Susan Welburn". www.elsevier.com. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
5. The University of Edinburgh (2010-11-01). Professor Sue Welburn - One world, one health - from rhetoric towards reality . Retrieved 2025-01-05– via YouTube.
6. "Our People". The University of Edinburgh. 2024-09-24. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
7. "Professor Susan Welburn". Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
8. "Scots honoured in health, care and sciences". healthandcare.scot. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
9. "Academics celebrated in New Year Honours". The University of Edinburgh. 2025-01-03. Retrieved 2025-01-05.