Rate My Professor Willie Weir

Professor Willie Weir is Professor of Veterinary Infectious Disease (Veterinary Pathology, Public Health & Disease Investigation) in the School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine at the University of Glasgow. He earned his BVMS from the University of Glasgow Veterinary School in 1995, followed by five years in mixed veterinary practice in the North of England. He returned to the University on a Wellcome Trust Fellowship to investigate the molecular epidemiology of Cryptosporidium. In 2001, he was seconded to the State Veterinary Service during the Foot and Mouth Disease crisis. Weir then received a scholarship from Glasgow Veterinary School to complete his PhD in Molecular Parasitology in 2006. He also holds an MRes, PGCAP, is FHEA, and MRCVS. Since 2016, he has been Academic Head of the Infectious Disease Unit at the University of Glasgow Veterinary Diagnostic Services.

Weir's research centers on veterinary infectious diseases, encompassing viruses, bacteria, and parasites impacting animal health. His primary focus is on feline viruses and tick-borne protozoa of livestock, including Babesia and Theileria species, using genetic and genomic methods to study pathogen population diversity, disease emergence, transmission dynamics, and zoonotic potential. He explores applications of machine learning and bioinformatics on high-throughput sequencing data for improved diagnostics and clinical decision-making in veterinary practice. As principal investigator, he leads projects on tick-borne pathogens funded by the Scottish Government, EU, Horserace Betting Levy Board, and Donkey Sanctuary. Notable publications include 'Genome of the Host-Cell Transforming Parasite Theileria annulata Compared with T. parva' (2005, 385 citations), 'The skin is a significant but overlooked anatomical reservoir for vector-borne African trypanosomes' (2016, 337 citations), 'Development of a multiplex PCR assay for simultaneous detection of Theileria annulata, Babesia bovis and Anaplasma marginale in cattle' (2013, 206 citations), 'Sheep as Host Species for Zoonotic Babesia venatorum, United Kingdom' (2019), and 'Applying Supervised Machine Learning to Effusion Analysis for the Diagnosis of Feline Infectious Peritonitis' (2026). With over 240 publications and more than 4,300 citations, his work significantly advances knowledge in veterinary parasitology and infectious disease control.