Dr Abigail (Abi) Hay

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Biography

Background

Abi is a postdoctoral research fellow within the Liam Morrison group at The Roslin Institute studying the immunosuppressive effect of trypanosomes on the cattle memory B-cell response. Abi grew up in the Scottish Highlands with farming heritage and this has strongly influenced her research career so far. After completing her undergraduate studies in genetics and immunology at The University of Aberdeen in 2018, Abi moved to Surrey to take up a PhD position with The Pirbright Institute and University of Southampton looking at ligands for killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) in cattle. Having finished her PhD studies, Abi stayed on at Pirbright as a post-doc characterising the antibody response to foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) vaccinations. In 2026, Abi returned to Scotland to take up her current position at The Roslin Institute applying her previous experience in NK and B cell biology in cattle to an exiting question about how trypanosome infection impacts the immune system. 

Qualifications

PhD: "Investigating ligands for bovine killer immunoglobulin like receptors", The Pirbright Institute & University of Southampton (2018-2022), Undergraduate: MSci Genetics (with Immunology), The University of Aberdeen (2013-2018)

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