Dr Stew Burgess is the Head of the Department of Vaccines and Diagnostics at the Moredun Research Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland. He also leads the sheep scab research group, which focuses on developing novel tools for the control of sheep scab, caused by infestation of the skin with the sheep scab mite, Psoroptes ovis. Recent developments include a commercially available sheep scab ELISA (blood test), which is able to detect infested animals before the appearance of clinical signs and also the first prototype sheep scab vaccine, which significantly reduces mite numbers and the size of the skin lesions offering a more sustainable method of scab control in the future. Stewart also leads a number of sheep scab control programmes across the UK, including the Rural Development Programme England (RDPE)-funded sheep scab control programme in England, a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)-funded control programme in Northern Ireland and a Scottish Government-funded control programme on the Western Isles of Lewis & Harris.