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Biography
Dr Colin Crawford is Lecturer in Immunology in the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee. He is an education-focused academic whose work spans undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in biological and biomedical sciences, with subject interests in immunology, physiology, and pharmacology, and professional interests in evidence-informed enhancement of assessment practice, and in quality assurance and academic standards across learning, teaching, and assessment.
Colin teaches across the Faculty of Life Sciences and also contributes within the Faculty of Health, including teaching for the School of Dentistry and supervision of dissertation and project components for the School of Medicine. His teaching draws on a strong disciplinary background in biomedical science and a commitment to helping students connect core bioscience concepts with disease, therapeutics, and contemporary research.
Alongside his teaching, Colin contributes to curriculum review and enhancement, assessment practice, quality assurance, and wider Faculty-level learning and teaching activity. He also supports student development as an Adviser of Studies.
Before joining Dundee, Colin held research posts at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow, where he developed expertise in neuroimmunology, neurobiology, and mechanisms of tissue injury and repair in the nervous system. This biomedical research background continues to inform his teaching, particularly in helping students understand how molecular and cellular mechanisms underpin health, disease, and therapeutic intervention.
Colin is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Member of the Royal Society of Biology. He places particular emphasis on supporting students to develop both a strong foundation of academic knowledge and the critical, analytical, and reflective skills needed for success in research, healthcare, and industry.
Research
Crawford, C.L., Antoniou, C., Komarek, L., Schultz, V., Donald, C.L., Montague, P., Barnett, S.C., Linington, C., Willison, H.J., Kohl, A., Coleman, M.P., Edgar, J.M. (2022). “SARM1 depletion slows axon degeneration in a CNS model of neurotropic viral infection”. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience.
McGonigal, R., Campbell, C.I., Barrie, J.A., Yao, D., Cunningham, M.E., Crawford, C.L., Rinaldi, S., Rowan, E.G., Willison, H.J. (2022). “Schwann cell nodal membrane disruption triggers bystander axonal degeneration in a Guillain-Barré syndrome mouse model”. Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Schultz, V., Barrie, J.A., Donald, C.L., Crawford, C.L., Mullin, M., Anderson, T.J., Solomon, T., Barnett, S.C., Linington, C., Kohl, A., Willison, H.J., Edgar, J.M. (2021). “Oligodendrocytes are susceptible to Zika virus infection in a mouse model of perinatal exposure: implications for CNS complications”. Glia.
Bijland, S., Thomson, G., Euston, M., Michail, K., Thümmler, K., Mücklisch, S., Crawford, C L., Barnett, S.C., McLaughlin, M., Anderson, T.J., Linington, C., Brown, E.R., Kalkman, E.R., Edgar, J.M. (2019). “An in vitro model for studying CNS white matter: functional properties and experimental approaches”. F1000Research.
Teaching
Colin currently leads or co-leads modules at Levels 3 and 5 and contributes teaching across the curriculum, alongside cross-Faculty teaching in Dentistry and Medicine.
He is module lead for, and contributes teaching to, the following modules:
- BS32009 Immunology (co-lead, SCQF Level 9)
- BS52009 Therapeutics (lead, SCQF Level 11)
He contributes teaching to:
- BS22001 Human Physiology and Pharmacology (SCQF Level 8)
- BS22002 Biomolecular Mechanisms (SCQF Level 8)
- BS22003 Core Skills in the Life Sciences 2B (SCQF Level 8)
- BS31023 Research Skills 3A (SCQF Level 9)
- BS52008 MSc Project Proposal and Associated Skills (SCQF Level 11)
Within the Faculty of Health, he contributes teaching to:
- MBChB Year 1 - Student Selected Component (SSC) project supervisor
- DS21001 Clinical Dentistry 1
- DS31001 Clinical Dentistry 3