Keldur – Institute for Experimental Pathology, University of Iceland is a

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

institution that is connected to the Faculty of Medicine but has its own board and independent finances. The operations at Keldur are very diverse. Many scientific methods are used in basic research and services, for example

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, prot ...

immunology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...

parasitology Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it fo ...

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

and

molecular biology Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...

History and function

The Institute at Keldur was established in the autumn of 1948. It is under the supervision of the
Ministry of Education and Culture
The first director of Keldur was

Björn Sigurðsson Dr. Björn Sigurðsson (1913–1959) was the first director of Keldur - the Institute for Experimental Pathology, University of Iceland. Björn died at an early age while having been the director of Keldur for only about ten years. In his short ...

,Guðmundur Pétursson. „Hver var Björn Sigurðsson og hvert var hans framlag til vísinda?“
Vísindavefurinn 14.1.2011.
(Skoðað 19.1.2011).

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. The Rockefeller Foundation provided financial support to build and equip the Institute at Keldur but its original role was to respond to an epidemic in sheep, the Maedi Visna Virus, that resulted from contact with Karakul (sheep) that had been imported into the country in 1933. The official date for the opening of The Institute at Keldur is November 15, 1948. The primary function of the institute is first and foremost to research veterinary diseases. On the Board of Directors at Keldur are representatives from the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Natural Sciences, the Ministry of Agriculture and Keldur staff members. Keldur has a workforce of 60 employees, on average. Keldur collaborates with many research teams both domestically and internationally. The research projects are funded with Icelandic and international

grants Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, C ...

. The director of Keldur is Sigurður Ingvarsson (born 1956). Previous directors of Keldur are Björn Sigurðsson (born 1913, died 1959), Páll Agnar Pálsson (born 1919, died 2003), Guðmundur Georgsson, (born 1932, died 2010), Guðmundur Pétursson (born 1933).

References

{{Reflist

External links

The homepage of Keldur in English

In memoriam Björn Sigurdsson born 100 years ago
* The Maedi Visna Virus Education in Iceland