Research Fields

• Molecular approaches to identifyand characterize virulence factors in human and animal pathogenic bacteria (Streptococcus, Listeria, Staphylococcus, Salmonella). Currently, my focus is on Streptococcus surface proteins and their importance for virulence and possible use for vaccine development
• Bacterial adaptation and molecular response to environmental changes.
• Host-Pathogen interactions.
• Antimicrobial peptides: due to the increase in antibiotic resistant pathogens, new compounds are investigated for their possible use as antimicrobials. Host defence peptides (HDPs), also known as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), have emerged as potential new therapeutics and their antimicrobial spectrum covers a wide range of target organisms. we investigate the mode of action of natural and synthetic AMPs to elucidate their potential as lead structures of new compounds
• The application of C. elegans as virulence model. There is a continuing need for the development of simple animal models for the study of host-pathogen interactions. The implementation of nonmammalian model organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans has proven successful, thereby reducing both cost and the ethical constraints associated with virulence studies using mammalian hosts.

Academic Degrees:

Cand.scient. (master) in Molecular Biology from University of Odense, Denmark (1996), Ph.D. from Department of Veterinary Microbiology, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Denmark (2002)

Employments:

1997-1998: Research assistant at Department of Microbiology, DTU

2002-2005: Assistant professor at the Department of Veterinary Microbiology, KVL.

2005-present: Associate professor at the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology KVL / LIFE-KU, now Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen

Visiting Researcher:

2001: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Alabama College of Medicine

2003+ 2004: Dept. of Genetics, Stanford University School of medicine, Stanford, USA

2006: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA

2012: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical Faculty, Lund University, Lund, Sweden