MD, DMSc and DTM&H. Professor of Infectious Diseases Epidemiology with special focus on Molecular Epidemiology at University of Copenhagen and director at the International Reference Laboratory of Mycobacteriology (IRLM) at Statens Serum Institut (SSI), the Danish public health institute. Consultancy in infectious diseases at Zealand University Hospital Roskilde.

My main interests are infectious diseases strategy, communication, preparedness, and research. Especially, infectious diseases applied molecular epidemiology. I thrive when (molecular) epidemiology surveillance and research add value to global health, e.g. by deciphering biological- and molecular epidemiological patterns and guiding local- and global control strategies. Also, data should provide understandable and meaningful information to the public – not just stay in the laboratory.

I serves as national- and international expert, e.g. in connection with WHO (Supranational Reference Laboratory Network), ECDC (European Reference Laboratory TB Network), European Society of Mycobacteriology (Steering Committee member & Vice President), and the Danish "National Tuberculosis Group". As former Chairman for the Danish SARS-CoV-2 Variant Assessment Committee, I coordinated different groups in Denmark analyzing and working with new SARS-CoV-2 variants (researchers, sequencing, diagnostics, epidemiologists, mathematical modeling, health agencies, regions, hospitals etc.). 

Main research areas are tuberculosis, mycobacteria and molecular biology focussing on infectious diseases molecular epidemiology, especially whole genome sequencing of mycobacteria. The aim is that infectious diseases molecular epidemiology research should add value to global health, e.g. by deciphering molecular epidemiological patterns and guiding local- and global control strategies.

An updated list of > 100 peer review publications can be seen at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=lillebaek%20t%20NOT%20sestoft