MVA Microbiome Network – Rising stars in Medicon Valley Microbiome Research

Frida Fåk Hållenius, Associate Professor, Lund University
Exploring crosstalk between neurons, microbes and foods

Henrik Munch Roager, Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen
Gut microbiota-derived metabolites as mediators of host-microbial cross-talk

Louise Brunkwall, Postdoc, Lund University
Obesity and the gut microbiota in 12 000 Swedish individuals

Patrick Munk, Assistant Professor, National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark
Global surveillance of antimicrobial resistance across multiple environments

Mathilde Nordgaard Christensen, Postdoc, DTU Bioengineering, Technical University of Denmark
Experimental evolution of Bacillus subtilis on Arabidopsis thaliana roots reveals fast adaptation and improved root colonization in the presence of soil microbes

Andrew Williams, Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen
Diet-derived metabolites and the host response to enteric mucosal pathogens

This session is open to all but requires a separate registration. You are welcome to find out more here.

Sünje Johanna Pamp has 20+ years of experience in microbiology and microbiomes as an active scientist, manager, teacher, examiner, advisor, and founder. She has been involved in interdisciplinary collaborations with over 50 institutions in more than 30 countries. Her research involves the integration of approaches from genomics, microbial ecology, evolution, classical & molecular microbiology, and clinical & veterinary medicine to provide insight and solutions related to human & animal health and disease.

Henrik Munch Roager is an Associate Professor and Head of the Gut Microbes, Diet and Health research group at the Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen. He and his group seek to understand the mechanisms by which the gut microbiota contributes to food digestion and health.

In Mathilde’s research, she study how microbes interact with plants with the overall aim to develop microbial biocontrol agents as a sustainable alternative or supplement to the use of chemical pesticides for crop protection within the agriculture industry. In her PhD, Mathilde focused on the plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium B. subtilis and studied how this bacterium interacts with and adapts to the roots of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

Patrick Munk is an Assistant Professor in the Genomic Epidemiology research group at the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark. He uses genomic techniques, including metagenomics, to study the ecology and epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance genes across One Health settings. He has worked especially with developing resistance monitoring in livestock feces and sewage from 100+ countries.

Frida Fåk Hållenius’s research focuses on modulation of the gut microbiota using tailored food concepts to prevent metabolic and neuroinflammatory conditions.

Presently, Frida is PI for NeuroFood, a 3-year FORMAS project, where the crosstalk between microbial DNA in the gut and brain, the innate immune system and food components is explored in models for Alzheimer’s disease.

Louise is a postdoc in the group Diabetes, Cardiovascular disease and genetic epidemiology at the department of Clinical Sciences. Her Phd focused on obesity, diet quality and the gut microbiota. Louise’s has continued to study the gut microbiota in an epidemiological setting and large population-based cohorts.

Andrew Williams is Associate Professor in the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, and head of the Parasites, Immunology and Gut Health Group. His group works on understanding the interactions between dietary components, the host microbiome, and pathogen infections in the gut. He obtained his PhD from the University of Western Australia and carried out postdoctoral studies in Oxford and Copenhagen before being appointed to his current position in 2017.