Research areas and responsibilities

I am currently (since May 1st 2009) a post doctoral fellow at DTU FOOD working with the food-borne human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes and disinfectants. This is a continuation of my Ph.D. project. The post doc project is part of a large collaborative project entitled “Biocide resistance, an emerging threat to public health” headed by Hanne Ingmer.

Biocide resistance, an emerging threat to the public health (Post doc project, 2009-)

Biocides are chemical substances capable of killing or inhibiting bacteria and their use for cleaning and disinfection in households, hospitals, and the food industry, and as preservation additives in food and in everyday household products such as toothpaste and deodorants have become an integrated part of the industrialized world. Recent observations document that biocide resistance occurs and that biocide resistance may be linked with resistance to antibiotics used in clinical therapy.

The overall objective of the project is addressed in two questions: Could any of the biocides that we rely on today lose effectiveness due to development of resistance or tolerance? And which of these compounds may have serious long-term side effects such as leading to antibiotic resistant pathogenic bacteria?

The objective of my post doc project is to determine if L. monocytogenes found in the Danish food industry and in Danish hospitals, are – or can be – adapted to selected biocides, and how this adaptation/resistance affect virulence and biofilm formation. We will determine how L. monocytogenes is affected by biocides supplied in sub-lethal concentrations and investigate the mechanism involved in biocide adaptation.