We believe the basic processes of the gut microbiota are key to health and disease.
Our main scientific interests are transmission and establishment of gut bacteria within a host population, in addition to host-bacterial coevolution. We have a particular focus on the role of mobile genetic elements and antibiotic resistance genes in these processes. We are also interested in using bacteria as indicators in environmental/health indexing.
We are actively working with translating basic scientific findings into practical application. These efforts have led to the first CE-marked test for the role of the gut microbiota in irritable bowels syndrome (IBS) commercialized through the company Genetic Analysis (www.genetic-analysis.com ), with the multinational biotech company Biorad as the lead investor.
Our main research themes cover:
- Establishment of the infant gut microbiota
- Transition from infant to adult gut microbiota
- The role of the commensal microbiota as a reservoir for antibiotic resistance
- Honey bees as a model for understanding spread of antibiotic resistance
- The salmon gut microbiota
- Biological phosphorus removal from waste-water
- Evironmental classification
- Biofilms
