Tessa Nelemans has started in Track 19 of One Health Pact: Role of host innate immune responses and arbovirus immune evasion in transmissibility, host range and disease outcome – At LUMC.

Tjomme van Mastrigt has started in Track 3 of One Health Pact: Impact of emerging arboviruses on wild bird populations – at NIOO.

Joyce van Bree, one of the 26 One Health PACT PhD’s, works at the Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University & Research.

My name is Eleanor, it’s my first week in the One Health PACT PhD programme so thought I’d introduce myself!

After her study and internship, Ingrid Cardenas Rey started working as a heard health manager. There, most animals received the wrong antibiotics or the wrong doses. This was an eyeopener and one of her major reasons to move from veterinarian practice to research; to have more influence for change in the sector.

‘During my bachelor I started learning how bacteria play a role in our environment, but also in our bodies. I was amazed to learn that bacteria are present in such large numbers and with high diversity, thereby forming complex ecosystems. Nevertheless, we know little about the microbial interactions that take place and how this affects us.’

‘During 2007-2010, there was a huge Q-fever outbreak with more than four thousand cases in the Netherlands, that was originated from dairy goat and sheep farms. Further investigation of infectious disease at animal-human interface is warranted. Follow-up epidemiological studies observed an excess pneumonia risk in residents living close to farms, however the mechanisms behind remain unknown.’

I chose to do a PhD in metagenomics due to having an interest in microbial ecology as well as a more general interest in science. The work I do is similar to what I did as a master student at the University of Oslo, so I knew what I was signing up for. I find microbiome research interesting in part due to it being a relatively new and fast developing field that still has many unanswered questions. Apart from the academic side, I am happy to be working on a project that has concrete goals towards improving animal and human health.