Julia Andersson

I am a PhD student at the Department of Animal Biosciences (HBIO) in the project “From Organoids to On-Farm Solutions: Biomarkers and Discovery of Drug Targets for Anthelmintic Resistance Management and Probiotics for Biological Control of Gastrointestinal Parasites in Ruminants – A Sustainable Strategy”.

I have a background in biomedicine, with a bachelor’s degree from Karolinska Institutet and a master’s degree from Uppsala University. Early on in my studies I gained a special interest in immunology and infection biology. I am fascinated by how our immune system detects, communicates and learns to protect us from infections. It is equally fascinating how many pathogens have developed strategies to manipulate and circumvent these processes to successfully establish an infection. It is this tug of war between host and pathogen that I want to explore. 

Grazing animals are commonly affected by gastrointestinal parasite infections which cause major health issues and economic losses. Resistance to anthelmintic drugs is a widespread concern and there is a need for new strategies to combat these infections. In my PhD project I am developing gastrointestinal organoid models from horse, sheep and cattle to study the initial phases of host-parasite interactions. The long-term goal of the project is to identify early diagnostic biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets for sustainable parasite control.