Anders Bojesen​

DVM, Phd

Denmark

I have had an interest in bacteria-host interactions since I took the infection microbiology course during my veterinary studies. I became a DVM in 2000 and immediately initiated my PhD-project, which also dealt with reproductive tract infection albeit in chickens! In 2003 I defended my PhD and got a faculty position culminating with a professorship in preventive veterinary microbiology in 2012.
I started collaborating with Morten Rønn Petersen investigating Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus (S. zoo) as a cause of endometritis in mares in 2007.

It was a fantastic experience to discover that 5-10% of mares of all sorts may have a subclinical endometrial infection caused by S. zoo. Later, with the help of particularly Kristina Lu at the Hagyard Equine Medical Insitute, we were able to demonstrate the negative impact of such a subclinical infection as clearing enabled by bActivate virtually restored the live-foal rates to normal (75-80%) and thus re-vitalized mares that had been given up for breeding.

My current research concerning S. zoo is focused on how this organism can switch back and forth from being actively dividing to the dormant state we see in the subclinically infected mares. Understanding the underlying regulatory events during these processes is key to further knowledge on how S. zoo and the endometrial tissue interact.