Staphylococcus aureus is a notorious opportunistic human pathogen able to enjoy a wide variety of lifestyles. Either commensal, peacefully colonising different niches of the human body, or pathogenic, invading host tissues by using its arsenal of virulence, S. aureus is the second most common species isolated from blood cultures in Norway exemplifying its importance as contributor to the overall morbidity and mortality in society. There is no effective vaccine available and treatment failure due to antimicrobial resistance, intracellular persistence, or biofilm formation occurs frequently. Invasive infections are often caused by the commensal S. aureus strain and colonisation control is known to reduce the risk of surgical wound infection. Thus, a broader knowledge about how S. aureus and its human host interacts with and responds to each other might reveal useful targets for future infection prevention and/or treatment.
Johanna Ulrica Ericson got her PhD in Microbiology at Umeå University, Sweden, January 1990. Since 2005 she is Professor in microbiology at UiT the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø, and since 2016 co-director of the “National Graduate School in Infection Biology and Antibacterials” funded by the Research Council of Norway. Johanna Ulrica Ericson is member of the Research group for Host-Microbe Interaction at the Faculty of Health Science, a group that study interactions between human host, microbes and drugs for better health. She is teaching microbiology for bachelor and master students, and supervising PhD students. From April to June 2023 she is Associate Fellow at the Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg Greifswald.
Begrüßung: Professorin Dr. Ulla Bonas
Moderation: Professorin Dr. Barbara Bröker