Marjon de Vos – PI

I am an assistant professor at GELIFES at University of Groningen (The Netherlands) where I investigate the ecology and evolution of bacteria derived from polymicrobial (infectious) ecosystems, and antibiotic resistance.

I teach and coordinate part of the BSc and MSc courses on Evolutionary Medicine and Microbiome.

Additionally, I am vice-chair of The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) core committee Health Protection (Gezondheidsbescherming); Infectious Diseases, Antibiotic Resistance and Pandemic Preparedness, Coordinator of the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health FSE Hub – Fundamental Science for Health and Environment, member of the scientific steering committee of the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health, and member of the International Advisory Board of The Lancet Microbe.

Past

As a NWO VENI postdoctoral fellow at the laboratory of Genetics at Wageningen University I investigated the evolution of antibiotic resistance and microbe-microbe interactions in polymicrobial infections.

During my postdoc in the Biophysics and Systems Biology group at IST Austria (group moved to Cologne) I worked on microbial interactions in bacterial communities derived from patients suffering from urinary tract infections, and antibiotic resistance.

During my PhD in the Biophysics group at AMOLF I studied genetic and environmental interactions that determine the course of evolution. The results were described using the fitness landscape metaphor.

Yvonne van Katwijck – Secretariat 

Email: y.m.van.katwijck@rug.nl

Tel: +31 50 36 37652

Jolanda Brons – Technician

Email: J.K.Brons[at]rug.nl

Tel: +31 50 36 32191

I have been a molecular biology research technician at the University of Groningen since 2001.

My role within the group is quite diverse, next to supporting the group, running the lab and performing field work I also have my own research projects.

In my current research project I am focusing on virulence genes in E. coli in urinary tract infections.

Lars Zandbergen – PhD student

Email: L.E.Zandbergen[at]rug.nl

I am a PhD student at GELIFES at the University of Groningen since December 2018. My project is about the ecology and evolution of infectious ecosystems with a focus on bacterial interactions and antibiotic resistance development of bacteria from the urinary tract.
I started investigating bacterial interactions of urinary tract bacteria at the laboratory of Genetics at Wageningen University for my final thesis of my MSc degree. During my MSc I also worked on identifying a novel bacteriocin from Enterococcus species to inhibit the growth of pathogenic Enterococcus bacteria at the UMC Utrecht.

Part of the project is in collaboration with Alan J. Wolfe, Loyola University Chicago, US. Part of the project is in collaboration with Oscar Kuipers, Groningen. Part of the project is in collaboration with Alan McNally, IMI Birmingham, UK.

Misshelle Bustamante – PhD Student

Email:

I come from Ecuador. I studied Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology during my MSc. I did my thesis on the role of HGT in the evolution of microbial metabolism. My research interest since then has been in microbial evolution. Now I am a PhD student in the Adaptive Life research theme at GELIFES and I study the role of eco-evolutionary interactions on the spread of antimicrobial resistance by means of HGT in pathogenic microbial communities.

The project is a collaboration with Oscar Kuipers, Sander van Doorn and Franjo Weissing in Groningen, and Alvaro San Millan (Madrid, Spain). PhD student Ines Daras, and an MSc student are involved in the theoretical part of the project.

Freya Darling Eriksen – PhD student

I am a PhD student in GELIFES investigating the eco-evolutionary dynamics of urinary tract infections (UTIs). My project aims to better understand the underlying drivers of UTIs by focusing on the role of bacterial community interactions on uropathogenic growth and diversification.

I am originally from California (USA), and my background is primarily in wildlife ecology and evolutionary biology. I earned my MSc from the MEME Evolutionary Biology program and completed thesis projects at the University of Groningen (The Netherlands) and Uppsala University (Sweden). My interest in microbial community dynamics began during my MSc project in Groningen, where I investigated higher-order interactions of uropathogenic bacteria.

My project is co-supervised by Rampal Etienne (University of Groningen) and Marnix Medema (Wageningen University). My PhD is also a part of the ENW-XL consortium project ‘Urinary Tract Infections Revisited: Microbial Eco-evolutionary Drivers and Regulators’ (UTIr).

Nanyang Li – PhD student

I’m a PhD student with a background in food microbiology, currently exploring bloodstream infections. My research focuses on identifying specific bacterial traits and growth patterns in Escherichia coli that contribute to urosepsis. I hope to improve the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis.

In my previous research, I’ve worked on the effects of biosynthesized selenium nanoparticles on gut health, particularly in managing inflammatory bowel disease. It’s all about figuring out the intricate interactions among microbes, which I believe is key to developing innovative solutions for pressing health challenges.

My project is co-supervised by Dirk-Jan Scheffers, Thomas Hackl, and Rampal Etienne, and is in collaboration with Axel Hamprecht (Oldenburg, DE).

Clementine Sey – PhD student

My research focuses on improving our understanding of sepsis, a complex and urgent medical challenge. Specifically, I will be phenotyping sepsis-causing microbial isolates and investigating their interaction
with the host immune response.
Building on my MSc in Biomedical Sciences, where I specialized in immunology, I will work
in microbiology and apply my skillset to research this important topic.

The interdisciplinary nature of this project may contribute to a better understanding of the complex disease pathology and support the development of sepsis-specific biomarkers. This could ultimately
guide the identification and development of new therapeutic targets.

The project is a collaboration with Dr. Janesh Pillay and Prof. Dr. Jon Laman (UMCG), and part of the UEFxHTRIC Consortium.

Pablo Gallardo – postdoc 

I am a biochemist and postdoctoral researcher at GELIFES, University of Groningen. My work focuses on microbial eco-evolutionary dynamics and host-pathogen interactions as part of the NWO ENW-XL consortium project “Urinary Tract Infections Revisited: Microbial Eco-evolutionary Drivers and Regulators (UTIR).” I study the growth and behavior of microbial communities—both commensal and pathogenic—associated with urinary tract infections in postmenopausal women.

I have extensive experience in gut microbiota research, particularly studying the role of bacterial metabolites in infections. During my PhD at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) and the University of Chile, I analyzed metagenomic and metabolomic data to explore the gut microbiota’s impact on diarrheagenic E. coli infections in children. With a strong background in microbiology, bioinformatics, and metagenomics, my research covers the development of specialized culture media, microbial evolution experiments, and the analysis of complex microbial consortia. I’m passionate about uncovering new insights into microbial behavior and its implications for human health.

In addition to my research, I have worked in molecular diagnostics at the Hospital Dr. Luis Calvo Mackenna in Santiago, Chile, where I developed PCR protocols for SARS-CoV-2 detection and contributed to pediatric clinical diagnostics. Beyond science, I co-founded INFOMIGRA, an NGO dedicated to supporting vulnerable immigrant communities in Chile. Co-supervised by Alan Wolfe (Loyola Chicago).

Lars ten Brinke – MSc student Working with Freya Darling Eriksen on the UTIr project.

Jennifer van der Sluis – MSc student (Wageningen University) Working with Pablo Gallardo on the UTIr project

Past members

Tyrsa Veld – BSc Hanze student. Worked with Freya Darling Eriksen on the UTIr project.

Corné van der Zeeuw – BSc Hanze student. Worked with Freya Darling Eriksen on the UTIr project.

Karla Müller – MSc student, Erasmus Mundus Precision Medicine. Worked with Misshelle Bustamante on urosepsis isolates. A project in collaboration with Axel Hamprecht (Oldenburg, DE).

Floor Koopman – MSc Student. Worked with Misshelle Bustamante on HGT in UTI-related bacterial communities.

Tymo Ijedema – van Hall BSc student. Worked with Misshelle Bustamante on urosepsis isolates. A project in collaboration with Axel Hamprecht (Oldenburg, DE).

Si Nguyen Mai – Ecology and Evolution MSc student. Worked on a computational project on bacterial interactions limiting disease, with Chris Barnes and Neythen Treloar (UCL, UK).

Freya Darling Eriksen – MSc MEME student. Worked with Lars Zandbergen on higher-order ecological interactions in urinary bacteria.

Jesper Mertens – MSc Biomedical Sciences student. Worked with Misshelle Bustamante on HGT in UTI-related bacterial communities.

Ivi Koffie – Internship Student (Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences)

Noor van Bree – Internship Student (Hanze University of Applied Sciences)

Jaimy Ernsten – Internship Student (Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences)

Afra Salazar de Dios – MSc MEME student

Lisanne Zoethout – Internship Student (Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences)

Isabelle van der Windt – Internship Student (Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences)