Setting the Standard for Infection Models

“Working on a project identifying antibiotic-resistant bacteria in children’s playgrounds during my Bachelor studies made me aware of how widespread and relevant antimicrobial resistance is in everyday settings.”

What is the role of pre-clinical research in the fight against AMR?

One of the biggest challenges in the early stages of testing new antimicrobial compounds is identifying which ones truly have therapeutic potential. In vitro assays can sometimes give promising results that don’t hold up in more complex models. Reproducibility across different bacterial strains and optimising test conditions to mimic real-life infections can also be tricky. When it comes to early murine testing, translating those in vitro findings into meaningful in vivo outcomes is another major hurdle. Factors like dosing, toxicity, and how the drug behaves in a living system all come into play—and even small differences can have a big impact on the results.
In our lab at SSI, we work closely with European projects, universities, and small biotech companies to help move their small-molecule candidates through the pre-clinical stage. We test how effective these compounds are in the lab and in early murine models, with the goal of identifying ones that could eventually become real treatment options.

What is a crucial aspect in your field?

Collaboration is key in AMR research because tackling antimicrobial resistance really does require input from many different fields. I also get a lot of motivation from the collaborative side of the work—getting to learn from others, share ideas, and see progress, even in small steps, is incredibly rewarding.
Within the COMBINE project, I worked together with the Department of Pharmacy of Uppsala University. Our team at SSI generated the in vitro and in vivo data, and Uppsala developed the PK/PD models based on that. The collaboration led to the findings we presented as a poster at the ESCMID Global Conference on 11–15 April 2025 and soon will be published as a joint manuscript.

What advice would you give other researchers or students interested in AMR research?

For anyone interested in AMR research, my biggest advice is to stay curious and be persistent. It’s a challenging field, and things don’t always go as planned, so being open to learning and able to adapt to changing projects is really important.

What scientific advancements are you most excited about?

One of the most exciting developments in AMR research, I think, is the use of Artificial Intelligence to help find new antimicrobial compounds and targets. It’s still a growing area, but it seems really promising because it can speed up the discovery process and help us explore options we might not find otherwise.

Can you describe a typical day for you?

There’s really no such thing as a typical day in my work, and that’s something I really enjoy! Some days are spent in the lab planning and running experiments; other days are more focused on analysing data, writing reports, or taking part in project meetings to discuss progress and collaborations.

How do you balance your professional and personal life?

Balancing work and personal life is really important to me, and I try not to bring work home when I can avoid it. In my free time, I enjoy reading, spending time with family, taking walks with my dogs, and going to the gym to stay active.