Bacterial Adaptation and Physiology

Many difficult-to-treat infections cannot be explained by antimicrobial resistance alone. Within the host, bacteria encounter changing conditions shaped by nutrient and oxygen availability, immune responses, antimicrobial treatment, tissue damage and other microorganisms. These conditions can select for genetic adaptations and trigger reversible physiological changes that influence bacterial survival, virulence and susceptibility to treatment. Understanding how these processes sustain infection is central to our research.

We use patient material and longitudinal collections of clinical isolates to track genetic and physiological changes in bacterial populations within individual patients. By combining whole-genome sequencing, transcriptomics and phenotypic analyses, we examine how these changes relate to the local infection environment and clinical outcomes. Complementary in vitro and ex vivo infection models allow us to investigate the underlying mechanisms under controlled conditions that reproduce key features of the human host environment.

Current research spans chronic wound infections, combat-related wound infections, implant-associated infections and urinary tract infections. Across these clinical settings, we investigate bacterial adaptation, antimicrobial resistance, quiescence, biofilm physiology and host–pathogen interactions. We examine how these processes contribute to infection persistence and treatment outcomes.

Our research is supported by the following funding bodies and foundations:

European Defence Fund

National Defence Technology Centre

Læge Sofus Carl Emil Friis og Hustru Olga Doris Friis' Legat

Brødrene Hartmanns Fond

Aase og Ejnar Danielsens Fond

Vera og Carl Johan Michaelsens Legat

Fonden til Lægevidenskabens Fremme