Joakim Bjerketorp

Since 2021, I have been a researcher at the Department of Animal Biosciences, SLU, in a university-industry collaboration funded by Intervacc AB (https://intervacc.se/en/research/). My main focus is on developing recombinant vaccines for key bacterial diseases in horses (Streptococcus equi; Streptococcus zooepidemicus), pigs (Streptococcus suis), and cattle (Staphylococcus aureus) and on accompanying serological tests (ELISA) that can differentiate between infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA). Earlier research on novel antibiotics, antimicrobial discovery and nucleoside analogue repurposing continues as a minor part.

Sporadic lecturer on various courses, most common topic: antibiotics/antibiotic resistance/novel antibiotics.

Current projects:

Development of recombinant vaccines against Streptococcus suis in pigs and Staphylococcus aureus in cattle (Intervacc funding).

Streptococcus equi and strangles in horses – further investigation of Strangvac and development of upgraded diagnostics (Intervacc funding).

Development of an improved and objective diagnostic tool for digital dermatitis in cattle. (Seydlitz MP Companies Foundation 2023-2025; Project leader Anna Rosander, SLU).

Selected former project:

The SLU–Ultupharma (https://www.ultupharma.se/) project “New antibiotics from nature”, with the aim set on developing methods to discover new antibiotics effective against pathogenic bacteria resistant to current clinical treatments. It spanned traditional microbiological culturing, innovative techniques for cultivating previously uncultivable microorganisms, exploring methods to stimulate microbes to produce a wider range of bioactive compounds, screening, isolating and characterizing novel putative antibiotics against relevant resistant bacteria (Biobo/Ultupharma 2015-2019; Project leader Anders Broberg, SLU).

Thesis:

Bjerketorp J, 2004. Novel Adhesive Proteins of Pathogenic Staphylococci and Their Interaction with Host Proteins.

https://publications.slu.se/?file=publ/show&id=12117

Co-supervisor: 

PhD, ongoing. Development of diagnostic tests for claw diseases in ruminants. 

PhD, 2021. Antibiotic resistance in biogas processes. https://publications.slu.se/?file=publ/show&id=114745&lang=en

Main supervisor: 

MSc, 2018. Bacterial co-cultivation as a method to induce cryptic pathways of novel antimicrobial metabolites (Uppsala University).

BSc, 2014. Antibiotics from the nature - culturing of genetically talented bacterial isolates. https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/7500/

BSc, 2014. Isolation of antibiotic producing microorganisms by screening for antibiotic resistance. https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/7426/

BSc, 2013. Isolating microorganisms from marine and marine-associated samples: a targeted search for novel natural antibiotics. https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/5869/