Scientist Spotlight: Anna Edlund, Ph.D.

Although Sweden is synonymous with Ikea, Volvo, meatballs and ABBA, the country has had a significant impact on science and discovery as far back as the 17^th Century. Scientist Anna Edlund, Ph.D. who recently joined JCVI is another Swede pushing the boundaries of discovery in her new role as Assistant Professor, Department of Genomic Medicine.

Anna Edlund, Ph.D.

Anna grew up in the middle of nature on a horse farm in the northern part of Sweden. Inspired by her country’s natural beauty and wilderness, she grew to care a great deal about the environment. During her first years at Södertörn University College she studied ‘green ecology’ and population genetics while she kept her job as a ranger for the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency working in a National park. Dr. Janet K. Jansson first introduced Anna to microbiology during an undergraduate course, and she immediately became fascinated with the unexplored world of microbes - she could not resist becoming a microbiologist. Anna finished her studies at the Karolinska Institute with a Master’s in microbiology and molecular biology. Under the guidance of Dr. Jansson, she pursued her Ph.D. studies in microbiology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science in Uppsala. Between 2002 and 2007, she studied marine biology specifically exploring the microbial life in sediments of the Baltic Sea. She continued her education in marine microbial ecology as a Postdoctoral Scholar at Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, and ultimately returned to Sweden as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Systems Ecology at Stockholm University.

Anna’s trajectory changed in March 2012 when she returned to California at the invitation of Dr. Jeff McLean, a former JCVI scientist and pioneer in the human oral microbiome. As a Project Scientist and Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA’s School of Dentistry and JCVI, Anna turned her focus from studying bacterial ecological functions in the marine environment towards understanding the role of the oral microbiome in human health.

As a scientist at JCVI, Anna’s research focuses on the complex human oral microbiome and how bacterial gene expression and signaling molecules orchestrate the development of both health and disease associated communities. Anna joined the team at JCVI to work with world-leading experts in microbiology in an environment where most of her time can be spent doing research.

Recently, Anna received a three-year award of $750,000 from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) to investigate oral pathogen virulence within complex oral biofilm communities. Her goal is to deepen our knowledge of the molecular processes of oral biofilms during stress and disease-like conditions (e.g. pathogen invasion, low pH). She hopes her findings will lead to improvements in treating and preventing oral diseases.