Dr. VANINA GUERNIER
Welcome to my personal research website! Here I provide a summary of my research projects, and will keep you updated on their progress and relevant other news.
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I am a researcher at IRD (French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development) at iEES-Paris in the team CoMIC (microbial communities in continental ecosystems). I am currently based in Bangkok, Thailand, at the Faculty of Veterinary Technology, Kasetsart University.
I have broad interests in infectious disease ecology, emerging infectious diseases, and zoonotic diseases in a 'One-health' perspective. I worked on leptospirosis and tuberculosis, diseases for which I have a large expertise, but I have a broad interest on any disease / pathogen for which there is an interface between humans, animals and the environment, like melioidosis (pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei), Buruli ulcer (pathogen Mycobacterium ulcerans) or Q fever (Coxiella burnetii). I employ a diverse range of laboratory methods, especially bacterial culture, molecular biology, and different sequencing methods (NGS, metagenomics, minIon Nanopore sequencing).
16th International Conference on Molecular Epidemiology and Evolutionary Genetics of Infectious Diseases
Germany, 14-17 November 2023
International Leptospirosis Society and European Leptospirosis Society
joint meeting
Belgium, September 2024
UPCOMING EVENTS
10th World Melioidosis Congress
Australia, 2024
INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY
5th year Master of Science (MSc)
Project title: ROdent BOrne diseases and Pesticide Use in Southeast Asia (ROBOPUSA)
Abstract:
Rodents, reservoirs of various zoonotic pathogens, are diverse in South-East Asia and have well evolved in agro-ecosystems, making them important actors for emerging diseases. The Green Revolution that started in the 1960s has exposed these agroecosystems and the rodents to dramatic environmental changes, especially the agricultural intensification associated with massive land use conversion and generalized use of chemical input. While we start to have a better idea of the impacts of land use conversion on hosts and pathogens circulation, the effect of agrochemicals use on host-pathogen interactions is not well known. The purpose of the ROBOPUSA Project is to estimate for the first time the potential direct effects of chemical inputs on the occurrence and circulation of zoonotic pathogens in common rodent species in different agricultural landscapes. We will assess pathogen occurrence and diversity in rodents living in crops managed using conventional vs organic practices, as a measure of the agroecosystem health. This will help us to refine health recommendations regarding agrochemicals use.
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Internship:
As part of their internship, the student will seek to assess the possible link between the contamination of soil/water by agrochemical products, and the prevalence of pathogens in rodents captured on/around agricultural land. The student will start with an in-depth literature review on the subject, before participating in the fieldwork in Northern Thailand (sampling of soil/water and rodents) and the analysis of rodent samples. The student will contribute to the identification of rodent species, and to the molecular detection of various pathogens in the laboratory. He/she will analyse the resulting dataset to (i) evaluate the occurrence and distribution areas of each rodent species within the two types of agricultural systems, and (ii) estimate the prevalence and diversity of pathogens among rodents and the influence of various monitored environmental factors.
The intern must have strong skills/interest in ecology, biology and/or veterinary sciences, molecular biology, statistical analyses and database manipulation. A specific interest in rodent ecology will be a plus.
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Conditions:
The position is based in Bangkok, Thailand.
Fellowship is provided for the salary. The student will need to apply for a travel grant.
The internship will start early 2024. Starting date can be discussed.
To apply please contact: vanina.guernier@ird.fr; julien.claude@umontpellier.fr