Respiratory health from an ecological perspective

Dr. Debby Bogaert obtained her PhD degree in 2004 for her studies on pathogenesis of pneumococcal infections, with emphasis on bacterial colonization of the upper respiratory tract (Supervisors: Prof. R de Groot, Prof. PWM Hermans, Erasmus University in Rotterdam, The Netherlands). In addition, she was trained as a Paediatrician at the Sophia Children's Hospital in Rotterdam, obtaining her license in 2006. Dr Bogaert worked as a postdoctoral fellow in Boston (group of Prof. M. Lipsitch, Harvard School of Public Health, 2006-2008) where she studied immunological correlates of susceptibility to pneumococcal colonization and infection in infants. Since 2008 Dr Bogaert is working as a physician scientist at the Department of Paediatric Immunology of the UMC Utrecht, The Netherlands. Here she participates in a collaborative research network on pathogenesis and prevention of respiratory tract infections. In the recent years, Dr Bogaert extended her work on host-pathogen interactions with studies on the role of the human microbiome in relation to respiratory health and disease. Furthermore, she coordinates and facilitates microbiological and immunological research projects linked to clinical studies regarding respiratory infections in the general population as well as in risk groups for such infections.