Recruitment Seminar: Assistant Professor in One Health Against Pathogens (OHAP) in the Institute of Parasitology

You are cordially invited to attend the seminar of Dr. Janneke Wit, a candidate for the tenure-track position of Assistant Professor in One Health Against Pathogens in the Institute of Parasitology.

Title: From Parasites to Pest Control: Invertebrate Models in Biomedical Research

Rapid development of sequencing technologies has opened the door to genetic and genomic exploration in virtually any biological context. Reagents and protocols have become more user friendly, multiplexing allows optimized use of flow cell capacity, and sequence quality of long reads has dramatically improved. Now we need to interpret all the data that is generated. As part of a birdseye overview of my research experience and interests, two case studies illustrate the potential and the challenges of generating and analysing genetic data for organisms for which sequencing data traditionally has been scarce.

First, a proof-of-concept study with the parasitic nematode Haemonchus contortus illustrates that genome-wide sequencing is a great approach for deciphering regions of the genome underlying anthelmintic resistance. It also shows that a high-quality, ideally well-annotated reference genome is key to interpretation of the results.

Second, another type of nematode that can benefit from post-omics resources: entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs). EPNs are microscopic nematodes that prey on insect pests, and as such have great potential as biocontrol agents in sustainable agriculture. But for EPNs to jump on the sequencing bandwagon, empirical tools as well as genomic resources need to be optimized. For example, while metabarcoding of EPNs is a breeze in the lab, the data analysis stage is less smooth sailing. Together, these case studies highlight the exciting opportunities that modern sequencing technologies offer - even for non-model organisms - but underscore the importance of robust reference data and tailored analytical tools for meaningful interpretation. As sequencing becomes more accessible, the challenge shifts from generating data to interpreting it wisely - and that’s where the real adventure begins.

About the Speaker

Janneke Wit

Candidate for the Assistant Professor Position: One Health Against Pathogens Invertebrate Models in Biomedical

Dr. Janneke Wit is a postdoctoral scholar at Aalborg University, Denmark, where she conducts research on entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs). After earning her BSc in Life Science and Technology at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, Dr. Wit followed her interests in evolutionary biology and health to Denmark, where she obtained an MSc in Molecular Biology and a PhD in Evolutionary Biology at Aarhus University, studying Drosophila ageing. She then shifted her focus toward computational biology within the field of biomedical research, undertaking a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. John Gilleard at the University of Calgary, Canada. There, she refined DNA sequencing workflows—from DNA extraction to data analysis—to investigate the genetic basis of anthelmintic resistance in parasitic nematodes, and was actively involved in outreach programmes. During a second postdoc at Northwestern University, USA, where she developed expertise in nematode handling and phenotyping, Dr. Wit was awarded a Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship. Here, she combines her research interests and experiences into applied research to investigate how genetic and phenotypic variation affects efficacy and adaptability of EPNs as sustainable control agents of insect pests. Her multidisciplinary work combines experimental evolution, high-throughput phenotyping, genomics, and population genetics to build both empirical and genomic resources for EPN research.