Prof Dr Joerg Jores, Director of the Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology at the Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern
JJ graduated from vet school in Berlin in 1996. Afterwards, he did his doctorate conducting research on Vibrio that have been isolated from the Baltic Sea at the German Federal Research Institute for Disease Control and Prevention (Robert Koch-Institute). Then JJ joined the Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics (Veterinary Faculty) at the Free University Berlin and worked as a scientific staff member doing research on intestinal pathogens such as Escherichia coli, lecturing and diagnostic services. From 2005 to 2016 he lived in East Africa and worked at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi, Kenya. At ILRI he build up a Mycoplasma research team and contributed towards the development of diagnostics and vaccines. Focus of research activities were contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) and contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP). Besides this he worked on bacterial and viral diseases that affect the dromedary camel. In 2016, JJ took up the position as director of the Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology at the Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Switzerland. JJ’s fields of expertise and research activities are host-pathogen interactions of mycoplasmas, synthetic genomics and diseases of the hoof.