Speakers

Damborg, Peter

Since 2013, I have been employed as Associate Professor at the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Section for Veterinary Clinical Microbiology at the University of Copenhagen. Prior to that, I was employed as PhD student (2005-2008) and Postdoc (2008-2013) at the same department.  
Over the years, I have had the chance to work with several different topics within veterinary microbiology, but a central theme to most of my work has been antimicrobial resistance. Initially, my research was mainly centered on the discovery of resistant, zoonotic pathogens in animals and the selection of resistance upon antimicrobial treatment. This has gradually changed to a more solution-oriented pathway where I try in different ways to approach the problem of resistance. My approach is elaborated in the following sections, but in general it concerns optimization and development of diagnostic tools, development and testing of new antimicrobial agents, optimizing and rationalizing the use of existing antimicrobial agents, and prevention of infection.  
Besides research and teaching, I am head of our local veterinary diagnostic laboratory. This includes active participation on a daily basis, deciding how to proceed with samples and cultures, and communicating with DVMs asking for advice on sampling or treatment.  
In 2015, I was appointed Scientific Secretary of VetCAST, which is the EUCAST subcommittee on veterinary antimicrobial susceptibility testing. In 2018, upon the retirement of Dik Mevius, I was appointed Chair of VetCAST. I am therefore in charge of different initiatives to optimize AST for veterinary pathogens, primarily the development of new breakpoints to determine their antimicrobial susceptibility.  
I recently had a proposal for a COST Action network approved. The network is entitled ENOVAT: European Network for Optimization of Veterinary Antimicrobial Treatment. This Action commence in November 2019 and will proceed for four years. The aim is to optimize veterinary antimicrobial use with special emphasis on the development of antimicrobial treatment guidelines and refinement of microbiological diagnostic procedures. With involvement of stakeholders from more than 30 European countries, the network will offer unique opportunities for acquisition of data, dissemination of results, and education of stakeholders within and beyond the Action.  
In December 2019, I became de facto Diplomate of the recently established European College for Veterinary Microbiology.