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Thomas Van Boeckel

Born in: Belgium
Primary research category: Global Health and Antimicrobial Resistance
Research location / employer: One Health Institute, University of Zürich, Switzerland
Fellowship dates: 2018-2023

Academic Career

  • Associate Professor, University of Zürich, One Health Institute, 2024-present
  • Senior Assistant, ETH Zurich, Institute Integrative Biology, 2023-2024
  • Assistant Professor (non tenure-track), ETH Zurich, Institute for Environmental Decisions, 2019-2023
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, ETH Zurich, Institute for Integrative Biology, 2015-2019
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Princeton, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 2013-2015
  • PhD in Spatial Epidemiology, Free University of Brussels (ULB), 2009-2013
  • Visiting Academic, University of Oxford, 2009
  • MSc in Environmental Engineering, Free University of Brussels (ULB), 2007-2009
  • BSc in Bioengineering, Free University of Brussels (ULB), 2003-2007

Fellowship Research

Dr. Thomas Van Boeckel’s research lies at the interface of science and policy. His objective is to accelerate the international response to the rapid rise of antimicrobial resistance. Specifically, he will pioneer the development of a novel type of platform to automate epidemiological data collection, and using geospatial methods he will map the geographic distribution of four common drug-resistant pathogens found in animals. The objective of this work is to help target intervention against antimicrobial resistance in the most affected regions, and create a baseline for the evaluation of future efforts to reduce antimicrobial resistance in food animals. He will also explore how economic incentives such as taxes could be deployed to optimally manage the antimicrobials currently used in veterinary medicine. Ultimately those initiatives aim to reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance in animals, as well as their potential transmission to humans.

Major Awards

  • ETH Fellowship, 2015-2017
  • Fulbright Research Fellowship, 2013
  • Wiener-Anspach Fellowship, 2009