PhD defense: Martin Steen Mortensen

The human microbiota in early life: Initial colonization and development

Supervisors
Søren J. Sørensen, Professor, Head of Section of Microbiology
Waleed Abu Al-Soud, Associate professor, Section of Microbiology

Committee
Anders Prieme, Associate professor, Section of Microbiology
M. Pilar Francino, Head of Department, Department of Genomics and Health, FISABIO-Public health, Valencia, Spain
Henrik Bjørn Nielsen, Associate Professor, Department of Systems Biology, Technical University of Denmark

Abstract
The PhD thesis is built upon analysis of the microbiota from samples collected for the COPSAC₂₀₁₀ cohort, with 700 mother-infant pairs. The work includes a detailed examination of the mothers’ vaginal microbiota, a description of the early composition and development of the microbiota in the airways of their infants, and an investigation of whether the infants’ microbiota are affected by that of their mothers microbiota or not.