With support from the Swedish Research Council, Assistant Senior Lecturer Jakob Rostøl is establishing his research at KI and Department of Laboratory Medicine, where he will investigate how bacteriophages affect bacteria, disease progression and future biotechnological tools.
Welcome to Labmed! Could you tell us a little about your journey here and what attracted you to KI?
"Tack! Hailing from Sweden's little brother, Norway, I decided to leave Scandinavia and embark on a circuitous path for my scientific career, going via Oxford, New York City, and London for my undergraduate, PhD, and post-doctoral studies, respectively. I was initially interested in structural biology, then genetics, then virology, before finally settling on being a bacteriologist.
"When deciding where to establish my lab, I was initially attracted to KI's stellar international reputation for scientific research and historic track record of medical breakthroughs. Last summer, a visit to LabMed reinforced this impression, but I also experienced the collaborative atmosphere and the emphasis on synergy between basic and medical research. Having largely focussed on basic science so far in my career, but intending to explore more medically relevant research problems, KI and LabMed seemed like the ideal location to plant my scientific roots."
You have received funding from the Swedish Research Council's initiative for the strategic recruitment of assistant professors. What does this support mean for you and your research?
"It means an enormous amount. It ensures that I can get my lab up and running, allowing me to embark on and (hopefully) finish science I am passionate about. On a personal level, it also feels like a validation of my chosen research path and my ability to carry it out. More broadly, I believe the funding will signal to future students and staff I will recruit that they can expect a stable and predictable research environment for them to flourish in."
How would you describe your research to a wider audience?
"Just like us humans, bacteria also have their own viruses. These viruses of bacteria are called bacteriophages, or phages, and are the most abundant biological entity on the planet. They play an enormous role in the microscopic world, but unlike human viruses, which tend to be bad news for us, phages can both kill their hosts and help their hosts, depending on the context. For example, phages can live inside bacteria, providing their hosts with "beneficial genes" that enhance bacterial virulence. Phages also help spread antibiotic resistance. Despite their importance, phages are often overlooked when it comes to bacterial survival, evolution, and disease.
"In my team, we will employ genetics, supplemented with diverse methods to understand phages better, using the important human and animal pathogen Staphylococcus aureus as a model and a workhorse. We hope that we can help discover new genes, proteins, or processes that might lead to further useful tools in the future."
What opportunities do you see in conducting your research at Labmed, and what collaborations do you hope to develop here?
"Scientists at LabMed have a wide range of expertise and specialisations. In my experience, the best way to solve a problem often comes from creative people with diverse ways of thinking from different backgrounds. I therefore hope to break free from my narrowmindedness by engaging with my new colleagues and allowing for free exchange of inputs and ideas. Because phages are ubiquitous in biology, I envision that a lot of collaboration and synergy can take place at LabMed, in ways that I am yet to discover. One aspect to develop is that I have previously largely studied simple phage-bacterium systems in vitro. In the future, I hope to take the research in a more clinically relevant direction."
What do you like to do when you're not doing research, in your spare time?
"While my mind often wanders to our microscopic friends, I do also enjoy the macroscopic world. This can involve reading history (especially Greek and Roman), attending concerts or plays, playing pool, supporting Arsenal football club, and cooking big batches of food on Sundays. Living in New York City and London imprinted in me a fondness for museums, especially modern art ones. Keeping with this, as a leaving present, some London friends gifted me a membership to Fotografiska here in Stockholm. Also, having returned to Scandinavia, I hope to get more opportunities to ski in the winter. Still, the simple pleasures can be the best, and enjoying a pint of beer or a glass of red with loved ones is consistently high on my list of favourite activities."
