Kaisa THORELL​

Google Scholar

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PhD, docent

University of Gothenburg

Dept. of Chemistry and Molecular Biology

Box 462

405 30 Gothenburg

office phone +46 703 212946

E-mail kaisa.thorell@gu.se

 

Current position

Assistant Professor, DDLS Fellow

 

Academic Achievements

• 2022-10-22     
  Docent in Medical Microbiology, University of Gothenburg (UGot)

• 2010 – 2014   
  PhD in Medical Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Thesis title: “Multi-level characterization of host-pathogen interaction in Helicobacter pylori-associated gastric carcinogenesis”

• 2003-2008       
  Master’s in Biomedical Sciences, Lund University, Master’s Thesis: “Verification and investigation of genes differentially expressed in Neuroblastoma”

Academic Career, post PhD

• 2024-  
  Associate Senior Lecturer/Assistant Professor and Data Driven Life Science fellow, Dept. of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, UGot

• 2022 –2024     
  Researcher, 50%, Dept. of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, UGot

• 2023-2024       
  Science Teacher, 50%, Secondary School (7-9), Lilla Edets kommun

• 2021 –2022     
  Microbiologist, Clinical Microbiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg

• 2018 – 2020   
  SSMF-funded postdoc, Karolinska Institutet/Dept. of Infectious Diseases, UGot

• 2017    
  Visiting researcher, National Institute of Health, Washington D.C.

• 2016 - 2018    
  Postdoctoral researcher, Center for Translational Microbiome Research, Dept. of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm

• 2015 – 2016   
  Postdoctoral researcher, Science for Life Laboratory/Clinical Genomics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm

 

Teaching Activities

• Course leader in Bioinformatics in Genomics, BIO511, UGot

• Teaching in Microbiology and Immunology, UGot and Karolinska Institutet.

 

Scientific Activities, Memberships in Societies, Member of Executive Committees

• 2019 -  
  Member of the GOTBIN (Gothenburg Bioinformatics Network) Working group

• 2018 - 
  Member of the H. pylori Genome Project Bioinformatics team, NIH, US.

• 2015-2017       
  Member of the Management group, Center for Translational Microbiome Research, Karolinska Institutet

• 2015 - 2019    
  Member of steering committee in BioIBD, A multi-modal national study to identify biomarkers for diagnosis, therapy response and disease progression in IBD.

• 2013-2015       
  Member of the organization committee of BioCare Research School, Lund University/Univ. of Gothenburg.

• 2014    
  Organizer of Swedish Bioinformatics Workshop, Gothenburg

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Clinical and Scientific Research lnterest

My group brings together expertise in experimental microbiology, bacterial comparative genomics, and bioinformatics. We also leverage on large national and international collaborations, as well as access to unique genome datasets, bacterial isolates, and gastrointestinal biopsy material. Our research aims to increase the understanding of factors affecting bacterial transmission, persistence, and virulence, knowledge that can be used for identifying individuals at high risk for severe disease outcomes.

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Publications

 

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Inn4KJoAAAAJ&hl=en

 

Main publications:

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• Tourrette E, Torres RC, Svensson SL, Matsumoto T, Miftahussurur M, Fauzia KA, Alfaray RI, Vilaichone R, Phuoc Tuan V, Helicobacter Genomics Consortium, Wang D, Yadegar A, Olsson LM, Zhou Z, Yamaoka Y, Thorell K*, Falush D. An ancient ecospecies of Helicobacter pylori, Nature 2024. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07991-z *Shared senior and corresponding author.
   

• Garrison E, Guarracino A, Heumos S, Villani F, Bao Z, Tattini L, Hagmann J, Vorbrugg S, Marco-Sola S, Kubica C, Ashbrook DG, Thorell K, Rusholme-Pilcher RL, Liti G, Rudbeck E, Golicz AA, Nahnsen S, Yang Z, Njagi Mwaniki M, Nobrega FL, Wu Y, Chen H, de Ligt J, Sudmant PH, Huang S, Weigel D, Soranzo S, Colonna V, Williams RW, Prins P, Building Pangenome Graphs, Nature Methods 2024. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-024-02430-3
   

• Thorell K*, Muñoz-Ramirez ZY, Wang D, Sandoval-Motta S, Boscolo Agostini R, Ghirotto S, Torres RC, HpGP Research Network, Falush D, Camargo MC, Rabkin CS. The Helicobacter pylori Genome Project: insights into H. pylori population structure from analysis of a worldwide collection of complete genomes. Nat. Communications, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43562-y *Corresponding author.
   

• Alfaray RI, Saruuljavkhlan B, Fauzia KA, Torres RC, Thorell K, Dewi SR, Kryukov KA, Matsumoto T, Akada J, Vilaichone R-K, Miftahussurur M, Yamaoka Y. Global Antimicrobial Resistance Gene Study of Helicobacter pylori: Comparison of Detection Tools, ARG and Efflux Pump Gene Analysis, Worldwide Epidemiological Distribution, and Information Related to the Antimicrobial-Resistant Phenotype. Antibiotics 2023. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics12071118
   

• You Y, Thorell K*, He L, Yahara K, Yamaoka Y, Cha JH, Murakami K, Katsura Y, Kobayashi I, Falush D, Zhang J. Genomic differentiation within East Asian Helicobacter pylori. Microbial Genomics, 2022. https://doi.org/0.1099/mgen.0.000676 *Shared first author
   

• Zeng HL, Dichio V, Horta ER, Thorell K, Aurell E, Global analysis of more than 50,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomes reveals epistasis between eight viral genes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2020. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2012331117
   

• Muñoz-Ramirez ZY, Pascoe B, Mendez-Tenorio A, Mourkas W, Sandoval-Motta S, Perez-Perez G, Morgan DR, Dominguez RL, Ortiz-Princz D, Cavazza ME, Rocha G, Queiroz DMM, Catalano M, De La Palma GZ, Goldman CG, Venegas A, Alarcon T, Oleastro M, Vale FF, Goodman KJ, Torres RJ, Berthenet E, Hitchings MD, Blaser MJ, Sheppard SK, Thorell K*, Torres J, A 500-year tale of co-evolution, adaptation, and virulence: Helicobacter pylori in the Americas. ISMEJ 2020. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-020-00758-0 *Shared senior author.
   

• Thorell K, Inganäs L, Backhans A, Agréus L, Öst Å, Walker MM, Talley NJ, Kjellström L, Andreasson A, Engstrand L. Isolates from colonic spirochaetosis in humans show high genomic divergence and potential pathogenic features but are not detected using standard primers for the human microbiota. J Bacteriol. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1128/JB.00272-19
   

• Berthenet E, Yahara K, Thorell K, Pascoe B, Meric G, Mikhail JM, Engstrand L, Enroth H, Burette A, Megraud F, Varon C, Atherton JC, Smith S, Wilkinson TS, Hitchings MD, Falush D, Sheppard SK. A GWAS on Helicobacter pylori strains points to genetic variants associated with gastric cancer risk. BMC Biol. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-018-0550-3
   

• Thorell K, Bengtsson-Palme J, Liu Hsin-Fu O, Palacios Gonzáles RV, Nookaew I, Paszat L, Rabeneck L, Graham DY, Nielsen JN, Lundin SB, Sjöling Å. In vivo analysis of the viable microbiota and Helicobacter pylori transcriptome in gastric infection and early stages of carcinogenesis. Infect Immun. 2017. https://doi.org/10.1128/IAI.00031-17
   

• Thorell K, Yahara K, Berthenet E, Lawson DJ, Kato I, Mendez A, Canzian F, Bravo MM, Suzuki R, Yamaoka Y, Torres J, Sheppard SK, Falush D. Rapid evolution of distinct Helicobacter pylori subpopulations in the Americas. PLoS Genet. 2017. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1006546​

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