Anne Balkema-Buschmann

Biography

Name: Anne Balkema-Buschmann
Academic title: PD Dr. med. vet.
Date of birth: 17.07.1968
Nationality: German
Office address: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut,
Federal Research Centre for Animal Health
Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases
Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald - Insel Riems
Phone: 038351-71515
Email: anne.buschmann@fli.de

Present position: Deputy Director of the Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Friedrich-Loeffler Institut

Statement of purpose: As a trained veterinarian from the Universtity of Gießen, Gemany, I have more than two decades of experience in animal challenge and pathogenesis studies in different animal models at different biosafety levels. Since 2015, I am heading the BSL4 animal facility at the FLI. After working on transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) and their pathogenesis in ruminants, I developed a special interest in bat-borne zoonotic agents, and I am responsible for two bat breeding colonies at the FLI. Today, my main interest is the role of bats as reservoir hosts for highly pathogenic viruses such as Nipah and Hendra virus. After the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 as a pandemic agent, I was involved in the analysis of the role of different livestock and wildlife species in the virus transmission, and I established the Syrian Gold hamster as a reliable animal model for drug efficacy studies.

Academic Education
1988-94 Study of Veterinary Medicine at the Justus-Liebig University Gießen, Germany
1994-1998 Doctorate at the Federal Research Centre for Virus Diseases of Animals Tübingen, Germany: ‘Generation of transgenic mice overexpressing the bovine prion Protein (PrP)’
2000 Approval as a Specialist in Veterinary Microbiology by the Chamber of Veterinary Medicine Baden-Württemberg, Germany
2001 Exam for the State Veterinary Service awarded by the Ministry of Agriculture Baden Württemberg, Germany
2009 Approval as a Specialist in Veterinary Virology by the Chamber of Veterinary Medicine Mecklenburg-Pomerania, Germany
2011 Habilitation ‚Verteilung von Infektiosität und krankheitsassoziiertem Prion-Protein in Geweben von mit klassischen oder atypischen TSE-Erregern infizierten Rindern und Schafen‘ and Venia Legendi by the Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover

Professional experience
1998-today Scientist at the Friedrich-Loefller Institut Tübingen / Riems, Germany
since 2001 Deputy Director of the Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Friedrich-Loeffler Institut, Insel Riems, Germany
since 2013 establishment and maintenance of fruit bat colonies (Rousettus aegyptiacus and Eidolon helvum) at the Friedrich-Loeffler Institut
since 2015 head of the FLI BSL4 animal facility

Academic and Professional Services
Editorial Board member: Journal of General Virology, BMC Veterinary Research
Referee for numerous international journals (e.g. Journal of General Virology, PLoS ONE, Neglected Tropical Diseases, Scientific Reports, Transboundary and Emerging Diseases Veterinary Microbiology, MDPI journals)
Grant proposal referee for national and international funding bodies such as DEFRA (Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), FSA (Food Standards Agency), Health Research Board Ireland, Swiss National Fond
Member of Review Boards for international institutions: IHAP - Interactions Hôtes-Agents Pathogènes, Toulouse, France (2019); Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), Canada (2021)