What do you think about being appointed Professor?
"I think it sends a good signal about the importance of epidemiology in aquaculture, and I am also proud of the recognition it represents of my efforts in the field."
Britt Bang Jensen is a trained veterinarian from the Kgl. Veterinary and Agricultural College, now part of University of Copenhagen. After completing her Master's degree, she moved to Århus, where she worked as a diagnostic veterinarian at Denmark's Veterinary and Food Research in the section for fish diseases.
In the section in Århus, Britt Bang Jensen also completed her PhD in aquatic epidemiology.
Would you like to describe your research in about 10 lines?
"The overarching theme of my research is to develop better methods to monitor and control diseases and other health challenges in fish in aquaculture. The goal is to achieve better health and welfare for the animals.”
"A large part of the work consists of mapping the problems and their scope. For this, data must be used, and we collect this from public bodies and from the breeding industry.”
"It is important that the research addresses the challenges that exist today, and therefore I work with various epidemiological methods, such as risk factor analyses, prevalence studies, disease modelling, bio-economic analyzes and risk assessments."
After her time in Aarhus, Britt Bang Jensen then moved to Oslo in 2009, where she got a job in the Epidemiology Section at the Veterinary Institute. It was 13 years in Norway, where she worked with epidemiology in farmed fish, before Britt Bang Jensen returned home to Denmark in 2022.
In Denmark, her former workplace in Århus, Section for Fish Diseases in Denmark's Veterinary and Food Research, had meanwhile been moved under DTU Aqua in Copenhagen and given the name Section for Fish and Shellfish Diseases. This is where Britt Bang Jensen, back in Denmark, took up a position as Section Leader and Senior Researcher at DTU Aqua.
How will your research area at the department develop after your professorship?
"The research area will be strengthened, as there will be more focus on it. And a PhD student has also been employed, and some external research funding has been obtained.”
"Among other things, we have a project where we will look at the economic consequences of the disease IHN in Danish trout farming, as well as one on the development of better sampling methods for the diseases PD and ILA in salmon farming in Norway."
"A webinar on aquatic epidemiology is also in the pipeline, so that we can gain widespread knowledge of the area."
Now I'd like to take you on a big leap back in time to hear where your interest in marine life started?
"Actually, I chose veterinary medicine because I wanted to be a cattle veterinarian. But now you ask: When I went to 3G, I actually wrote my main thesis about the effects of the Øresund Bridge on eelgrass and blue mussels! And it was actually my plan to become a marine biologist!”
"It was a bit of a coincidence that I ended up working with fish – during my veterinary studies I did a thesis on calf diseases in Uganda and thereby discovered that research was more for me than being a practicing vet."
"When there was a temporary maternity leave available as a diagnostic veterinarian at a research institute, it was just a matter of jumping in. Especially since they wanted someone with an interest in epidemiology.”
And now you have landed among marine biologists and with a focus on fish :) Why is your research important?
"Research into the diseases and health of aquaculture animals is important because we have a responsibility to take good care of the animals in our care."
How will your research area with the new professorship contribute to a better and more sustainable world?
"Diseases and poor well-being lead to poor utilization of, among other things, feed resources, which is a burden on the environment. Production also becomes less economically sustainable, as poor health leads to poor growth. And as mentioned, the absence of diseases and other health challenges will also mean better welfare.”
During the spring, the newly appointed Professor Britt Bang Jensen will celebrate her appointment as Professor with an induction lecture at DTU.
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