Erasmus+ mobility: PhD student Carl Boodman attended an inspiring lab training in Marseille

Over the course of two weeks, Carl Boodman was trained in specialised laboratory techniques for identifying Bartonella quintana from human and arthropod samples. Carl uses these techniques in his PhD research, which focuses on neglected B. quintana infections in low-resource settings. The training was organised under the supervision of Prof Pierre-Edouard Fournier, a full Professor of Medical Bacteriology and Hygiene at the Faculty of Medicine, Aix-Marseille University, France. Prof Fournier is in charge of the National Reference Center for Rickettsioses (NRCR), the molecular diagnostics laboratory, and the residency and Infectious Diseases teaching programmes at the Faculty of Medicine.

NRCR is an international centre for Bartonella research, conducting reference testing for samples from around the globe. Many of the techniques performed at NRCR, which are integral to Carl’s PhD study, are not performed in Belgium or in Canada, his home country. With the agreement of Carl’s ITM supervisor, Prof Johan van Griensven, NRCR acted as a reference laboratory, supporting his PhD research through training in specialised techniques and provision of confirmatory testing on samples.

This traineeship marked the beginning of a research and training collaboration related to Carl’s PhD thesis. To conclude in his own words: