Ana Sofia Ribeiro Duarte

Ana Sofia Ribeiro Duarte is a Senior Researcher at the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), specializing in food safety epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance. She leads the Research Group for Foodborne Pathogens and Epidemiology within the DTU Microbes Initiative and serves as Project Manager for the DANMAP surveillance program. Dr. Duarte actively supervises PhD students and contributes to international research collaborations across Europe and Africa.

Her educational background includes a PhD in The interpretation of quantitative microbiology data: meeting the demands of quantitative microbiological risk assessment from the National Food Institute (awarded 2013) and a combined Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) and Master of Science (MSc) in Veterinary Epidemiology from the University of Lisbon (awarded 2009).

Dr. Duarte's research focuses on antimicrobial resistance in food systems, with particular expertise in quantitative microbial risk assessment, source attribution modeling, and metagenomics applications for surveillance. Her work bridges veterinary medicine, public health, and food safety through a One Health approach, examining transmission pathways between animals, food, and humans. She has pioneered the application of genomic data in risk assessment methodologies and has developed innovative surveillance techniques using metagenomics.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong emphasis on Escherichia coli resistance mechanisms, zoonotic pathogen transmission, and the development of integrated surveillance systems that connect animal, human, and environmental health data. Her research increasingly incorporates advanced modeling techniques and genomic approaches to understand resistance transmission dynamics across the food chain.

• Best Oral Presentation (2010)

Dr. Duarte actively mentors PhD students including H. M. Stratton (investigating antimicrobial resistance at the domestic animals-wildlife-environment interface) and M. B. Hallgren (developing strategies to reduce antimicrobial resistance burden). She has secured significant research funding including the AMELIORATE project (heAvy MEtaL and antImicrObial Resistance exposure through wAsTe in kEnya) running from 2025-2029. Her teaching activities include international courses on quantitative microbial risk assessment under European Commission programs and a successful Coursera MOOC on metagenomics for pathogen surveillance.

She leads the DTU Microbes Initiative's research on foodborne pathogens and epidemiology, contributing to the DANMAP surveillance program which monitors antimicrobial use and resistance across Denmark's food production chain. Her international collaborations span institutions in Austria, Australia, Spain, and Kenya, reflecting the global nature of antimicrobial resistance challenges.