Björn Andersson

Professor Björn Andersson leads the Genomic Analysis of Parasites and Viruses group at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet. His work focuses on genomic and bioinformatic analyses of human pathogens, including Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas disease), Leishmania species, and viral pathogens. Research emphasizes parasite-host interactions, drug resistance mechanisms, and metagenomic sequencing of human microbiomes and viromes.

Education includes a PhD in Medical Genetics (Karolinska Institutet, 1992) and postdoctoral training at Baylor College of Medicine (1992–1995). He holds a Docent title from Uppsala University (1999).

Research interests span medical genetics, microbiology, and infectious disease genomics. Key projects include Chagas disease diagnostics in Bolivia, immune evasion mechanisms in parasites, and virome studies in cancer and type 1 diabetes. His group has pioneered comparative genomics of parasites and developed metagenomic tools for viral discovery.

Recent work highlights genomic plasticity in Trypanosoma cruzi, skin microbiome roles in psoriasis, and ancient microbiome analysis from Mesolithic chewed pitch. Grants include funding from the Swedish Research Council, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, and EU initiatives like MAARS.

Labs/Teams: Genomic analysis of parasites and viruses group, collaborating on global health projects and pathogen genomics.